Idaho: Small but growing wine industry making a splash

(IdahoPress) - Idaho’s agricultural heritage goes back to the days of its earliest settlers. But in the past several years, local growers have discovered a whole new way to make money — agritourism.

Visitors come to sample one of Idaho’s newest agricultural industries: wine making. Although the first Idaho wineries appeared in the mid 1800s, they vanished during Prohibition and didn’t return until the 1970s.

While the Idaho wine making industry remains small compared to other western states, it’s growing. And it’s attracting wine connoisseurs from throughout the nation. That brings money not only to wineries and vineyards, but to hotels, restaurants and rental car companies. And, Idaho Wine Commission President Moya Shatz Dolsby said, they often leave impressed — even wine tasters from states with large, well-established wine making industries.

“I think they’re surprised that they’re impressed,” she said.

Today, reporter John Funk talks to local wine industry experts about the region’s latest agribusiness venture.

Wine industry gains momentum

The best tours are tailored to the tastes of each tour group, Winery Seekers Wine Tours owner Kathy Johnson said. It’s best to start the uninitiated out on milder, beginner-friendly wines, but more experienced connoisseurs will prefer something more advanced and complex.

Some like whites, some like reds. And the beauty of the Treasure Valley is that it has a little bit of everything all nestled into a relatively small, easily-accessible area.

Many start small, Johnson said. But what starts as a hobby can turn into a business.