Caldwell-From Sunnyslope, Idaho’s wine country, there are vineyards far as the eye can see. With perfect weather all summer, the vines are thick with ripening grapes, but it's not quite ready for harvest.
Moya Shatz-Dolby of the Idaho Wine Commission says the crop is looking good.
"We've had good weather. We were nervous with all the rain we had early, but so far I think it's going to be a very good harvest," said Dolby. Grapes are starting to come in, and growers are just starting to pick and it's all coming down at once."
At Koenig Winery, the very first rieslings are ready for harvest, some rows are harvested, crushed and bottled and overall this could be a good year, despite a late start.
"So we're sitting on about 3-thousand tons this year, give or take a few hundred tons. But as you know, anything can happen. We can still have hail or a freeze anything is possible right now;" said Dolby.
Grape growers start harvesting here in Idaho by mid-September, with only a smattering of late varieties still on the vine late into the fall into December, some of those grapes will be used to make ice wines.
"See that riesling block right there?" said James Nederend of Koenig Winery. "We will wait and pick it in late October, November, and December for our ice wine."
Idaho growers usually harvest between 25 to 29-hundred tons…in what’s shaping up into another great year for ?Idaho’s wine industry.
