We're Scott and Susan DeSeelhorst, owners of Snake River Winery and Arena Valley Vineyards. Like so many in the wine industry, we regard wine as an integral part of life. Sharing food and wine with friends and family is a warm and regular experience, not something reserved for special occasions. When we started our winery, the mission was to produce food-friendly varietal and blended wines at tremendous values. We believed then, and now know, that Idaho is the perfect place to accomplish our goal. We purchased the Arena Valley Vineyard in the fall of 1998. Our first objective was improving the "balance" in the vineyard. "When we bought the place, the previous ten harvests were all over the board regarding tonnage per acre, and the wines had a vegetative taste resulting from the excessive grape shading of the canopy," Scott says. "So we immediately began pruning/harvest ratio studies that we will continue to do every spring and fall." With rigorous irrigation monitoring and canopy management, including green pruning and leaf stripping when necessary, the proper balance between canopy growth and grape development has been restored. Scott continues, "Eliminating the fruit shading and overgrowth of canopy greatly improved the flavor of the grapes in the first year, and subsequent years have gotten even better." To open the canopies even more, we began a trellis modification program in 1999. The existing trellis and training system was what the old-timers called "California sprawl." The cordon-trained/spur-pruned vine followed just two wires approximately twelve inches above the cordon arms. As a result, the shoots would grow upright until their length and weight caused them to sprawl outwards toward the middle of the rows. The sunlight could not penetrate through the canopy to the fruit. Scott devised a plan to bolt sixteen-inch steel extensions onto the existing trellis posts. These extensions also had a six-inch cross arm with two wires. It is now possible to train the shoots straight up, exposing the fruit. "The improvement in color alone was worth the effort," said Scott. New plantings at Arena Valley Vineyards are receiving a similar variation of the VSP (Vertical Shoot Position) trellis. Scott has begun an experimental trial with another trellis system in the newly planted Syrah. With the vineyard improvements in place, our focus turned to wine production. In the summer of 2000, we built a winery. The Arena Valley Vineyards grape sales contract was renegotiated early that year, allowing us to keep several tons of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot from the 2000 harvest. "We were crunched for time so a simple winery was in order. We finished construction while we were harvesting." Scott is the winemaker for Snake River Winery. His training and experience in the industry are different than most. Rather than a background in chemistry or an Oenology degree from University of California-Davis, Scott got his wine experience in the restaurant business. After graduating from culinary school and working as a restaurateur cooking and constructing wine lists, it was time to take his love for food and wine in a new direction. "I treat winemaking like cooking. You start with raw ingredients, combine them in a particular manner, cook or finish the dish, and present the finished product. The key to cooking and winemaking is using the best ingredients, and with wine, of course, that means the grapes." Snake River Winery tripled production in 2001, and will continue to grow. "At some point we will need to expand our facility, but Susan and I have become very particular and protective of the grapes that we carefully nurture every year, and we will be selling fewer and fewer of them to other wineries." Currently, Snake River Winery is producing three thousand cases of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and White Riesling annually. With the 2002 harvest, we will be adding Syrah and Zweigelt to the lineup, as well as a red blend.