Split Rail Winery [May 2019]

After our amazing pitstop to spend some quality time with our friends in Las Vegas, we were back out on the road again. We traveled for a night or two before we ended up stopping in or around a little town called Garden City, Idaho. Now for those of you who don’t know this about me… I am a biggest list making, touristy tourist kind of person there ever!! Whenever we are on a road trip, [or anytime really!! Hahaha] I like to make a list of things to “do or see” along the route we are headed on or in the area where we are going to be staying!! Poor Shawn, [bless his heart] he just goes with it… I mean what else is he gonna do I ask ya!?

So, to truly pick up the vibes that Split Rail Winery is putting down, you must visit their totally groovy website, ya dig!? LOL!! They “make stuff from grapes” and they produce small batches of wine with said grapes sourced from the Pacific Northwest. It is their goal to never make the same wine twice. They believe that since our palate changes and evolves, so should the wine so that your tastebuds stay engaged!! In my opinion, this is a great idea as it keeps you coming back and gives you that "first time" feeling, every-time!! The downside would be if they make a wine that you really like… you better stock up or you’ll be out of luck when they are out of wine!! HA!!

Split Rail Winery was founded by Jed Glavin, a self-proclaimed master of everything weird, and his wife Laura. Jed is into the 80’s and techno-pop, mountaineering and skiing. Jed and Laura met while they were in college. They began their wine journey pairing tolerable wines with cheap food, as only starving college students know how to do! Craving better wines, the couple went on to learn more about winemaking, starting in their own garage!! After fermenting the first grapes, which came from Walla Walla, WA they become pretty hard core about wanting to open a winery.

Jed believes that winemaking should never be a one-man show, so he has bunched together an ensemble of sales staff and cellar hands, giving them the credit for doing all of the heavy lifting. They practice what they call “exploratory winemaking” by using new oak every year and other materials like clay, concrete, and sandstone to age their wines. You are invited to come into the tasting room to see their dandy aging vessels; the concrete egg, [also called a wine egg] sandstone jarre, [French word for jar] and the large foeder [Dutch word for large oak tank] in action!!

I love when wineries labels, or something on the label has a sentimental or profound meaning to its creators. The split rail fence depicted on their label stands as a “philosophical margin of the west” and the desert landscape. They dedicate the wine to the fence and the way the wine comes from the soil, making it drinkable. It’s pretty deep seated, I really had to think about it and I’m not even sure I get the whole meaning, BUT… I can totally understand the meaning of their slogan “Jump aboard and ride this fence into the great unknown..”

The thing I remember most about Split Rail Winery when I look back at my photos is… that it was such a fun place this was to stop and taste wine. It was also the first time I was served my “guided” wine tasting in little test tubes!! [see the middle photo for my flight] Do not be alarmed, I had already started tasting before I took this photo, each test tube was filled to the 60ml [equal to 2 ounces.. standard pour for a wine taste] when it was delivered, I just thought the different levels looked pretty cool!! Haha

The wine tasting fee is waived if you buy two bottles, so you can see from the photo above that I couldn't let a good deal pass me by!! Haha There are so many more fun facts I could share with you about Split Rail Winery and how they produce their wines, but you simply must peruse their website yourself, or better yet… stop by for a wine tasting you won’t forget!!

Next week Wine with Wixy keeps heading North, where we will participate in my first Washington wine tasting!! See you in the beautiful PNW!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!