CALDWELL, Idaho (KBOI) — Maybe the breathtaking building and terrace isn't a big surprise to many, but Greg Koenig originally started as an architect.
For the past 20 years, he's been perfecting wine here in Idaho at Koenig Vineyards.
"Ninety percent of it's done in the vineyard," Koenig said. "How much we take care of the vineyard or what soil and climate they have -- that's really the magic in wine making."
For Koenig, it all starts with local grapes that are hand-picked. And then, fermentation a process that takes seven to 10 days.
"So it goes from grapes to something that can last for decades, just in that quick period of time when the sugar turns into alcohol," he said.
And then the slow process starts. It's what happens right here within view of the tasting room.
"Sometimes you can see us working back here."
Together there's about 700 barrels on the property, which adds up to about 10,000 cases of wine.
Koenig keeps his wine barreled up for about two years and the reason is pretty scientific.
"For whatever reason, during this process only a tiny bit of oxygen makes it through the wood staves, softening the wine and during the softening process, molecules start to string together," he said. "The longer the molecule, the longer your organeleptic sensory is to pick up those flavors, so the longer the molecules get, that's when wine becomes aromatic and interesting."
Basically, the longer it stays in here, the better is tastes and smells.
Koenig blends some of the wines himself and then it's bottled.
Every bottle that goes through here is hand-labeled. Some are even hand dipped in wax.
And he says you're not going to want to keep it around for too long. Koenig says after about 10 to 20 years, enough oxygen will get through the cork to kind-of ruin it.
So, find a nice relaxing spot and drink up.
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