January 26, 2018
CapitalPress.com
19
Idaho Innovators
Following a family’s dream
James Holesinsky
converts Idaho
dairy farm into
vineyard, winery
James Holesinsky
Age: 39
Established: 2001
Location: Buhl, Idaho
Grape acreage: 6 acres and contracted grapes from nearby
vineyards
Wines: Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, Rose, red blends
and dessert wines
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
BUHL, Idaho — Land that
once hosted a small family
dairy farm now boasts rows of
bountiful grapevines and an
award-winning winery. The
cows have been gone for de-
cades, and the former milking
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
parlor has been transformed James Holesinsky in his vineyard near Buhl, Idaho.
into a winery with old-world
wine-making and viticulture ing grapes in the area end in
ambiance.
James Holesinsky’s par- courses online through the failure because of the frost. It
ents stopped milking cows in University of California-Da- freezes the vines back to the
the late 1970s and went into vis Extension, later earning ground every year, he said.
the dairy chemical business, a winemaking certification
He tried growing grapes
but his father always wished through the program.
on all 14 acres of the farm, but
The next year, he planted only 6 acres turned out to be
there was a vineyard on the
3,000 Syrah, 2,000 Merlot suitable for grapes.
farm’s green pastures.
At 22, Holesinsky made and 200 Port grape vines.
He adds to his own harvest
“And the rest is history. by contracting grapes from
that happen.
Some friends were plant- We just started making wine the Hagerman, Idaho, area
ing grapes and had leftover every year from then on,” he and bottles about 700 cases of
vines. Holesinsky was work- said.
wine a year.
ing in the family business,
The vineyard expanded
He prides himself on using
but being an avid gardener again in 2006, adding 2,000 French-style
wine-making
and wanting to honor his fa- Cabernet Sauvignon and techniques for his red wines
ther’s lifelong dream, he took 1,000 Riesling vines. Muscat — aging on the lees, the dead
the plunge — planting 1,000 vines were added in 2007.
yeast cells and other particles
Chardonnay vines.
But it isn’t easy growing that remain after fermentation
His dad, other family grapes so far inland; they and settle as sediment. He
members and friends helped need good drainage and good also lets the wine sit in oak
with the planting — and the airflow.
barrels for about two years,
vineyard finally became real-
“Both are equally im- longer for some wines, before
portant. We learned the hard tapping it to the bottle.
ity.
That same year, 2001, way,” he said.
“Most people mismanage
Most attempts at grow- the lees; you have to make it
Holesinsky started taking
Awards: Idaho Wine Competition — 2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze;
Northwest Wine Summit — 2 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze; Idaho Wine
Festival — 1 gold; Denver International Wine Competition — 2
gold; Critics Challenge International Wine Competition — 1 gold;
Riverside International Wine Competition — 1 bronze; Savor
Northwest Wine Awards — 4 silver
Employees: 1 full time, 1 part time and a few seasonal workers
Tours and tastings: By appointment
aerobic. That’s where you get
all your flavor,” he said.
Good wine takes patience,
dedication, time and experi-
ence. Along the way, some
things don’t work out, he said.
“You have to stay with the
method and perfect it … make
it your own. It’s a lot of fix it
as you go,” he said.
His goal is to create world-
class wines with no shortcuts,
no impurities, no over-pro-
cessing or over-filtering and
no additives, and his wines
have won numerous awards
in prestigious competitions.
“When someone buys my
wine, I want them to taste it
and know that this is what
wine is supposed to taste
like,” he said.
Helping Holesinsky is win-
ery manager Eric Smallwood,
who handles marketing, sales,
distribution and new-product
development. He came on
board a year ago, and is also
training to be a wine maker.
The two have been friends
for years. Smallwood had
been working in North Dako-
ta as a concert promoter, but
was back in Idaho on a visit
when he and Holesinsky start-
ed talking about taking the
winery to a higher level.
“James needed someone
to come in and run the winery
because he’s been tied up with
his other business,” the chem-
ical business he bought from
his parents, Smallwood said.
The winery self-distributes
to retailers and restaurants
in the Boise, Sun Valley and
Twin Falls areas..
One wine — Blackout,
a Syrah and Cabernet Franc
blend produced for the so-
lar eclipse — had a wider
draw. The wine was featured
on NBC’s “Today Show”
in mid-August in a segment
about food and drink celebrat-
ing the eclipse.
“It’s been the most suc-
cessful release of the winery
ever,” Smallwood said.
The winery produced 112
cases, and it sold out in about
three weeks. People from all
over the country are still con-
tacting the winery, trying to
get their hands on it, he said.
“It’s really been surreal. It
was the first label I’ve ever
done on a wine bottle, and it
hit a home run,” he said.
The winery will soon be
coming out with a new blend
and a new label — Idavine,
tied to how popular Idaho
wines have become, he said.
The winery already ap-
plied for federal label approv-
al and expects to have that
certification by mid-October.
It will also start marketing
wine in pouches, and it prides
itself on locally sourcing all
its graphic designs and screen
printed labels.
Holesinsky also plans to
transition back to organic.
The vineyard started out cer-
tified organic and still grows
the grapes organically, but
delays in organic inspections
were limiting his marketing
and he ended up letting go of
the certification.
The winery is open for
tours and tastings by appoint-
ment, and its dessert wines are
currently only sold on site.
The story was first pub-
lished on Sept. 10, 2017.
Farmers strike out on their own with niche opportunities
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — Until he start-
ed working on a farm, Alex
Bowman-Brown often ques-
tioned the value of his pre-
vious jobs, which included a
variety of occupations.
“I always kind of ques-
tioned every job I’d done.
Was there really a point to me
doing it?” he said.
But then he volunteered at
an organic farm about seven
years ago and the questions
stopped.
“Farming wasn’t some-
thing I could question the
meaning of,” said Bow-
man-Brown, 35. “It’s essen-
tial. Food is something that
everyone needs. It’s also a
way for me to be a land stew-
ard and do something that
benefits the community, and
I can’t question the value of
it.”
After working on several
organic farms during sum-
mers in Montana and Wash-
ington,
Bowman-Brown
moved to the Boise area in
2015 and began working at
Peaceful Belly Farm, an or-
ganic operation in the Dry
Creek Valley just north of
Boise.
After a year, he and two
other farmworkers employed
there decided to start their
own operation, Fiddler’s
Green Farm, a small certified
organic farm that grows gar-
lic, flowers and vegetables
on 6 acres just down the road
from Peaceful Belly.
The farm grew 180 types
Alex Bowman-
Brown
Occupation: Co-owner,
Fiddler’s Green Farm, Dry
Creek Valley
Age: 35
Born: Helena, Mont.
of vegetables last year.
“It’s a huge, diverse array
of mixed vegetables” that re-
quires a spreadsheet to keep
track of, Bowman-Brown
said.
Their products are sold at
the Boise Farmers’ Market,
directly to Boise restaurants
and at the Boise Co-op. They
also have a Community Sup-
ported Agriculture program.
Bowman-Brown co-owns
the farm with Justin Moore,
a Vermont native who has
worked on several organic
farms around the country,
and Davis McDonald, a na-
tive Boise resident who has
a background in wholesale
flower sales.
Nampa farmer Janie
Burns, president of the Boi-
se Farmers’ Market board of
directors, said the three are a
great example of young farm-
ers who put in their time on
the farm and then struck out
on their own when they saw
niche opportunities open up.
“I think it’s wonderful that
a group of young farmers saw
a market and are using their
professional skills to bring
some really beautiful vegeta-
bles to the valley,” she said.
“It’s a great example of young
people kind of doing their
time learning the craft and
then striking out with fingers
crossed.”
Bowman-Brown said the
trio felt confident there was a
local market to support their
dream but admitted that start-
ing their own farm involved a
good dose of chance.
“We knew that the market
in Boise was pretty open and
we knew we could probably
sell stuff but we didn’t know
how well it would work,” he
said. “It was definitely a big
risk.”
He said their goal is not
necessarily to become big-
ger but to get better at what
they’re doing now.
“Instead of getting big, we
want to get really dialed in
and make it a well-oiled ma-
chine,” he said.
This story was first pub-
lished on Nov. 6, 2017.
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Alex Bowman-Brown sells vegetables to customers at the Boise
Farmers’ Market Nov. 4. After questioning the value of several
previous jobs he had, Bowman-Brown has found his niche as the
co-owner of a small organic farm in the foothills north of Boise.
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