Frey: America’s organic wine pioneers

The story of the first organic winery in California began almost 50 years ago when the two doctors Paul and Marguerite Frey bought just under 100 acres of land in Redwood Valley. At the time, they wanted their seven children to have plenty of contact with nature, and they could well imagine the enchanting location by the headwaters of the Russian River would make a good place for their retirement. But things didn’t quite turn out as expected: grandmother Frey stands at the conveyer and packs wine bottles, and two more generations of Freys are at work on what has become today’s family winery. Frey Vineyard Ltd is the oldest and still the biggest organic winery in America, and it produces some excellent bio-dynamic wines. The chief characteristic of wine made by Frey is the fact that no sulphur or sulphites are added. (Picture: Frey wines – high bio-dynamic quality)The first 40 acres (16 ha) of Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling grapes were planted in 1965 and laid the foundation for the impressive family business. Of the twelve children raised by the two doctors, 10 still live with their families on the farm, which over time has grown to about 1,000 acres (400 ha). Grapes are cultivated on around 130 acres (53 ha). As well as the above mentioned varieties, there are Chardonnay, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Petite Sirah and Zinfandel grapes.
(Picture: Paul Frey, left, and the next Frey generation on the right side)

Among the rolling hills of the farm stretching into the distance, you see the wine press and bottling plant, a warehouse, the farm with cows, goats (picture below), poultry, woodland, ponds, fallow and the houses where the families live. The whole business now has around 25 permanent employees, and during harvesting this figure can rise to 40. The family members make up a good proportion of the workforce – everybody contributes, with three generations of the Frey family now involved in the winery.
In the 1970s, the Frey family supplied other vintners with grapes, and they didn’t press grapes themselves. But when a vineyard in Santa Cruz won a gold medal with a wine made from grapes grown by Frey, the family realised the potential of their crop. The fact that the eldest son Jonathan was studying viticulture was a bonus. So, in 1980, Frey Vineyard was founded. From the outset the grapes were grown organically, out of a feeling of closeness to nature and respect for creation.
(Picture: Also grandma is still involved with working oin the family owned company)

Having been long associated with wine growing and having examined bio-dynamic methods, the success of famous French wineries encouraged them to convert, and they achieved Demeter status in 1996. However, the Freys go further than the strict Demeter requirements and operate without any addition of sulphur. According to the Demeter guidelines 100 – 150 ppm of sulphur are permitted in the case of bio-dynamic dry and dessert wines. “We rely on the high quality of our grapes, and we’re convinced that the identity and authenticity of wines can best be expressed when additives are not used at all,” explains vintner Paul Frey. With our bio-dynamically cultivated soil and our wine growing methods, you experience the taste of the place,” he asserts. Also, Frey wines are clarified exclusively with bentonite (a type of clay). (Picture: Mother Katrina and daughter Eliza Frey  are pleased with the beautiful grapes)

Many prizes and the export of their wines to Canada, Norway, Denmark and Japan are testimony to the success of the methods used by Frey. “In Japan in particular, people are very interested in sulphite-free wines,” says Eliza Fray. It hardly makes any difference to how long they keep – they have a shelf life of at least 18 months, and in cool storage it’s much longer. The optimal sugar-acidity balance of the grapes when they are harvested doesn’t call for any additives like the sulphur that is usually added when grapes are pressed and which is permissible in very small quantities in organic wines. But even a little sulphur can cause an allergic reaction in sensitive people or give them a headache. “By its nature, wine sometimes contains a low level of sulphur in a non-reactive chemical form,” explains Eliza Frey. “But no sulphur can be detected in over 80 % of our wines.” They use their own yeasts (of European origin) in the fermentation process. (Picture: 2010 promises to be a good harvest)






Over the last few decades, Mendocino County has become a stronghold of organic wine growing, with about 100 grape growers and 50-60 wineries. Katrina Frey explains that 25 % of all harvested grapes in the region are certified organic, and she is very sure of her facts because she is involved in the regional wine growers association and in the Demeter association. The advertising slogan of the vintners association in Mendocino is “America’s greenest wine region”. Especially bio-dynamic wine growing has gained more adherents in recent years, and Katrina Frey says that in 2010 alone more than 20 new growers and vintners have adopted this method of cultivation. (Picture: The warehouse is still not empty for the new harvest)

The economic situation of organic wine growers has, however, got worse during the financial crisis. “The market is very much price-driven. On the one hand, we’re having to struggle with more and more consumers changing their behaviour and going for lower priced wines. And on the other, we’re struggling in the face of subsidized wine imported from Europe.” After years of double-digit growth, in 2009 the wine industry in California saw a fall in profits. Frey reacted in several ways, one of which was a range of lower-priced wines under the brand Pacific Redwood. A bottle of this wine can be bought here for 6 – 10 dollars, whereas wines under the Frey label cost from 10 dollars upwards. “We would like to recover our market share, so we’re offering private labels too, and we want to increase our exports,” says Eliza Frey. However, for 2010 Frey is already anticipating a return to a rise in turnover of 15 %. (Picture: An idyllic location and a bio-dynamic terroir)

Katrina Frey points out that the Demeter wine businesses in America are the ambassadors of the bio-dynamic idea. Now they want to emphasise in their communication the values and additional benefits. “We’re doing a lot in terms of sustainability and to benefit bio-diversity and the environment, and that’s what we want to talk about more. The press responded very positively to their first publications and the events they organized. As well as regularly organising events, seasonal parties and tasting campaigns, Frey Vineyard also makes its facilities available for fundraising events or family celebrations, and you can even get married there. “Keep telling the story” – telling the background and the history is for Eliza Frey hugely important, and they have a site on Facebook to do just that. She says their challenge for the next few years is to do more in this direction – for example, to fix in the minds of as many people as possible the whole issue of GMO. As early as 2004, they managed to establish the first GMO-free zone in the Mendocino region. The Frey family was proactive in the preparation process, and they are still involved in the movement. (Picture: The winery as a place to hold celebrations)

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