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. www.sun-source.com 284 N. Maple Grove, Boise, ID Darrin Lamb Account Manager (208) 340-0479 Agricultural and Mobile Solutions IDInnov18-4/108 (208) 323-4767 • Hydraulics • Pneumatic • Automation • Lubrication • Filtration • Service & Repair IDInnov18-4/108 Call Us For Your WELL STEM PIPE NEEDS We Deliver Straight To You! Sean Ellis/Capital Press 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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