As 2020 was drawing to a close, I think many of us were thinking about things we wanted to do once we were "allowed" to do think again. Call it a bucket list, if you'd like, but I know we all have places we dream of going and things we'd love to see...we have people we want to adventure with and things that we want to do just for us. I do believe that our time in lockdown gave us the space to really thing about these dreams, and flesh the ideas out in our heads.
Late 2020...or maybe it was early 2021? Anyway, I was spending an evening with my friend Kristi. We were most likely sharing a bottle of wine at one of our favorite restaurants. Somehow, we got on the subject of bucket list experiences. She expressed to me that for as much as she loved wine, she had never been to a winery (or if she had it was shortly after college, in Australia). "Would you be interested in going to a winery with me someday?" Of course, my answer was "YES"! We live in Montana, so that definitely wasn't something we could do locally.
Having never travelled with her, I was aware that things could become challenging. But I really wasn't worried since we're both pretty easy-going. And since I was more familiar with wine regions in the US, she let me take the lead in creating this magical adventure. It's funny that I ended up in that role, though, since I very rarely get the privilege of creating trips - and I was so excited to make this trip an unforgettable one for Kristi.
Given that travel hadn't completely opened up across the country, at that time, it took a while to figure out the best options - someplace that wouldn't require too much time off, a place we could easily travel to, a location that had enough businesses and restaurants open so that we could explore and enjoy. We decided on a weekend getaway in August. Where to, though? Napa Valley, Oregon, Texas...none of them felt like the perfect combination of everything we desired for this trip. And then my aunt mentioned that she'd been hearing good things about Idaho's wine region. Wait...IDAHO has wineries?! That was definitely news to me! Honestly, I thought the winters would be too cold to sustain the vines. Apparently, I was mistaken. The Snake River Valley (outside of Boise) has some incredible wineries, as we were about to find out.
First things first...finding the perfect accommodation for this trip. I knew I didn't want a hotel room. Airbnb had some good options, but none felt quite right. And then I stumble upon something new to the area: GLAMPING! Sawtooth Winery joined up with Eco-Camps to set up glamping tents in the middle of their vineyards. PERFECT! I knew that would be a winery experience we probably couldn't repeat easily. We reserved a tent with two beds and our own bathroom. The sunset views ended up being amazing.
Next thing to figure out...what wineries do we want to tour? How many can we actually do in a day? Will it work for one of us to be the driver, or will that limit the potential experiences? After doing some research, I found Sunshine Wine Tours, which ended up creating the perfect day for us. Angie picked us up at Sawtooth Winery late morning. We ended up having a mother/daughter duo join us for the day, too. And then we didn't have to worry about anything else for the whole day! Angie took us to four very unique wineries, provided us with bottled water all day and a charcuterie board at one of the stops.
The Hat Ranch was our first stop, if I remember correctly. The wine tasting was lovely, but I didn't buy any bottles to take home. What was most memorable about that winery is they have all kinds of hats on every single fence post we saw. So fun! I don't remember the name of the second winery we went to - it obviously wasn't a favorite for me.
The third stop was such a cool place! Scoria Vineyard. They have planted vines along an extinct volcano - so their wine has a very different taste because of the volcanic scoria rock. The tasting room vibe is cave-like/industrial. We enjoyed our charcuterie board snack while tasting a lovely collection of wines. Their dry rose and their Malbec wines are still some of my favorites. I tried to have some wine shipped home, but apparently Montana has some strict rules for sending wine. Kristi and I ended up buying a few bottles each and bringing them home in an airline box (Alaska Airlines checks wine for no additional charge!!!).
Our final stop was the most fun. Fujishin Family Cellars. Whether it's something they always do, or we just got lucky, I'm not sure...but they had chocolates that they paired with our wine tasting! After a day of traditional dry or heavy wines, I decided to to a flight of their sweet wines...and they are so good! (Trying to research names and details, it looks like the wines I enjoyed are now under the name of "Free Dog Wines".). We also took a couple bottles home from this winery.
Breakfast the next morning had us at The Orchard House Restaurant. This is a MUST, if you're in the area! Large portions, comfort food and fabulous bakery items made it hard to decide what options to choose. I definitely want to go back to experience more of their offerings. After filling up there, we ended up doing a mimosa flight at Sawtooth Winery before checking out of our glamping experience. It was lovely to sit on their patio, overlooking the tents and surrounding vineyards, enjoying the nice breeze before the heat of the day set in.
It's amazing what you can accomplish and experience in one weekend. And we didn't even have to go that far from home - just a short flight from Bozeman to Boise. It's just proof that an epic vacation doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive, and can be catered to whatever you desire. Little did I know that this whole process, and the quality time that Kristi and I had together, would solidify our friendship and encourage us to do more adventures together in the following years.
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