Urban Wine Tour
We all love spending a day out in our wine country, driving winding roads surrounded by vines and orchards, and leisurely sipping away on wines in the great outdoors. And, while we love wine country, sometimes the drive back after a full day of tasting can be less than exciting. So, we’ll let you in on a little secret: Are you ready? You can get to a tasting room from Boise in less than 10 minutes, or even without a car at all! Downtown Boise and Garden City are home to quite a few tasting rooms-all listed below. Next time you are thinking of going on a wine tour, skip the long haul and venture upon an urban wine tour!
Downtown Boise
Fraser has their vineyard off Homedale Road near the Sunnyslope Region, but their cellar and tasting room are in Downtown Boise, located across from BSU. Fraser is open Saturdays from 12-5. In 2011, they were voted Idaho Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest. Fraser has just released their 2010 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 Washington Malbec, and 2011 Tempranillo. “The Cabernet is extra special this year as it was in French, Hungarian, and American barrels for two years, bottled and cellared for eight months before release. The Washington Malbec is wonderful and just won a gold medal at the Great NW Wine Competition- it was just released and is selling fast!” We can tell you their Cabernet is one you MUST try.
Mouvance (French for “Circle of Influence”) just recently opened a new tasting room in Downtown Boise on Grove St in the Linen District. Mouvance is open Thursday-Saturday from 11-6pm and their vineyard is located in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The owners lived in Boise and continued to travel between states, finally settling on fermenting and opening a tasting room in Boise; lucky us! Mouvance is a great representation of the excellence of Oregon Pinot Noirs.
Snake River Winery
Snake River Winery is located in the BODO District of Downtown Boise. The Snake River Winery tasting room is open Tuesday-Sunday. Their tasting room’s location makes it a great place to stop before or after a movie or day of shopping. Not only can you taste their wines in the tasting room, but they have a great selection of fun wine gifts for all the wine lovers in your life. Their vineyard known as the Arena Valley Vineyard, is located on a beautiful slope along the Snake River.
Garden City
44th St. Wineries
A stone’s throw away from Boise, the 44th St. Wineries in Garden City are the epitome of an urban winery setting. Cinder , Telaya Wine Co., Coiled, and House of Wine have turned a once old industrial building in a chic industrial winery location. In this single stop, visitors can try all three wineries and learn a bit about wine from us! All three wineries have fantastic wine options and tasting room staff that are knowledgeable and friendly. We guarantee you will have a good time when you stop by the 44th St. Wineries.
Syringa and Split Rail Winery are just down the road from the 44th St. winery collective. They are open Thursday-Saturday from 12-7pm. Syringa’s name was taken from the Idaho state flower and the owner’s lovely niece. Syringa is a small production winery that focuses on unfiltered and unfined wine, paying special attention to each wine that they produce. Split Rail is small production, around 300 cases, which has a strong “belief in supporting local agriculture and creating local products, exploring new wines and creating new wine styles.” They are one of the few wineries in Idaho to produce a Mourvédre, so make sure to stop a give it a try.