Indian Creek Winery
Founded in 1982 by the late, great Bill Stowe—“the Grandfather of Idaho Wines”—and his wife Mui, Indian Creek Winery began the renaissance of the Idaho wine region after it had been shuttered by Prohibition. With years of hands-on research, dabbling in UC Davis Viticulture & Enology classes, callused hands, extreme weather events, and many wine-inspired late nights, their pioneering dream of planting a vineyard and making wine in Idaho came true. And the honors and awards soon followed. In 1990 the San Diego Wine Competition named the 1988 Stowe Vineyard Pinot Noir “Best Red” out of 1,000 entries. More gold medals followed and Indian Creek started widening their portfolio and planting more varietals.
Bill and Mui’s daughter, Tammy Stowe McClure, and her husband, Mike McClure, have carried on the dream of growing uniquely-Idaho Estate vines in an organic and sustainable manner and crafting acid-driven, food-friendly wines from the heart of Idaho’s Snake River Valley AVA. Tammy is the Winery Manager and, putting her B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Idaho to use, designs Indian Creek’s wine labels. In fact, she was awarded first place at the Denver International Wine Label Competition. After intensively studying under Bill the process of grape-growing, harvesting, and winemaking, Mike took over as Winemaker in 2006 and the honors followed, consistently taking home gold medals from several wine competitions and being honored “Idaho Winery of the Year” in Wine Press Northwest’s Spring 2008 Edition. Mike believes that, while the art of winemaking is enjoyable and a craft, the wine is actually made in the vineyard. The difference in oak, aging, fermentation vessels, etc. isn’t as important as the daily vineyard decisions on the final wine.
Their 20-acre estate vineyard—Stowe Vineyard—is on their unique caliche soils. It sits at an elevation of 2,700 feet in a climate of four seasons, with an average of 12" rainfall each year. The large diurnal ranges between warmer daytime temperatures, that help foster sugar development, and cool nights, to help preserve the acidity, make for fresh, well-balanced wines.
Indian Creek Winery’s releases include Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Rosé, Viognier, and White Pinot Noir, along with small-lot wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Moscato, Malbec, and their Ruby Dahlia Port. Visit their (Mui’s!) Shangri-la gardens and eclectic winery in Kuna, located only 30 minutes from Boise. If you can’t get there in person, then join their tight-knit wine club; they offer shipping online to 41 states.
Learn more about Indian Creek Winery, purchase their wine, and follow them here:
@indiancreekwinery
