September 8, 2017
CapitalPress.com
5
Winery sells unique refillable bottles to customers
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
Pend d’Oreille Winery
Pend d’Oreille Winery
Pend d’Oreille Winery was started by Steve and Julie Meyer 22
years ago in Sandpoint, Idaho . Customers can buy a 1.5-liter
refillable bottle. The label is silk-screened on the bottle and won’t
come off.
“We wanted to raise our
kids in a smaller town to have
the experiences that I had grow-
ing up,” he said.
Steve asked him to come
back to work for him.
“It didn’t take long to real-
ize this was what I wanted to
do,” Bopp said. “Winemaking
is an artistic process; everyone
has their own way of making
wine, and I threw my own spin
on things. Steve recognized this
and let me do it.”
Steve and Julie are planning
to sell the winery and let Bopp
take over.
Pend d’Oreille Winery pro-
duces award-winning wines
including Chardonnay, Syrah,
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Cabernet Franc, Pinot gris, the
popular Huckleberry Blush and
the Meyer Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon.
“We produce 6,000 cases
annually. All our red wines
come from Washington vine-
yards — mainly the Columbia
Pend d’Oreille Winery produces award-winning wines including
Chardonnay, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc,
Pinot gris, the popular Huckleberry Blush and the Meyer Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Valley. We have some white
wines from Washington, and
two from Idaho. Those two, the
Riesling and Chardonnay, are
both grown by Kirby Vickers
near Caldwell,” Bopp said.
It’s a long distance to trans-
port grapes, but Bopp, Steve
and Julie are satisfied with their
winery location. “The quality
of life here — in a small town
— is worth every minute of
travel. We only have to travel
during September and October
to check on the grapes,” said
Bopp.
“We contract with 8 grow-
ers and visit them once or twice
a week when we’re about ready
to harvest. We bring some
grapes back for analysis,” he
said.
The grapes must be harvest-
ed at just the right time for mak-
ing perfect wine.
Pend d’Oreille Winery’s
wines have received recogni-
tion at wine festivals across
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The Pend d’Oreille Winery
in Sandpoint, Idaho, was start-
ed by Steve and Julie Meyer 22
years ago. Jim Bopp has been
their winemaker for 10 years
and will soon be buying the
winery from them.
“I was born and raised in
Sandpoint and have known
Steve and Julie a long time.
Steve is from California and
met Julie at college. They de-
cided to move back here to
Julie’s hometown because they
both love to ski and bike,” said
Bopp.
Steve was studying to be
an accountant, then decided to
be a winemaker after traveling
around Europe to ski. In France
he ran out of money and needed
a job. He worked for vineyard
owners who are still his friends.
“He helped with their har-
vest and fell in love with wine-
making. When he came home
he worked in wineries in Cali-
fornia, and realized this is what
he really wanted to do,” Bopp
said.
Steve and Julie came back
to Sandpoint and opened a win-
ery in 1995. When Bopp was in
college in Montana he took a
semester off to come home, and
helped with their 1998 harvest.
Bopp went back to college
but made wine as a hobby. He
met his wife at school, moved
to Boise, then they decided to
come back to Sandpoint.
the West. Their 2007 Cabernet
Sauvignon and 2009 Bistro
Rouge both won a Double
Gold medal at the San Francis-
co International Wine Compe-
tition. Their 2012 Syrah won
a gold at the Tri-Cities Wine
Festival.
“One of the unique things
we do is refill wines. We start-
ed 6 years ago, and have kept
thousands of pounds of glass
out of landfills; they don’t recy-
cle glass here.”
Customers can buy a 1.5-li-
ter refillable bottle. The label is
silk-screened on the bottle it-
self and won’t come off. Initial
price is slightly higher (buying
the bottle) but refills are a dis-
counted price.
The initial bottle usually
contains Bistro Rouge, one of
their most popular wines.
“We refill more than 1,000
bottles annually. The idea was
to keep glass out of the land-
fill, but it benefits our business
bringing a lot of people through
the door every day to get bottles
refilled,” he said. “This gives
us the opportunity to sell them
other newly released wines or
let them know of events at the
winery.”
Several wines are kept on
tap for refills — not only Bis-
tro Rouge but also Petit Syrah,
Carmenere and Mourvedre.
“People in our area love this
system.” said Bopp.
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