11/12/08 Idaho wine grape harvest

Ron Bitner and the other southwestern Idaho wine grape growers have harvested this year's crop. BITNER "Got nervous during the summer if we would have enough heat units to get our reds done, then we had October 10th or so there was a pretty hard freeze in the valley but our vineyards are all along the south facing slopes and escaped all of that. I think the long hang time and milder summer, the berry flavors are really delicious this year so that usually translates to really good wines." Bitner Vineyards near Caldwell is one of 65 wine grape growers in an area stretching from eastern Oregon to Glenns Ferry to make up the Snake River Valley Appellation. There are 30 wineries in Idaho today and Bitner says the industry growth continues. He's also involved in a partnership on a new enterprise. BITNER "The Sunnyslope Food and Wine Company. We crushed about 160 tons of grapes in that facility. Just finished there. Right now I've got it leased to seven wineries. There will be seven labels come out of there next year, almost twelve thousand cases." Somewhere between 16 hundred and 18 hundred acres are now dedicated to growing Idaho wine grapes. Even with a sluggish economy Bitner says there has not been a drop off in sales so far. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott