It’s hard to pass up a glass of wine — especially if it’s one of the best in the Northwest.

Crossings Winery in Glenns Ferry was recently named Idaho’s winery of the year by Wine Press Northwest magazine.

The winery was selected for the honor based on results from an annual wine competition in December. Two of Crossings’ wines won a platinum award, among 11 total platinum awards given out.

One of the winning wines, the Bleu Noir, is made using Austrian grapes blaufränkisch, grown at the Glenns Ferry winery.

“It is just a very smooth red wine — very similar to pinot noir, but a different version of the grape,” winery spokeswoman Phylicia Stitzel said.

The winery also won an award for its Cabernet Franc. Judges noted it’s one of the smoothest of its kind they’ve tasted in the Northwest, Stitzel said. Its grapes are also grown at the winery.

Want to visit the winery? Tours, which run 40 minutes to an hour, are 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The cost is $15 per person.

“That just kind of takes you through the cellar and the wine process of what we do here,” Stitzel said.

A winemaker leads weekend tours and talks about “how wines are made and what makes them special,” she added. “It’s a very informative tour for people who may not know much about wine.”

Read More at source: Magic Valley.com