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VINEYARD NORTHWEST WATCH C o n t i n u e d for 15 acres of riesling, syrah and cabernet. We had a little extra that went to Koenig Winery, and it went from there." Williamson now sells grapes to eight to 10 area wineries, which seems remarkable given the small scale of his vineyards. "We could easily grow our holding to 100 acres," he said," and I'd like to do that; it's a great site. But we need solid buyers. I want some custom- ers with scale." Business size has been a signifi- cant restraint on the development of the state's industry. Other than Ste. Chapelle, Idaho wine brands are very small. There are a few wineries producing 10,000 cases per year, and a handful at 4,000 to 5,000 cases, but the vast majority are tiny – 2,000 cases or less. They also are few in number – just 43 by the most recent official count. Three-quarters of them have set up shop in the last 10 years, and half of that group started in the last six years. NOVELTY FACTOR The number of growers, approxi- mately 50, is also small, and their collective total acreage hovers at around 1,600. The largest is Skyline Vineyard, owned by Washington state-based Winemakers LLC, and covers 400 acres; most of that fruit is devoted to Ste. Chapelle. The remaining vineyards are very small and often very new. been inevitable, given the estab- lishment of the Snake River Valley AVA, which put wine on the cul- tural radar map here at the same time that the "locavore" move- ment was taking off. Additionally, property development money was both available and cheap then, and barriers to entry were low. Good vineyard land remains available for $8,000 per acre. But the Lilliputian scale of busi- nesses and a dearth of industry experience are significant reasons why Idaho lacks an image as a wine GG WV Ad 11_GG WV Ad 1/01 11/29/11 4:25 PM Page 1 At 400 acres, Skyline Vineyard is the state's largest vineyard. WIREVISE® Trellis & Fence Wire Anchor Embossed jaws grip the wire as it is inserted and prevent it from being pulled out. The wire is retensionable with a pair of pliers or a claw hammer. For your nearest dealer, contact: Bitner Vineyards, for example, has just 15 acres of vines. But unlike most growers here, Ron Bitner has been in business since 1981. He's also a former chairman of the Winegrape Growers of Amer- ica, and has a broad perspective on the challenges of recent industry development. "Most of the newer growers Toll-Free: 877.552-4828 909.451.2299 • Fax: 909.593-8309 34 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JAN - FEB 2012 have three to five acres," Bitner said. "These are local Hewlett- Packard or Micron Technology people who had the property and thought it might be the sexy thing to do. Some of the sites are good, but some are not." He added, "These folks are amateurs, and you can find the same thing on the winemaking side." An influx of neophytes may have region. However, recent develop- ments bode well for the Idaho wine industry over the long term. TURNING POINTS One important goal for Wil - liamson, Bitner and other senior voices has been a dedicated edu- cational infrastructure. Newbies won't improve their work unless they have relevant training, so Trea- sure Valley Community College in Caldwell started a program three years ago. Initially it was one basic viticulture class, with 11 students. "But we have since expanded into a two-year associates degree," said Martin Fujishin, who teaches at TVCC while running Fujishin Family Cellars. "If plans go as we WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM