BLOGS
Natural Wine
Are you wondering what qualifies as a “natural wine” these days? Frey Vineyards is committed to creating the purest wine you can drink. Here's our run-down of what "natural" means versus "organic" wine so that you can understand and make informed choices about what you're drinking.
Frey Wine Bitters
Have you ever tried your hand at making your own homemade Frey wine bitters? If not, here’s a quick and easy guide to get you started on this fabulous digestive tonic. Using our June Wine of the Month as an inspiration to make our bitters, we uncorked a bottle of our 2022 Biodynamic Field Blend for our project.
May Wine of the Month Recipes
For our May Wine of the Month Recipes, we featured a vegetarian frittata with a fresh salad side. These paired perfectly with our Biodynamic Cabernet Sauvignon on a picnic in the redwood grove.
Mamavation
Mamavation and Frey Vineyards are partnering to bring you clean, delicious wines that have been third-party certified as free from toxins like glyphosates.
Redwood Hedgerow
Happy National Love a Tree Day from Frey Vineyards! May’s Herbal Highlight from the hedgerows is the Redwood tree. Frey Vineyards is located in Redwood Valley, a town just north of Ukiah, California on the Highway 101 corridor. So named for a historic wealth of redwoods, the Northern part of Redwood Valley where the Frey Ranch is located is home to a preserve of redwoods. For the last several decades, the Frey family has been working to conserve over 100 acres of redwood habitat that is adjacent to Frey Vineyards, in conjunction with the Inland Mendocino County Land Trust. These redwood trees are some of the most inland groves of coastal redwoods left, with just a few stands remaining further to the East.
Bird Day
Happy Bird Day from Frey Vineyards! Every spring since 2020 we have set up birdhouses throughout our vineyards to help Bluebirds and other native species find safe places to nest. It’s a part of our efforts to farm grapes sustainably and to be in balance with local ecosystems the best we can. The nesting birds feast on insects in our organic vineyards and feed them to their gorging and fast-growing chicks. In some parts of the U.S., Bluebird populations are declining due to fewer woodlands, so we are happy that Bluebirds are the main residents of the boxes we put out.
GreenMoney
Frey Vineyards started as a commitment to organic Ag and winemaking when there was none. In 1980, Katrina and Jonathan Frey made their first barrel of wine. They both had become organic farmers, under Alan Chadwick's tutelage, and decided to embark on their enterprise: founding America's first organic winery. With the support of Jonathan's brother Matthew, they built the first winery, became certified organic, and started fermenting Frey wine. Pioneering the only organic winery at the time.
Sustainable for the Environment
While some folks claim sustainability, we live sustainably. Here’s a few of the ecologically forward practices that distinguish Frey Vineyards as a leader being truly sustainable for the environment.
Flowers in the Hedgerows
Flowers in the Hedgerows at the Frey Ranch reflect the glorious beauty of Spring! This April we’re celebrating the wild and domestic flowers in the vineyards and in the surrounding nature reserve.
Critter Cams
To get a better understanding of the wild creatures living in our forestlands, we set up critter cams starting around 2015. To our surprise, a whole assortment of wildlife came into view for the first time, creatures large and small who otherwise are rarely seen. The cams were placed at strategic locations near water streams, trails, and special large trees that seemed to have a magnetic draw to the animals.
Wild Greens Hedgerow
March’s Herbal Highlight from the Biodynamic Frey Ranch are the Wild Greens Hedgerow plants that are nutritious, delicious, and abundant at this time of the year.
Casey Frey
Comedian Casey Frey has created a video about Frey Vineyards and we’re excited to share some laughs with all of you in his signature irreverent style.
March Wine of the Month Recipes
Our March Wine of the Month recipes feature a root vegetable terrine and a wild greens salad with our Frey Organic Pinot Grigio. We invited friends for a lovely picnic!
Manzanita Hedgerow
February Wines of the Month Recipes
February Wines of the Month Recipes are here! We are showcasing the Kwaya Cellars label for Black History Month. We paired the Kwaya Organic Merlot, Sangiovese, and Chardonnay with a delicious African-inspired culinary melange.
Bouillabaisse Soup Recipe
This recipe for bouillabaisse soup features Frey white wines. It works wonders with sablefish, but it's just as good with halibut or rock cod. Try the Frey Biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc, the Frey Organic Pinot Grigio, or the Sun & Rain Organic Chardonnay. All would be equally stellar. Just be sure to indulge your inner chef and improvise to make a delicious soup!
January Wine of the Month Recipe
Our Frey January Wine of the Month, Sauvignon Blanc, made a delicious pairing with a freshly caught North Coast sablefish “en papillote” for our January Wine of the Month dinner party.
Rose Hedgerow
January's Biodynamic herbal highlight is the Rose Hedgerow on the Frey Ranch, featuring both cultivated and naturalized rose bushes from the Perennial Mother Garden in Redwood Valley, California
Madrone Hedgerow
December’s herbal highlight from is the Madrone Hedgerow on the Frey Ranch Nature Reserve. Biodynamic farming requires that we maintain 10% of our land base for maintaining native plantings. While we far exceed that number, we created this series to show the ecosystem that our grapes are growing in. Our Northern California terroir shines amidst a diverse array of indigenous and cultivated plantings.
The Perennial Mother Garden
The Perennial Mother Garden at the Frey Ranch serves as a home to both roses, cultivated for their healing properties, and a wealth of other plantings that are being propagated to all the gardens that we maintain at Frey.