lllahe Vineyards, Dallas, Oregon
Illahe is a warm site that experiences slightly earlier budbreak and flowering than many other vineyards in the Willamette Valley. While the variety of soils on their property gives the wine complexity.The vineyard has excellent drainage during cold snaps, and it’s just to the south of the Van Duzer winds which begin in the late summer.
One of their goals at Illahe is to reduce the use of fossil fuels throughout the year. They have solar panels and use their horses, Doc and Bea, to mow and bring grapes to the winery at harvest.They do extensive green pruning, conduct plant topping, prune and harvest by hand. They use sulfur spray to control for powdery mildew and botrytis. Illahe is a LIVE-certified, Salmon Safe vineyard. They use cover crops on the entire vineyard and are part of Oregon's Deep Roots Coalition, as such they do not irrigate mature plants.