Granted, the Beehive State is not Napa or Sonoma, and about as far from Burgundy or Bordeaux as you can get. And yet, Utah has a surprisingly rich and complex winemaking history, shaped by religious influences, pioneer ingenuity, and shifting cultural landscapes.
The winemaking history of Utah began with Mormon pioneers who settled in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Brigham Young encouraged self-sufficiency, which included cultivating grapes. The warm climate of southern Utah, particularly in places like Toquerville, Leeds, and the Dixie region around St. George proved ideal for grape growing. Mormon settlers in these areas began cultivating vineyards in the 1860s. By the late 1800s, the LDS Church began discouraging alcohol consumption, including wine for sacramental purposes, leading to a decline in local wine making efforts.
Fast forward to the latter part of the last century and Utah’s modern wineries. The first licensed winery in modern Utah was Castle Creek Winery, established near Moab in 1992. Others followed, including IG Winery in Cedar City, and The Hive Winery in Layton. The newest winery in Utah is, surprisingly, located in Northern Utah in Pleasant View: Purple Sky Winery, which opened to the public this spring.
The Head Winemaker at Purple Sky Winery is David MaKieve, who has a chemistry background, received a degree in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis’ renowned wine program. Both worked at and consulted with prestigious Napa and Sonoma wineries such as Cakebread Cellars, Baker Family Wines, and others. He was recruited by Purple Sky Winery owner Simon Goe to make wine with grapes actually grown here in Northern Utah, and the first bottlings took place this year.
Northern Utah wouldn’t seem to be an ideal place, climate-wise, for growing wine grapes. However, MaKieve explained to me that Purple Sky wines utilize hybrid grapes that were initially developed at the University of Minnesota, specifically meant for growing in cooler/cold climates. He says the one thing that drew him to Utah, with regard to winemaking was, “In Napa and Sonoma, they’ve pretty much figured everything out. They know the specific grapes they want to work with, they’ve got 30 years of winemaking data, so there’s much less flexibility and willingness to experiment and I find that boring. I’d prefer to break the mold a bit and pioneer new things.”
MaKieve was lured to Utah in part due to his interest in pioneering a new wine region and new wine styles. “I was looking for a new area — a new region to make wine in. And growing wine grapes in the harsh Northern Utah winter climate was something no one had really thought about. Also, I got to work here with hybrid varieties of grapes. All of the grapes we grow here in Utah for our wines are a hybrid of Mediterranean-style grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Riesling, Barbera, Zinfandel and such, and American native grapes of some sort — Concord would be one example. By breeding some of these European vines with American vines, we try to hit a middle ground where we can have grapes with cold tolerance that can survive harsh winters, but still have meritable winemaking qualities as well.”
The first Purple Sky Winery grapes were planted in Snowville on the border of Idaho in 2019. “Really questionable grape farming land,” MaKieve says, laughing. “It was a struggle.” I joined the winemaking team in 2021 and said, “This isn’t really going to work, guys. Can we find somewhere else to grow grapes? So in 2022 we first planted our first really viable vineyards in Honeyville and Deweyville, along the Bear River.
A good example of a pioneering Northern Utah wine is a lovely white wine that I sipped during lunch at Purple Sky Winery’s opulent restaurant. Made from a hybrid grape called La Crescent, it’s one of the winery’s four Estate wines, and It reminded me a bit of Viognier, with slightly sweet, fruity apricot and peach flavors and a lovely floral aroma somewhat like honeysuckle. In addition to La Crescent, Estate wines currently available at Purple Sky Winery’s tasting room, restaurant, and to purchase onsite include Frontenac (a red grape), Frontenac Gris (gray), and Frontenac Blanc (white).
To try these uniquely Utah wines, I recommended visiting the Purple Sky Winery restaurant — a gorgeous setting in which to sip wines and enjoy dishes ranging from Escargot de Bourgogne and Tartare de Boeuf, to Canard à l’Orange, Poulet Rôti à la Provençale, Carré d’Agneau, and Moules et Palourdes de Provence.
Feature Image of David MaKieve, Head Winemaker at Purple Sky Winery. Photo by Dung Hoang.
