Skiers, fly-fishers and outdoor sports enthusiasts have long flocked to Idaho’s rugged mountains and desert plateaus, but in recent years, the Gem State is burgeoning into a hotspot for enophiles. Officially becoming an AVA in 2007, the Snake River Valley is home to a plethora of grape varieties, from late-ripening reds to cold-loving whites. In fact, the Snake River Valley lies on the same latitude as the Rhône and, like its French counterpart, the terroir is suited to Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. GSM styles (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre blends) are popular throughout the Snake River Valley and are the flagship styles of celebrated wineries like Telaya, Cinder and Split Rail. Tempranillo, a grape originally from warm-climate regions of Spain, also finds a happy home in the arid high-altitude plateaus of southern Idaho. And that high altitude, which can bring extremely cold nights to the AVA, means white wine grapes like Riesling, Viognier and Chardonnay thrive as well. Nestled in the Sawtooths, a cordillera of the Rockies, the Snake River Valley cuts across southern Idaho and a sliver of eastern Oregon. Roughly 12 million years ago, volcanic activity latticed the Snake River Valley with veins of lava, a cindery sublayer later exposed by floodwaters that rushed through the valley at the end of the last Ice Age. The resultant dark, loamy soil brings forth grapes that produce wines defined by pronounced minerality, assertive tannins and intense flavors. While the Snake River Valley is one of the nation’s newest AVAs, it has nurtured Vitis vinifera since the 1800s. Viticulture in Idaho boomed after the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, a legislation granting tracts of land to farmers in sparsely populated western territories. Later, in the early 1900s, waves of Basque immigrants lured by lush sheep-herding pastures settled in Idaho, bringing Spanish vines like Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache). For Riley Gorman, a Basque American enologist at Cinder Wines, the Snake River Valley connects him to his ancestral homeland 5,000 miles away: “Working with varieties like Tempranillo, grapes my forefathers pioneered, has been an honor; I know I am making them proud.” Exceptional within American viticulture, Idaho is still home to own-rooted vines, those not grafted onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock. Winters in Idaho are cold enough to kill the root-ravaging pest, allowing the vines’ natural roots to nourish the fruit. Melanie Krause, Cinder Wine’s head winemaker, is particularly vocal about the boons of vines grown on natural roots: “Vines that are own-rooted allow for the fullest expression of the variety and optimal ripening vintage after vintage.” Though Idaho wines have yet to receive the acclaim of some other West Coast AVAs, Snake River Valley vintners see a bright future for these high-altitude, cold-climate grapes. Gorman is convinced that the region’s wines will continue to improve in the coming years as winemakers refine the varieties best suited to the AVA’s climate and terroir. “We’re focused on removing suboptimal cultivars, plantings that date back to Prohibition in many cases, and replacing them with ones that adapt better to our high-desert climate, a process that promises to improve selection and quality.” Quick Facts: Total Area: 8,000 square miles Planted Acreage: 1,300 Most Planted Red Wine Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon Most Planted White Wine Grape: Riesling Climate: high desert, continental Number of Wineries: 75 Fun Fact: Idaho has the largest Basque community outside the Pyrenees, and many SRV vintners are proud Basque Americans. This article originally appeared in the May 2023 issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!