In my new line of research on Idaho’s wine country I discuss the development of wine regions in Caldwell and Eagle, and the problems and opportunities associated with wine tourism in both places. Wine is becoming a big deal in Idaho, in case you missed it.

Anyway, last Saturday the 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards in Eagle uncorked the first bottle of wine produced from Eagle grown grapes - a huge achievement! Things are clearly looking up around here as a cultural center but with a nod to our historic agricultural based past. The Idaho Statesman even just did a three day series on the Idaho Wine Country, culminating in a reader based taste test of Idaho Wines.

So I was really disappointed to see the info-graphic from the online poll in the Statesman that showed that 34% of Idahoans NEVER drink wine. Now I had a lot of statistics classes in college so I know this isn’t scientific, but still - 34%?! C’mon people!

This is a bit interesting as I consider the work of the late Professor Hal K. Rothman. Rothman proposed that regions that build economies based upon tourism will eventually lose their character because of the infiltration of not only tourists but outside capital and managers. So, if more than one-third of the population of the Treasure Valley “never” drink wine and Eagle and Caldwell are building up their wine tourism industry, these cities they are a changing.

I think for the better.