Meet meredith smith
Idaho Winemaker
Meredith Smith is the esteemed winemaker of Sawtooth Winery, her tenure begun in 2009 when she joined the Sawtooth Family as a harvest helper.
Although Meredith long enjoyed wine, it wasn't until she read a quote in 2006, "Pay attention to what you pay attention to" that she left behind a career in real estate development and accounting to pursue wine-making. "Almost all my books and magazines subscriptions were wine and viticulture-related, so I enrolled in the Washington State University viticulture program," she says.
She graduated with a professional viticulture certificate and jumped in during the Sawtooth 2009 harvest. Within months, she was promoted to Assistant Winemaker and again in 2013 to Associate Winemaker. In 2010 Meredith took on concurrent work as a viticulture technician for both Skyline and Sawtooth (Idaho's largest vineyards) to estimate yields and track vineyard statistics. Meredith says she felt fortunate to work in tandem with then-Sawtooth winemaker Bill Murray, who shared his knowledge and past Napa Valley experience with her. "I also feel privileged to work in the vineyard with so many different varieties and clones, gather facts on all these and see the results in the wines we make," she says.
Her favorite wine to make is Chardonnay for the challenge of standing out, given its popularity, many styles and critical subjectivity. She also enjoys making Rhone varietal wines. She finds the Snake River Valley AVA a promising region for Rhone varietals; she and many other area winemakers realize the potential and resulting wines. The Snake River Valley AVA is unique in that its different varietals have consistently resulted in great wine, she says. In addition to growing great fruit, Idahoans enjoy the living in a beautiful outdoor Mecca that offers numerous activities year-round.
When Meredith isn't making wine, you'll find this mom and outdoors enthusiast skiing, mountain biking, trail running, hiking, backpacking and fly fishing. She also loves cooking, music, and dogs
Inside the Winery
Tucked away among the vines Sawtooth Winery is an enduring pioneer and leader among Idaho's growing wine country.
Crush Capacity: 3,000 tons
Total Production Capability: 150,000 cases
Barrel Capacity: 2,550
Fermentation Tanks: 60 tanks (1,000 to 27,000 gallon)
Unique Tools and Technology: Sloped bottom red fermenters are used for safe and efficient emptying of red wine fermentations, a high-speed bottling line, and other equipment to remove solids and stop fermentation as needed. We have an in-house lab to run most analyses and we confrim bottling sterility with daily cultures. Orion Wine Software allows our winemaking team to issue and track work orders.
Consistent Quality: Cellar and bottling maintenance and QC program features standard operating procedures that ensure highest quality and consistency of products.
Long-Term Plans: We will continue to work with our growers to maximize the quality of fruit, and with the University of Idaho and USDA in the Sawtooth Vineyard experimentation blocks.