Viticulture in Idaho

Idaho
Official name:	State of Idaho
Appellation type:	State
Year of establishment:	1890
Viticulture tradition since:	the 1860s
Country:	United States
Sub-regions:	Snake River Valley AVA
Recognized cultivation area:	216,632 km² (83,642 sq mi )
Grape varieties:	Cabernet Franc , Cabernet Sauvignon , Chardonnay , Gewürztraminer , Lemberger , Malbec , Merlot , Muscat Canelli , Orange Muscat , Petit Verdot , Pinot Gris , Pinot Noir , Riesling , Roussanne , Sauvignon Blanc , Sémillon , Syrah , Viognier , Zinfandel , Zweigelt
Number of wineries:	32

Viticulture in Idaho refers to viticulture in the American state of Idaho . Under US law, every state and county is by definition a protected designation of origin and does not need to be recognized as such by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives .

After phylloxera , powdery mildew ( powdery mildew and downy mildew of the grapevine ) and later the economic crisis hit winemakers, as almost everywhere in the United States, viticulture came to a standstill, despite a winemaking history since the 1860s, at the latest due to alcohol prohibition . Viticulture has been in a boom since the 1970s.

Idaho has a semi-continental climate with a distinct maritime character. However, winters with temperatures well below zero degrees Celsius have been rather rare since the 1970s. In contrast, the summers - especially in the south of the state - are warm. Especially in summer, the temperature differences between day and night are very pronounced. These temperature differences are beneficial for good wine quality. The vineyards are mostly at an altitude of 450 to 500 m above sea level. the sea and are spread over slopes at the foot of the Rocky Mountains .

After early-ripening varieties were chosen at the beginning of the new beginning with the grape varieties Riesling , Chenin Blanc , Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer , the winemakers are currently focusing more on planting the French grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot and Syrah , which are at home in the warmer growing regions of Bordeaux and Rhône .

In 2006 a planted vineyard area of ​​490 hectares was raised. This corresponded to an increase of 85 percent compared to 1999.

See also

• Viticulture in the United States

literature

• André Dominé (Ed.): Wine . Tandem Verlag, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-8331-4344-1 .
• Bruce Cass, Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Companion to the Wine of North America . Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2000, ISBN 0-19-860114-X .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Appellation America (2008). "Idaho: Appellation Description" . Last view of this page on December 31, 2008
2. ↑ Publication of the United States Department of Agriculture (PDF; 798 kB) ( Memento from November 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )