The arid Snake River Valley is a perfect storm for caliche formation. Our occasional late summer afternoon thunderstorms leach the upper soil horizons of calcium carbonate but the warmth of the summer afternoon dries the soil quickly, leaving the calcium carbonate to precipitate further down under the top layers of soil. Over time this creates a calcium carbonate rich zone, or caliche, a few feet below the surface. Both limestone and caliche are composed primarily of calcium carbonate, in fact the rocks are chemically identical, the only difference being the formation process of the two.

Can you guess where these photos were taken? Make a guess then scroll your mouse over the photo to see the answer.

Why is no one else growing Pinot Noir in the Snake River Valley then? If the area is such a high caliche producer, shouldn’t Pinot Noir be a great fit for any vineyard in the valley? Not necessarily! In the late Pleistocene (~15,000 years ago) the great Bonneville flood came ripping through the Snake River basin, ripping away any current soil and leaving a mix of sand and gravel in it’s wake. This means that the caliche has had less than 15,000 years to form anywhere the Bonneville flood came though as opposed to nearly a million years in the areas above the flood zone. While a sand and gravel soil is great for growing grapes like Malbec, Viognier and Tempranillo, it is not the best for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The difference is amazing too. Soil samples show that the calcium carbonate content of the soil in the Sunny Slope area is in a range of 5-10%, while on the higher ground near Kuna Butte it reaches levels up to and sometimes above 40%!

While we don’t have the exact soil conditions of the Burgundy region, we do know that we have something special. Just as the Napa Valley makes Napa Valley Cabernet, not Bordeaux, we are producing our own unique Snake River Valley Pinot Noir, not red Burgundy.

As many of you know, we love our tees and longsleeves, and especially adorned with a cool design! Tammy is turning the design over to YOU this time with our very first ever, t-shirt design contest. The artist of the winning design will win 6 bottles of wine, their name featured on the shirt, and one of the shirts that they designed!

Everyone and anyone is invited to submit your design, from amateurs to pros!

Rules:

· All entries must be submitted by November 22nd, 2011. Judging will then take place during our After Thanksgiving Weekend Open House and selected by winery visitors’ votes.

· The design is limited to one ink, and we will select the ink color to go on Alternative Apparel longsleeve shirts. For the submission, please have the design in black.

· The design cannot be wider than 12″ and longer than 12″

· The design must incorporate our logo.

· Send entries to: tammystowe@gmail.com (limit of 10 MB files)

Good luck and have fun!

It is most likely without a doubt you’ve run into Tom McKinstry, a.k.a. Tommy Boy, either here at the winery or running around town in his hot red Indian Creek Winery truck and at many Business After Hours, Chamber and community events. After over a decade of working here at Indian Creek Winery, Tom has retired the heavy case lifting and constant delivering & running around that his sales position brought forth. Tom will be missed here at the winery but with how active he is in the Meridian community, always lending a helping hand for others, we know we’ll see him around town. Thank you Tom for putting up with our sometimes chaotic business model and enjoy your retirement!

The guys doing what they do best, drinking wine and sharing jokes.

Tom, will you be taking up a new career? Watch out John Travolta, here comes Tom!

Tom, I thought this was a pinky-swear to never retire?!?

Tom bringing home all the medals!

The big red truck!

Trusty old white sign my dad made. Photo by Kenneth James.

After carving comes the painting.

Quite a color difference.

Dahlia approves.

Howdy!

Happy Father’s Day!

Dale the grill-master, hard at work. Thanks Dale!!!

Happy Pappy Bill and Jackie

Hello Bonnie, Cheryl and Bob!

The Hokum Hi-Flyers were fantastic! Got the kiddies dancing!

Peekaboo!

Congrats Daddy Jay!

Mike looks so ‘bubbly’ in his blingy apron!

Darcy and Darlene with Darcy’s Catering – this is the dynamic duo who makes the wine jellies that we sell here in the tasting room.

SuNsHiNe!

1987 Pinot Noir (our very FIRST pinot noir!)  · 1992 · 1997 · 2000 Reserve · 2002 · 2005 · 2008 · BARREL SAMPLE of 2010

We provided delicious appetizers, cheese and dessert…yummy pinot pairings!

most photos taken by Laura Wester, edited by Tammy.

The lineup:

Strawberry puree, greek honey yogurt, mint.

Doc Ocker cleans up nicely. From muddy jeans on the tractor to nice black jacket, wow!

The Ockers own Kuna Butte Vineyards, 2 miles south of us…where we source more pinot noir grapes.

Now where’s that Dawson Taylor coffee???

Gorski sharing some ICW stories from back in the day…

QUINOA! (with bacon, sauteed morels w/shallots, bell pepper, mangoes, and green onions) photo by Bob Young

Check out Bob and Robin Young’s post on the event here:

Here are some photos I took while picking up the cheese today:

Come on out this weekend to try their artisan cheeses! Cheers!

-Tammy

Here are some photos from the weekend – and here is a link to our Facebook Page with the entire album of Valentine’s shots!