Grenache, Veer Wine Project steer toward greatness

June 2, 2023 by Eric Degerman Leave a Comment

CALDWELL, Idaho — Perhaps the most buzz-worthy grape variety in the Pacific Northwest these days is Grenache, and in talented hands, the wines from that juicy red native to the Rhône Valley go beyond great.

Last fall, a 2018 Grenache grown in the eastern end of the Columbia Gorge for Mount Hood Winery finished as the No. 1 wine of the 23rd annual Platinum Awards, a Great Northwest Wine event.

This spring, rising star Will Wetmore and his upstart Veer Wine Project in Idaho's Snake River Valley turned a 2021 Garnacha into best of show at the 11th annual Cascadia International Wine Competition.

"I’ve always known that I want to do Rhônes, and Grenache and GSM fit right in there," Wetmore says.

Rhône varieties — red and white — thrive in the Snake River Valley, where vineyards reach 3,000 feet elevation. Wetmore pulled in his Grenache from Sawtooth Vineyard. That 70-acre site at 2,700 feet is arguably the most important planting in the rebirth of the modern wine industry in Idaho, established in the 1980s by visionary Brad Pintler.

Sawtooth and nearby Skyline Vineyard — the 400-acre breadbasket for Idaho winemakers — are overseen by Jake Cragin of Winemakers LLC, a multi-state viticulture operation with strong ties to Seattle-based Precept Wine.

"That was the first time I got fruit from Block 70 at Sawtooth, and it was third-leaf Grenache," Wetmore said of the Sept. 25 harvest at 25 Brix. "I have the contract on that for three years, and I love working with Jake, who always seems to get me what I want.

"We did all wild ferment on it, and a portion of it was whole-cluster and food-stomped," Wetmore added. "When I was doing my blending trials, the majority that I picked was from neutral barrels. I like the neutral fruit better."

Wetmore's success at the Cascadia International was constant and varied. His 2021 Carménère finished best of class in a now-competitive category after earning a double gold medal.

"That was from Kerry Hill Vineyard, and that was also the first year from a new part of that vineyard," Wetmore said. "I think it was third-leaf, but it might have been second-leaf."

His 2022 Rêverie Riesling and — no surprise — 2022 Soigné Rosé of Grenache — also received gold medals.

"That blows my mind," he said. "It's a barrel-fermented rosé that was machine-picked, set on the skins for four hours, filtered and bottled. That's it. And all of these wines were just released to my wine club."

Wetmore came to the Treasure Valley more than a decade ago with his wife, Dr. Jaclyn Cooperrider, who grew up in the Boise area and played soccer for University of Redlands west of Palm Springs. He was there on a baseball scholarship, and they met in a chemistry class. She returned home and entered a residency program for family medicine while Wetmore was working at both Cloud 9 Brewery and Hat Ranch Winery.

He proved to be a quick study when it comes to fermentation science, and for those savvy enough to keep tabs on the emerging Idaho wine industry, the showing by Wetmore's wines is not a mind blower. In 2021, the Great Northwest Wine editorial team selected Veer Wine Project as the 2021 Idaho Winery to Watch for now-defunct Wine Press Northwest magazine. That acclaim was tied to a turning point for Wetmore and his own brand.

In 2021, he produced six bottlings for Veer. Last vintage, he committed to 10 different wines.

"A lot of those are small lots," Wetmore said. "We went from 300 cases from 2021 and jumped to 1,200 cases from the 2022 vintage — so we want people to know they can join our wine club," he added with a wink.

"We’re in the process of looking for a more permanent tasting room closer to Boise. We’re mainly wine-club only, open on Saturday and Sunday. We’re up to five part-time employees, including a GM who does a lot of stuff, social media and the business manager.

"And my wife and I have a 3- and 1-year-old," Wetmore said, adding, "but check back in a year."

There's also a Midas touch that extends to his primary job — orchestrating production for Hat Ranch and founding winemaker Tim Harless, Wetmore's mentor for the past decade. Their efforts as co-winemakers in Caldwell include Vale Wine Co. — the sister label for Hat Ranch — a combination that runs as high at 4,500 cases. There's also custom-crush work for clients such as Mindy Mayer at Kerry Hill Winery near Homedale.

During this year's Cascadia, Hat Ranch was credited with the Best Tempranillo and a double gold for its 2020 Cabernet Franc. The Vale 2020 Malbec also received a double gold.

"That's awesome about the Tempranillo," Wetmore said. "That was from the vineyard at Hat Ranch, Williamson and Sawtooth.

"And the story behind the Franc is wild," he added. "There was this little vineyard in the Hagerman Valley with fruit that came available a week before harvest. We never saw the fruit until they brought it in. We de-stemmed it, transferred it to tank, did pumpovers for 30 days on the skins and then moved it to a 500-gallon tank.

"We had the space available, and it's good to be flexible in the wine industry," he continued. "But the only reason we found out about it was Angie Shaltry was making Sémillon for them and renting space in the incubator right by us. After 2020, those people stopped making wine and ended up selling the vineyard and moving away. It was one of those one-time things for us."

And it's not a coincidence for Wetmore, Harless and Hat Ranch to strike gold — or beyond — with Franc, Muscat or many others. Hat Ranch topped the 2021 Idaho Wine Competition with the Rivaura Vineyards Cabernet Franc — a one-time shot with Lewis-Clark Valley grapes via the family of erstwhile assistant winemaker Lane Hewett.

In 2015, Hat Ranch used a 2014 Estate Dry Muscat to win the 2015 Idaho Wine Competition. Part of the story behind that wine was that it was the first commercial crop from those vines planted by Harless.

2023 Spring Release from Will Wetmore on Vimeo.

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