Snake River Winery

Located in BoDo (Boise’s trendy downtown district), the Snake River Winery tasting room is the perfect place to go before or after dinner or a movie. Situated across the street from the Bonefish Grill and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, this hidden gem of a tasting room is often an unexpected but welcomed discovery by many visitors to this nightlife.

The brainchild of owners Scott and Susan DeSeelhorst, the tasting room features a broad assortment of wine-related gifts and a generous portfolio of complimentary wines to sample. Knowledgeable pouring staff escorts visitors through an international cavalcade of wines, including varietals from France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Portugal — truly a United Nations of wines! There’s sure to be a wine to please every palate, but whatever your particular penchant, be sure to sample the Austrian-derived Zweigelt red wine. This hearty grape (actually a hybrid of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent varietals) does well in frost-prone regions such as Idaho.

Perhaps the real story behind Snake River Winery, however, is the 75-acre Arena Valley Vineyard, owned by Scott and Susan, and located in southwest Idaho’s Snake River AVA. The DeSeelhorsts apply organic methods to culture exquisite fruit for themselves and other wineries. They know every acre of this cobblestoned property and, as part of their canopy management program, train every shoot and prune each vine. The result is intensely flavored grapes, and, I am sure, some great summer tans.

Although many winemakers start their careers by earning college degrees in enology and viticulture, Scott’s background is in the restaurant business. He’s a culinary guy by trade, and thus it’s only natural that his interest in pairing food with great wine led him to make wine. As he states on his website, “I treat winemaking like cooking. You start with raw ingredients, combine them in a particular manner, cook or finish the dish, and present the finished product. The key to cooking and winemaking is using the best ingredients, and with wine, of course, that means the grapes.”

If you’re seeking some food-friendly wine and like a good value (who doesn’t?), plan on picking up a bottle (or two) of Snake River Winery’s SGM Rhône-style blend of syrah, grenache and mourvedre. At about $18 a bottle, this wonderfully approachable wine is the perfect accompaniment to spicy dishes such as baby back ribs fresh off the barbie. Yummy!