Meet Meredith Smith

Award-winning winemaker and Idaho native Meredith Smith has been immersed in Snake River Valley viticulture and winemaking since 2009. Walla Walla-trained in winemaking and wine grape-growing, she brings her skill and artistry to build on Ste. Chapelle’s legacy. 

“Pay attention to what you pay attention to.”

Meredith Smith is the winemaker of Ste. Chapelle Winery, Idaho's largest and oldest continuous running winery. She joined Ste. Chapelle for the 2016 harvest, after working for seven years in the Snake River Valley wine industry at Sawtooth Winery.

Although she long enjoyed wine, it wasn't until Meredith read a quote in 2006, "Pay attention to what you pay attention to," that she left behind careers 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 & Enology Program," she says.

She graduated with a Viticulture Certificate and jumped in at Sawtooth Winery to work its 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 Vineyard (Idaho's largest vineyards) to estimate yields and track vineyard statistics. Meredith says she felt fortunate to be mentored in winemaking at Sawtooth Winery, also in the Snake River Valley near Ste. Chapelle. "I also felt 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 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.