2023 Harvest Wrap up

grapes on grapevines with yellow leaves, backlight by sunlight

With roughly 310 tons of grapes, this was our largest grape harvest ever to date!! We experienced a compressed harvest, meaning that there was a lot of grapes to harvest and everything became ripe and ready to pick, basically at the same time. This compressed harvest was caused by a cool, wet spring that delayed bud break by 10 – 14 days. The vineyards were delayed again when we had 20 days of temperatures over 100°, causing the vines to go into “survival mode” versus expending energy to ripen.

This year also marks the latest start date to harvest on our records. Luckily, the weather held through the end of October. We didn’t feel a killing frost until end of October but this was late enough and it stayed cold enough that it helped to dehydrate the grapes and concentrate the sugars in the grape berries.

Since everything was ready to pick all at once, we ended up machine picking all our white grapes, something we have never done before. We are excited to see how this will translate into the glass. Especially the Grüner Veltliner, which will hopefully be ready to bottle by June or July of 2023. We will also be patiently waiting to see how a few red grapes will do. The 2022 vintage will be a first for our Petite Verdot and Tempranillo, but we will have to patiently wait until spring or summer of 2024 for these wines.

Cheers and Happy Sipping!

Women in Wine article with Beverly

Beverly had the opportunity to visit with Paige Comrie this summer. Paige is a wine lover with a passion to connect other wine lovers with great wines from across the world. She choses wines that range from delicious & affordable Tuesday night picks to high-end limited edition releases that are truly something to celebrate. She wants to share not just the wines with her followers but the stories of the folks that make those wines.

Find the entire article here: Women in Wine: Beverly Williamson

Soup Contest Winners

Soups Galore!

During our Fall Barrel Tasting Weekend which happened this last Thanksgiving weekend we held our annual soup contest. Our guests took on the responsibility of tasting and voting on their favorite soup. The judges haven spoken, and we found our Soup Savant on each day. They have graciously offered that we share their winning recipes. You can find the results and the recipes below.

FRIDAY

Friday’s competition was dominated by the talented Cheryl Bell!
Cheryl submitted Black Bean & Hominy Soup. This spicy Tex–Mex inspired dish was killer with a nice Cabernet (especially if you were lucky enough to get some of the 2020 Reserve Cabernet from the barrel). 		 Black Bean & Hominy Soup
Ingredients:
16 ounces ground chorizo
2 cans (15 oz) beef broth
2 cans (15 oz) black beans
1 can (15 oz) hominy
1 can (15 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 cup shredded potato
1 cup chopped onions
1 can (4 oz) green chili peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder

Instructions:
Brown the chorizo in a large stock pot. Add the beef broth, onion, and potato. Drain and add the black beans and hominy. Add the tomatoes and green chilies. Add the chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 40 minutes.

Serves 12

 For a printable copy: Black Bean and Hominy Soup

 

SATURDAY

Saturday’s favorite soup was made by the amazing Cathy Rogers!

Cathy created a Loaded Mushroom soup that was simply to die for! This creamy dish of comfort paired nicely with the 2020 Malbec.  Mmm mmm good!		 Loaded Mushroom Soup
Ingredients:
½ pound bacon, chopped
½ pound mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth
2 potatoes, cut into julienne strips
1 large carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream, optional
1 tbs cornstarch, optional

Instructions:
Fry bacon over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook till onions are limp. Add the next five ingredients. If using whipping cream and cornstarch, blend those together and add at same time. Bring to a boil. Simmer till carrots and potatoes are cooked, about 2 minutes. (Note: soup was not made with the whipping cream and cornstarch for this recipe contest.)

Serves 4-6

 

 

For a printable copy: Loaded Mushroom Soup

Finally, we want to send out a great big thank you to all the contestants who participated in our soup contest. We love how giving and fun our wine community is! If you didn’t get a chance to submit or sip this year we hope you remember to join us next year at our Fall Barrel Tasting Weekend!

Wine Club Member Spotlight

Williamson Vineyards is thankful for the loyal support of our wine club! This next year we are going to share a little about a few of our most supportive members. We can’t do what we do without our amazing wine club ambassadors. Cheers!

Two of our most amazing wine club ambassadors ever, are Karen Bowles and Susan Daly! This sweet set of sisters have been members of our wine club for 9-10 years! Karen and Susan host a wine gathering every year, often featuring an Idaho winery. These classy ladies don’t just throw any wine soirée! They turn it into a fun and educational gathering with different themes, where they share some of their favorite wines with their friends.

Susan told us some fun facts: ” I put the wines in groups on my dining room table to include the reds, red blends, dry whites, sweets, verticals. In the middle of the table I made a copy of the importance of the windmill that was on the back of one of your wine labels, I purchased a mini steel windmill, and a copy of the Williamson logo”, “We had 3 vertical tastings. The 2018 and 2019 Riesling. The 2018 and 2019 windmill red. I think, the 3rd vertical was the 2018 and the 2019 Malbec”

These amazing wine club members have obviously been planning this for a while, and we were honored to find out that their latest epic wine party featured all Williamson Vineyards wines!! Thank you Karen and Susan for making Williamson’s wines a part of your annual tradition.

*We would have loved a picture of them together, but one of our ladies was always taking pictures!

Wine Time Fridays Podcast

This northwest based podcast is hosted by Shelley Webb and Phil Anderson, who have been drinking wine together for over 15 years. They discuss their week over a glass of wine, giving their feedback, food pairing options and opinions.

These crazy kids magically found a bottle of wine that we have been sold out of for years! Their casual banter about our long lost rosé is light and fun. Tune in between minute 4:25 and 11:55 to get their take on a classic Williamson wine.

Wines tasted this episode:
2016 Williamson Vineyard Blossom Rosé of Sangiovese

Idaho Wine Month Episode #1 – Wine Time Fridays Podcast


one bottle red wine and one bottle white wine next to wine barrel

Idaho Wine Competition 2022

We are thrilled to have two of our favorite wines as gold medal winners at this year’s Idaho Wine Competition. If you haven’t had the opportunity to taste our Sangiovese and Albariño, what are you waiting for?

one bottle white wine and one bottle red wine against a tree backdrop

2021 Albariño won Double Gold and our 2019 Sangiovese won a Gold. Check out more detail at our webstore here: Williamson Vineyards wine shop

If you’re interested in more  information about this year’s Idaho Wine Competition, head over to their website here: Idaho Wine Competition

Available for purchase in our tasting room or via our webstore. Psst! Wine club members – remember to sign into your account to receive your special discount.

Wine Club Member Spotlight

Williamson Vineyards is thankful for the loyal support of our wine club! This next year we are going to share a little about a few of our most supportive members. We can’t do what we do without our amazing wine club ambassadors. Cheers!

Dan and Candi Puga
This cute couple has been in the Sunnyslope area and have known each other since kindergarten! They have raised a beautiful family and are very active in the local community. They have been members at Williamson’s for roughly 10 years!

 How did you find Williamson Orchards & Vineyards? The current Williamson siblings were a few years younger than us in school and we also attended church with the family. One day around our 20th anniversary, we took a drive around Sunnyslope area, and were pleasantly surprised that wineries were popping up all around the area. Going to the wineries has became a weekend date tradition.

Why did you become a member? I’m not exactly sure our joining date, but it was one of our early memberships. The picture (above on left) in front of the old fruitstand shed and tasting room was May of 2015, a beautiful Mother’s Day. We later used that picture for our 25th wedding party invite!

Tell us about some of your experiences at Williamson’s. We appreciate the welcoming service even during the difficult season of covid. To this day, Williamson’s is one of our favorite stops along the Sunnyslope wine trail and we love the new conveniently located tasting room.

What are some of your favorite wines? Williamson’s provides a wide variety of wines that we both enjoy and love. Dan tends to taste the reds and I stick with the rosés or whites. Some of our favorite wines include Sangiovese, Red Blends, Petite Sirah, Dry Riesling, Blossom, and Lilly White.

Yummy Quick Pizza Bites

Why not put that amazing air fryer you have to good use by making a crispy and delightful treat? We think pizza is a food group all on its own and deserves to be eaten as a snack, appetizer, or dinner. Use this recipe as a template and substitute your favorite pizza toppings. Pineapple & ham would be delicious paired with Albariño, Riesling, or Harvest Moon Red. Maybe you have a bottle of Cabernet or Homestead Red, then make your topping pepperoni. Have fun and explore some new wine and pizza pairings. Cheers!

Air Fryer Pizza Bites

  • 2 sheets frozen puff pastry- thawed overnight in refrigerator
  • 1/4 cup pizza sauce (more to taste, but not enough to be soggy)
  • 3.5 oz. shredded ham
  • 8 oz. can pineapple chunks in juice, well drained
  • 2/3 cup shredded pizza cheese
  • Quantities are guidelines, you might want more or less of each ingredient.

Preheat your airfryer to 350°F. Spray the basket of your air fryer with non stick cooking spray. Use a 3in. round cutter to cut 9 discs from each pastry sheet. Or  if you don’t want to waste any pastry, cut into small squares with a sharp knife. Place on prepared basket/tray. Spread evenly with pizza sauce. Top with ham, pineapple and cheese.

Bake for 10 – 15 mins or until cheese melts and base is crisp.

Pro Tip: make sure all your topping ingredients are already cooked before putting them on the puff pastry to prevent a soggy crust.
Enjoy!

Alaska Airlines lets Idaho Wine Fly Free

Great deal for taking wine on Alaska Airlines


The Idaho Wine Commission has brokered a terrific partnership with Alaska Airlines. You may have heard that Alaska Airlines has agreed to allow their Mileage Plan™ members, to check a case of Idaho wines at no additional cost.

They have now added another bonus which Williamson Vineyards is participating in:

When consumers show their Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan membership and in-bound boarding pass (paper or digital) to winery tasting room staff, they receive one complimentary tasting at that location.
The Idaho Wine Commission has more details, click here.

2020 Albariño Receives Double Platinum

We have received a wonderful acknowledgement of our delicious 2020 Albariño with a Double Platinum from Great Northwest Wine. It’s available for purchase right now, check out the webstore here for more details. Of course, we love to see you in the tasting room too! If you’re interested in what Great Northwest Wine has to say about our award winning Albariño, check out their details here.