Lynsey Amundson of Idaho 6 News sat down with Beverly and asked about the family’s 112 year history of growing fruit and farming in the Sunnyslope area of Caldwell. Check out the video and article here: After four generations, Williamson Orchards and Vineyards now handcrafting award-winning wine
Stacy Slinkard of Decanter wrote a glowing article about Idaho Wine in both value and atmosphere. In the article, readers are reminded that we are “sharing a similar latitude with Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France”. Must be one of the reasons why the Syrah & Cabernet taste so good!
Read the full article here: Idaho wine: fresh, fruit-forward and great value.
A tasting by Wine Press Northwest of fortified wines from Washington, Oregon and Idaho was held in Summer of 2020. There were 48 Northwest producers that participated in their first large-scale judging of fortifieds since 2015, and they combined for 67 entries. Our delicious Doce rated well with their “outstanding” designation. We’ve attached their tasting notes and linked here to their full article.
Syrah remains a go-to grape for some of the Northwest’s top producers of fortified wines, and the multi-personality red Rhône grape thrives in Idaho, particularly in the hands of Greg Koenig, who crafted the Williamson family’s wines for nearly two decades. The nose of toffee, Saigon cinnamon, dried cherry and plum moves into darker flavors of cola and pomegranate syrup. There’s a pleasing bit of burn from the alcohol that’s smoothed out by the finish of Choward’s Violet candy and milk chocolate. The family of foodies at Williamson enjoy this with Black Forest Cake, blue cheese or walnuts.
A couple of the many things that farmers know about are patience and planning. With wine; grapes have to grow, be tended, harvested and then made into the finished product before there is any retail transaction. If farming was to stop, many of us would feel effects very quickly. The Idaho Press 
interviewed Mike Williamson and other wine industry leaders to get an idea of what effects the Covid-19 virus was having on both the wine growing and retail side of wine industry.
The Idaho Statesman’s Nicole Foy wrote an article about the 2019 season in Idaho’s wine region. During her reporting, she interviewed Mike Williamson and one thing that he relayed was that wine from grapes harvested before the freeze will have stronger fresh-fruit flavors, with a bit more acidity and brighter tones. The grapes harvested after the freeze likely will produce wine with mature fruit flavors and “jammy” notes. We will be tasting the white wines in a few months, in April or May. We won’t get to those red wines for a year or two at this point in time. Follow this link to the full story with The Idaho Statesman.
The Idaho Wine Commission hosted a Wine Industry Bootcamp on September 24th and 25th. The purpose of the bootcamp was to introduce local wine stewards, restaurant staff, media, and tourism agencies to Idaho wineries and educate them about the Snake River Valley AVA. The bootcamp started bright and early with a stop in our vineyard. We greeted the campers with croissants and a glass of Riesling. After a few moments of introduction, we plunged into the rows of grapes to talk about our growing practices and pick grapes. While Mike and Patrick discussed soils and brix levels, guests got to sip on 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon and the brand new 2016 Malbec. Click here for full article.
Savor Idaho was a great success, it seems to sell out earlier every year. We always have fun and enjoyed our experience this year too. We were pouring our Harvest Moon Red, Dry Riesling and Dry Rosé. The Boise Weekly was there and they loved our Harvest Moon Red! Click the link for their full article.
Pairing wine with turkey is a breeze. But finding one that also works with the myriad side dishes that crowd a typical Thanksgiving table can be a head-scratcher. You need something that’ll compliment the herbed stuffing without clashing with the marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, something that’ll stand up to the tart cranberry sauce while cutting through the creamy green bean casserole.
For maximum Thanksgiving pair-ability, experts recommend fruit-forward, low tannin wines with a fair amount of acidity. Which is good news, if you’re looking to drink local this Turkey Day. Idaho wineries have a range of excellent options—from dry rieslings to peppery Rhone-style red blends—that are sure to please those surrounding your Thanksgiving table. The following wines can be purchased from Boise Co-op Wine Shop at the price listed, or direct from the winery’s tasting room.