06/15/07 Idaho Wine Part 2

Idaho Wine Part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Yesterday I introduced you to Sherise Jones, the new Executive Director for the Idaho Wine Commission. While the Idaho wine industry pales in comparison to the Washington, Oregon & California industries, Jones says the first Idaho AVA is nothing to sneeze at. JONES: This is Idaho's first AVA and as a matter of fact it's the newest in the country and it is the largest in the country. It exceeds the size of Rhode Island. The new Snake River Valley AVA has a very diverse grape selection. JONES: We do have quite a variety which is very interesting because some AVA's are predominately one type of grape. We do have a large amount of Riesling wine that comes out of Idaho  however, we do have in terms of white  chardonnay and gewürztraminer; with the reds  cabernet sauvignon  there's even a pinot noir in Idaho which a lot of people did not know. While Washington State just added their 500th winery, Idaho only has 33 wineries and Jones says they are hoping to update their acreage information. JONES: We're doing an acreage survey because the last one that was done  in terms of vineyards was done in 2004 so we're trying to update that. It's anticipated that there's about 16-hundred acres if vineyards but we're trying to get some more solid numbers on that. One thing is for sure, the Northwest produces some of the best wines in the world. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.