Hells Canyon Winery

“I wish them all the luck,” said Steve Robertson referring to second-career winemakers jumping onto the winemaking bandwagon. However, it was Steve himself who, 25 years earlier, sold his highly successful restaurant in Boise to launch what would eventually become Hells Canyon Winery. Those wheels were set in motion when he found a plot of land off Chicken Dinner Road in Caldwell with a magnificent view of the Owyhee Mountains. But it was not by accident that Steve came to be a pioneer in the fledging Idaho wine industry. As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Steve knew that wine is a fine complement to food and part of a lifestyle he desired. He’d also possessed a healthy dose of wine making knowledge through his wine-related studies and traveling experience to guide him.

Today, Steve and his wife, Leslie, can boast that their 40-acre estate is the oldest vineyard in Idaho. From bud break to harvest and crush, Steve manages the process and produces estate wines of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and syrah. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for a pretty wine label. In the case of Hells Canyon Winery, the Artist Conservation Series labels, featuring original artwork of Idaho’s game and wildlife, are impressive enough to make Eddie Bauer spring for his wallet.

Speaking of wine labels, I couldn’t help but notice the brightly colored, slightly racy Zhoo Zhoo wine labels while sampling wine at the winery’s chic Swallow’s Wine Bar. Seeing my interest, Leslie explained that the Zhoo Zhoo wines are the creation of their three daughters: Bijou, Hadley, and Jocelyn. Following her father’s example, Bijou Robertson is the assistant winemaker for Hells Canyon Winery and the winemaker for the Zhoo Zhoo line. Like her dad, Bijou also graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. The artwork that adorns the wine labels is the work of local artist Babette Beatty, and a number of her demurely risqué paintings grace the walls of the wine bar. For more information, see www.zhoozhoo.com.

After 25 years of living through the good times and the bad, Steve and Leslie Robertson have more than met the challenge of establishing a winery. They have carved out their own slice of heaven — a beautiful estate, luscious wine, and three striking daughters. As their motto succinctly puts it, “Come hell or high water, still out West!”