Idaho's Snake River Valley AVA application
wins Federal approval and becomes state's first appellation

A definite sign of Idaho's maturing wine and vineyard industry was the collaboration of wineries, viticulturists, USDA and academia to develop and submit an application to the US Department of the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for American Viticultural Area (AVA) status for Idaho's Snake River Valley.  On April 7, 2007, the Snake River appellation became official.  Boundaries of the newly authorized AVA spans southwest Idaho and significant parts of Baker and Malheur counties in eastern Oregon.

Collectively, the area is a massive 8,263 square miles or 5.27 million acres, about the size of New Jersey. Its boundaries make up the now dry, 4-million-year-old Lake Idaho, which extends 149 miles northwest to southeast, from the Oregon-Idaho state line to just west of Twin Falls, Idaho. The major Oregon cities include Ontario and Baker City. When the federal government approved Idaho's first American Viticultural Area – the Snake River Valley, it also is authorized Oregon's 16th AVA.

Most of Idaho's vineyards and wineries are located in this southwest portion of the state; the number of vineyards (46) do not compare with those of sister states, Oregon and Washington, but they have more than doubled in just the past five years.  Likewise, the number of Idaho wineries (23) in the area has increased significantly in the same five-year period.  Some of these wineries partner with eastern Washington vineyards for grape sourcing.  Currently there are no vineyards or wineries in the Oregon portion of the Snake River Valley AVA.

Appellation Facts: