There’s visiting a winery—and then there’s truly experiencing one.
At Rivaura, some of the most memorable moments happen beyond the tasting room doors: walking through the vineyard with the people who know it best, opening bottles from past vintages in the library cellar, making your way down to the Clearwater River, and ending the day at the Ridge House overlooking the estate.
Rivaura Excursions were created to give guests a deeper, more personal look at the place behind the wines. And judging by the notes left by some of our recent Ridge House guests, that experience is becoming just as memorable as what’s poured into the glass.
Stay Where the Story Begins
Overlooking the vineyards and Clearwater River, the Rivaura Ridge House offers guests the opportunity to make the estate their home base for a few days.
With four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and room to comfortably sleep up to 10 guests, it’s designed for groups of friends, family getaways, wine weekends, or simply an excuse to slow down and spend some time along the river.
Wake up surrounded by the vineyard, spend the afternoon exploring the estate, and return to the house in the evening with a few bottles from the tasting room.
One recent guest summed it up simply:
“Fabulous place with such a beautiful view! The Tasting Room was fun & the Bun Bun’s food truck was outstanding! The tour with Lane and Josh was truly amazing and very educational. This was a wonderful weekend with a great group of ladies. Thank you for sharing your home.”
— Ashley
Walk the Vineyard With Us
The vineyard is where every Rivaura wine begins, and our excursions give guests the chance to see that process from a completely different perspective.
Rather than simply tasting the finished wine, guests can head into the vineyard on a private tour led by a Rivaura winemaker, founder, or sommelier. Along the way, we talk about the vines, the land, the growing season, the Lewis-Clark Valley, and the decisions made in the vineyard that ultimately shape what ends up in your glass.
It’s intentionally intimate and conversational—less like a formal tour and more like spending an afternoon with someone who happens to know a lot about the vineyard and the wines growing in it.
Take Your Glass Down to the Clearwater
One of the things that makes Rivaura different is that the vineyard doesn’t end at the bottom of the hill.
The Clearwater River runs alongside the estate, and the Vineyard Tour & Beach Experience gives guests the opportunity to explore both.
The 2½-hour experience includes a personalized vineyard tour, curated charcuterie, five guided wine tastings, and time to relax with a glass of wine at Rivaura’s private beach. The experience is available for groups of four to 10 guests.
It’s wine tasting without feeling like you need to watch the clock; wandering the vineyard, learning a little along the way, and eventually finding yourself sitting alongside the river with a glass in hand.
Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Taste Rivaura Through the Years
For guests who want to dig even deeper into the wine, the Vineyard Tour & Library Tasting takes the experience into Rivaura’s winemaker library cellar.
After touring the estate, guests enjoy a customized tasting of previous vintages, exploring how the wines develop over time and how different growing seasons have expressed themselves in the bottle.
The 2½-hour experience also includes a curated charcuterie board and the opportunity to purchase select limited-availability and library-only wines.
It’s a chance to taste not only where Rivaura is today, but where we’ve been.
Or Spend the Afternoon Doing It All
For the full experience, the Vineyard Tour, Library & Beach Experiencecombines all three.
Over four relaxed hours, guests explore the vineyard, taste through wines in the library cellar, head down to the beach, and enjoy additional snacks and appetizers along the way.
It’s Rivaura from top to bottom, from the vines on the hillside to the bottles in the cellar to the Clearwater River below.
And for Ridge House guests, there’s no drive home waiting at the end.
You simply head back to the house, open another bottle, sit outside, and watch the evening settle over the vineyard.
One guest, after waiting two years to make the trip happen, left behind perhaps the best description of the experience:
Come Stay, Sip & Explore
Rivaura has always been about sharing more than wine. It’s sharing the vineyard, the river, the family story, and the little corner of Idaho we’re fortunate enough to call home.
Whether you come for an afternoon excursion or turn it into an entire weekend at the Ridge House, the goal is the same: slow down, explore a little, drink something great, and leave with a story worth telling.
The Ridge House accommodates up to 10 guests. Rivaura Excursions are available by two week advance reservation, with current experiences ranging from 2½ to four hours.
