The dry hills above the Columbia River Gorge are a unique manifestation of its extraordinary geologic history. There is no other place on earth like this. We knew that the steep hills dotted with oak trees and basalt coulees had never seen a grapevine. The half-buried ruins of an old tractor were all that remained to prove that someone had failed to tame this land before. Standing on the savanna and finding a mule deer antler, it was easy to imagine 500 generations of native people chasing mule deer in these very hills. While cognizant of that history, we knew we were pioneers on this land, trying something no one had done before. That is the inspiration for Threemile Vineyard.
It is also why the technical information we have provided to you is so important to understanding our vision for this land. A legacy agricultural project must be sustainable, it must rely on organic and natural viticulture, and most importantly, it must be capable of producing grapes that yield the finest table wines in the world. To support our vision we engaged experts to analyze every aspect of the soil and climate to determine exactly which varietals would succeed. It is also why we designed and installed a state of the art irrigation platform that will compensate for the vagaries of a dry climate.
