Illahe is a Chinook Jargon word meaning “earth,” “land,” or “soil.” They feel this reflects both their location in Oregon, as well as their desire to craft wines which express the variety of soils on our beautiful 80 acre estate. Illahe Vineyards was established in 2000 by Lowell Ford, grower of Oregon grapes since 1983.Illahe is a LIVE-certified, Salmon Safe vineyard. They use cover crops on the entire vineyard. They are part of Oregon's Deep Roots Coalition, and as such do not irrigate mature plants. They do extensive green pruning and conduct plant topping. They prune by hand and harvest by hand. They use sulfur spray to control for powdery mildew and botrytis.

They aim for balanced production and optimal ripeness. This includes a program of no irrigation, leaf pulling to decrease shade, and dropping green clusters after veraison. One of their goals at Illahe is to reduce the use of fossil fuels throughout the year. They have solar panels and we use our horses, Doc and Bea, to mow and to bring grapes to the winery at harvest.