The area was established on April 9, 2007 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Idahoan vintners of the Snake River Valley, the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission, and the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor, collectively acting as “petitioner” to establish the 8,263 square miles (5,288,320 acres) viticultural area named "Snake River Valley."

For wines to bear the "Snake River Valley" label, at least 85% of the grapes used for production must be grown in the designated area, which includes the southwestern Idaho counties of Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Jerome, Owyhee, Payette, Twin Falls, and Washington, and the Eastern Oregon counties of Malheur and Baker.

Idaho viticulture flourished after the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, granting tracts of land to farmers in sparsely populated western territories.

Also, according to the petitioner, the colder and drier climate of the eastern area is not conducive to successful viticulture, unlike the warmer weather and lower elevations of ancient Lake Idaho.

North of the Snake River Valley viticultural area boundary line, the petitioner explains, are Cretaceous granites of the Idaho Batholith, Eocene volcanoes, older sedimentary rocks, and volcanic flows.

The Snake River Valley viticultural area boundary encircles the now dry, ancient Lake Idaho, a low elevation, fault-bounded, rift basin with a relatively flat, sedimentary bottom.

Lower elevations, between 2,165 and 3,412 feet (660–1,040 m) when compared to the surrounding mountains and the eastern portion, is a significant distinguishing feature of the Snake River Valley viticultural area, as shown on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps and described by the petition.

The petitioner explains that the 3,412 feet (1,040 m) contour line, past the boundaries of the McCall and Vale maps, continues into regions not associated with the Snake River Valley or with viticulture.

The City of Twin Falls, Idaho, about 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast of the Snake River Valley viticultural area's eastern boundary line, as shown on the USGS Twin Falls, Idaho, map, lies at an elevation of 3,729 feet (1,137 m), or about 320 feet (98 m) higher than the elevation of the viticultural area boundary line.

[1] The distinguishing climatic features of the Snake River Valley viticultural area, include precipitation, air temperature, heat-unit accumulation, and growing season length.

The factors affecting climate include the region's topography, a basin depression with surrounding mountainous terrain; the continental inland location approximately 310 miles (499 km) east of the Cascade Range; and the 43 degree north latitude line.

The petitioner explains the lower annual precipitation of Snake River Valley viticultural area may be partially due to the rain shadows of the Cascade, Sierra Nevada, and Owyhee Ranges.

The California, Oregon, and Washington weather stations listed in the climatic data table above record warmer average winter temperatures.

[7] The length of the Snake River Valley viticultural area's growing season correlates to the frost-free period from about May 10 to September 29 annually, according to the petitioner.

Vineyards within the Snake River Valley viticultural area are on soils that have underlying parent material derived from weathered sediment from the ancient Lake Idaho, according to the petition.