The Sunshine Mill has a long history. The Sunshine Mill has milled wheat on this property for more than 130 years, and was the first building in The Dalles to have electricity, powered by a Thomas Edison Motor which can still be seen in The Mill. It is also the only designated skyscraper in The Columbia River Gorge.
The Sunshine Biscuit Company once owned this property and the wheat milled here was used to make a favorite cracker, the Cheez-It.
The Sunshine Mill now houses Quenett and Copa Di Vino wineries owned and operated by James and Molli Martin, both from The Dalles. Quenett Winery released its first vintage in 2002 and burst onto the wine scene with its outstanding vintages of Sangiovese and Zinfandel. The word Quenett comes from the journals of Lewis and Clark, who camped along luscious and fruitful banks of the Columbia River and learned from the local Indians that the word Quenett meant “Steelhead.”
The story and inspiration for Copa Di Vino, or “Wine by the Glass”, takes us on a journey through Provence on a bullet train where James and Molli first saw the concept of ready to drink wine. They brought their idea back to the States and began rehabilitating the Sunshine Mill Campus to become the production site and tasting room for Copa Di Vino, which has been housed on site since 2009.
