BOISE, Idaho — Perched on top of a hill, Idaho's oldest winery overlooks acres and acres of vineyards. Meanwhile, Ste. Chapelle's winemaker, Meredith Smith, overlooks the wines produced from the grapes in those vineyards.
"Idaho is a growing wine region, and it has a lot of potential," Smith said. "Also, the fruit here is fantastic."
Throughout June, KTVB highlighted some of the local women in the growing Gem State industry, and raised a glass to them in honor of Idaho Wine and Cider Month. In addition to Ste. Chapelle, Smith is also the winemakers for its sister winery, Sawtooth.
While both wineries are well known and extremely popular, Smith was not always on this grape-filled path. She was in real estate development, before she came across a book in 2006 that changed her life.
"I read a book that said, 'pay attention to what you pay attention to,'" Smith said.
That quote turned Smith's attention to wine, food and agriculture.
"I signed up for the Washington State [University] program for viticulture, and I knew I wanted to do viticulture first before enology, because I do believe that great fruit makes great wine," Smith said.
After graduating with a professional viticulture certificate, Smith earned a job at Sawtooth Winery.
"The winemaker there said that he would hire me for $10 an hour and that I would maybe have a job for three months," Smith said. "So, I quit a pretty good paying job, and I took the I took the job."
That three-moth stint opened the door for Smith and uncorked a new opportunity. She was promoted to assistant winemaker, then to associate winemaker in 2013.
Looking back, Smith said the leap was tough financially, but she is grateful she dove in.
"I remember I had to borrow gas money from my mom," Smith said. "I just said, 'could you fill up my tank? I get paid next week.' But, you know, it all came back around, and when I look at winemaking, it's just something that I love."
Smith has been making wine for Sawtooth for 15 years and Ste. Chapelle for six years.
"My favorite part is the challenge of it. You have to deal with many elements, all the way from the fruit, to the winemaking," Smith said. "It starts in the vineyard, we work with the weather that we can't control. So, all these variables that you have to deal with – it keeps you on your toes. You have to be pretty spot on from the fruit, all the way through to bottling, until it's in bottle and ready to go out to the public."
While Ste. Chapelle is available to the public nationwide, it is deeply rooted here in Idaho, where women in wine are flourishing.
"Idaho's unique in a way that there are a number of female winemakers, but I think throughout the world, it's typically not that way," Smith said. "So, I think Idaho's a nice place for women to be in the wine industry."
If you missed any of KTVB's 'Women in Wine' series, or would like to watch the features again, check out the related stories below:
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