Giving wild honeybees a chance

Surrounding our estate organic and biodynamic vineyards are woodlands and forests that harbor wildlife and sustain local biodiversity, including the wild honeybee. This vital pollinating insect is suffering worldwide from colony collapse disorder, widely believed due to it's extreme sensitivity to modern pollutants, including agricultural pesticides, that weaken their immune system. So last year when we spotted a hive in need of help right at the edge of our Petite Sirah vineyard, we quickly gave them a hand.

The hive was located inside this fallen fir tree.

The bees had their home high up in a fir tree, inside the rotted and hollow interior. A windstorm snapped the tree halfway up and the hive fell. Much of it shattered on impact with crushed honeycombs seeping across the splintered trunk. We were tempted to eat some of the honey, but this food was vital to the bees if they were to survive the rest of the winter, so it was hands off the sweet ambrosia. Luke Frey quickly brought an empty beehive box and put the surviving humming mass of bees in it along with every drop of their precious honey. Then he placed it on top of the fallen tree right next to the old hive.

Here's a short video with some live footage of these beautiful wild honeybees.

It was soon apparent the queen did not survive the fall so a frame with two capped queen cells were put in. We crossed our fingers that the orphaned honeybees would take to their new home and raise a new queen. A few weeks later they were still there! Following the coronation the hive raised a new brood into the spring and summer. But then they were gone! We suspect that they swarmed and made a new hive in an old wine barrel by our Merlot vineyard. It's also possible the colony perished.

Wild honeybees and their shattered, exposed hive.

The location of the honeybee's new hive is circled, next to the Frey Biodynamic Petite Sirah vineyard.

Cycles in the Vineyard: Fall Harvest

The harvest of 2012 promises to be one of exceptional quality here at Frey Vineyards for our organic and Biodynamic® vineyards.  After two challenging years, 2010 and 2011, which were marked with late soggy springs and early wet falls, we finally have a picture perfect year.

During early June when the grapes were flowering, the weather was just right: moderate temperatures, clear skies and no wind.  If it is windy during the 10 day flowering period the delicate blossoms can “shatter,” which means they fall off and the clumps are tattered.  We’ve had a hot, but not too hot, dry summer that our organic grapes have loved.  Biodynamic sprays have protected the vines and there was very little, if any, mildew problems here in Mendocino County.

Harvest began in early October with the picking of Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.  In addition to our permanent vineyard crew, we’ve had the help of fifteen extra people to work in the cellar and the vineyards.  Everyone worked really hard to get the grapes in with the most amount of care.  In contrast to the previous two years, all our varieties will be picked before the first rains, except for the Cabernet, which is known for its weather resistance and thick skins that can hold up to moisture.  All of our 2012 fruit is of beautiful quality: perfect sugars, great acidity,  and no mold.  The wines of 2012 will show slightly higher alcohol levels than the past two vintages because sugars are higher when the grapes are allowed to come to full maturation.

In the next two weeks in the vineyards we’ll plant this year’s winter grains, as well as our traditional cover crops of legumes that add nitrogen to the soil.  Our work in the vineyard is always looking ahead, but we relish the thought of enjoying this memorable 2012 organic vintage!

Vote Yes on Prop 37! It’s our Right to Know!

Attention California Voters –
Vote Yes on Prop 37! It’s our Right to Know! 
Endorse! Volunteer! Donate! www.carighttoknow.org

Did you know that 80-85% of the processed foods you buy in America contain Genetically Engineered ingredients?  Did you know that 61 other countries require the labeling of Genetically Engineered ingredients?

On November 6th, 2012 California voters will go to the polls for Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Act, which will require labeling of Genetically Engineered ingredients on food labels.  This landmark initiative will confirm Californians’ Right to Know what they are eating and it will pave the way for ingredient labeling across the nation. 

Studies show that 90% of Americans across party lines favor labeling of GMO foods.  That is why No on Prop 37 is spending 1 million dollars a day to run misleading ads on all the main stream media and pushing blatant misinformation on California voters.  Due to huge contributions from billion dollar companies Prop 37 now has the potential to be the most funded initiative in the history of the state.

The No on Prop 37 Coalition is using scare tactics and false information to convince voters that prop 37 will raise food prices and provide exemptions for special interests.  They are lying!  The Organic Consumers association has a great write up that clearly debunks the lies being spewed by the No on 37 campaign, you can view it here.

Frey Vineyards has partnered with the Institute for Responsible Technology to sponsor a day of free online viewing of the film Genetic Roulette. This is an excellent film that showcases the lack of oversight provided by the FDA when approving GE foods and provides convincing evidence about why labeling is needed. Please watch it and encourage others to do the same! You can download the film here.
The viewing will be available until October 31, 2012.

Proposition 37 is a common sense initiative that gives consumers access to information about the food they eat.  Despite being approved for human consumption by the FDA, Genetically Engineered foods have never been subject to long term studies proving their safety.  Proposition 37 is the first chance that America has had to choose whether or not to eat GE foods.

Here at Frey Vineyards, we are endorsing Prop 37 because we believe that billion dollar corporations should not be allowed bypass federal regulations and expose the public to unknown health risks. The FDA has failed us and introduced GE foods into the American food supply without proper safety testing. It is now up to us to demand labeling of the foods we eat!
For a full list of endorsers you can visit the Yes on 37 website.

It is time for America and California to join the 61 other countries that require GMO labeling!  We have the opportunity to make this groundbreaking change for our Nation; lets make our voices heard on November 6th!  Whether you live in California or elsewhere, please consider offering support by endorsing the campaign, donating funds to keep ads running or volunteering for a slot on the Right to Know Phone Bank, their goal is to call 1 million voters in the state before election day.

New Release: Frey Organic Agriculturist for Whole Foods

We created Organic Agriculturist for Whole Foods customers (later to be available to all stores) and we’re proud to report that Whole Foods has named it one of their Top Ten Picks for Holiday 2012!

Organic Agriculturist is the first in a proprietary line for Whole Foods and is a delicious blend of Carignan, Merlot, and Syrah grapes. These traditional Rhone and Bordeaux varietals are processed without added sugars, acids, or preservatives, creating a fruit-forward California-grown red wine.  Our overall pursuit with Organic Agriculturist was to blend an exceptionally food-friendly wine. A spicy, aromatic nose gives way to damson plum and plush berry tones on the palate. The firm structure and grippy tannins of the Carignan and Syrah provide a well-balanced backbone for savory roasted meats, while the softness of the Merlot informs a delicate touch that would compliment vegetarian cuisine. Aged with a touch of French oak, the wine has a lingering cedary finish along with a hint of allspice that makes this a perfect holiday choice.

The Organic Agriculturist label was designed by our wine club director, Nicole Paisley Martensen.  In creating the look, Nicole looked to vintage paper goods and an updated nostalgia for an agrarian lifestyle.  "Frey Ranch is a unique wrinkle in time, and we wanted to translate the cyclical nature of the hard work involved in caring for the land, and the bounty and enjoyment it provides," she states.

Organic Agriculturist will be available in many Whole Foods stores nationwide starting November 1st.  We’ll also be offering it to wine club members only as a limited release in the upcoming Holiday Wine Club Shipment.  It pairs well with spice-crusted rack of lamb, caramelized shallots and roasted root vegetables, or a fennel and blood-orange salad.

Wine Sensory Garden

What is a wine sensory garden? The following is the work of Shannon Jasie during her summer internship at Frey Vineyards.

"Tasting wine is a full-body experience. Wherever you taste wine, the colors and smells of the tasting area, as well as your mood and state of mind, influence how a wine tastes. Wine sensory gardens deepen the sensory experience by incorporating sight and touch. When tasting wine in a garden, the aroma is enjoyed by the nose, and the taste and texture by the mouth. Upon entering the space, you are surrounded by the color and scent of the garden and the plants whose flavors are used to describe the particular varietal. This enhances your tasting experience and compliments the flavor and aroma of the wine."

How to do a wine sensory garden tasting:

While you sip a glass of Frey wine, take a walk through the garden. As you meander through the herb
and flowerbeds, pick a sprig, leaf, or petal from the herbs and flowers whose aromas and flavors will compliment the wine. As you taste each herb, sip your wine and savor the new flavors that are exposed through the pairing.

Try our suggested pairings of Frey wine with garden herbs and edible flowers.

White Varietals

Chardonnay:
Anise, Thyme, Sage, Honey, Tarragon, Lavender, Squash, Blossoms, Lemon Verbena Violets.

Gewurztraminer: Rose Petals, Mint, Lavender, Rosemary, Lemon Verbena, Honey, Nasturtium, Rose, Geranium, Jasmine Blossoms, Cornflower.

Sauvignon Blanc: Lavender, Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Parsley, Sorrel, Lovage, Dill, Hay & Green Grass, Lemon Verbena.

Natural White: Tarragon, Marjoram, Thyme, Chevril.

Photo by Molly Frey

Red Varietals

Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot: Sage, Rosemary, Oregano, Chocolate Mint, Chives, Nasturtium, Dill, Bee Balm, Pansy, Snapdragons Chrysanthemum.

Pinot Noir: Violets, Squash Blossoms, Fennel, Sweet Basil, Oregano, Chocolate Mint, Bee Balm, Pansy.

Petite Sirah: Chives, Rosemary, Oregano, Lavender, Sage.

Zinfandel & Syrah: Rose Petals, Lavender, Sage, Basil, Oregano, Nasturtium, Calendula, Marigold.

Natural Red: Basil, Thyme, Sage, Marigold, Calendula.

Sangiovese: Rose Petals, Anise, Basil, Fennel, Sage, Oregano, Pansy, Marjoram.

Photo by Molly Frey

Warre style beehive

Summer is certainly the time that bees seem most at home in the world, flying all about the garden, buzzing throughout the warmth of the season's days, and kissing all the flowering blossoms that need the bee magic to produce.

On the Frey farm we have been experimenting with several different styles of creative bee hive designs. The hive that I've been tending and observing the most this past year is a Warre style hive that my woodworking neighbor Kevin designed and built. The hive currently drips with honeybees, coming and going from their floral pursuits (see images below). It's built in the top bar style with multiple pieces of parallel wood spanning the top of each hive-body box. Unique to this model is that the hive-body is built in the form of a hexagon, to honor the bees own sacred geometric building. Kevin also built the hive completely without the use of metal to respect the bees' keen sensitivity to vibrations in their home. This particular model is on the roof of my bedroom, to protect it from unwanted visitors, such as bears, who have been known to go out of their way to taste the farm honey! On certain days, if I sit quietly on my bed, I can hear the bees buzzing and vibrating through the walls!

I've seen the hive swarm twice this year, each time swirling in elaborate lemniscate patterns, up higher and higher until they landed on nearby redwoods: too high for me to reach safely. I hoped these brave convoys made new homes successfully in the surrounding woods. We harvested a small amount of honey recently, which was a deep rich golden/bronze color and tasted of the Spring flora. As the summer winds down, the bees will travel far and wide to seek out late blooms to help flush out their sweet stores for the rest of the year, when forage becomes less and less available. But, for now, the bees are a buzz!

Warre style honeybee hive.

Honeybees taking off from the beehiveHoneybee launch pad!

View inside the beehiveTop of hive-box body.

New Release! Frey 2010 Organic Tannat

We are pleased to announce the release of our first vintage ever of Tannat wine, from our West Road Vineyard. (Very limited production, available only at the winery or you may order online.)

First-time release of Frey Organic Tannat! Available online.

For those of you who love a rich, full-bodied tannic wine, you must try our Organic Tannat!  It is rarely found in the U.S. today. We like it because of its intense fruity mouth-feel, sumptuous tannic structure and spicy finish.  The 2010 production is limited to just 180 cases and Frey Wine Club members will enjoy a pre-release bottle with their April shipment.  For more information about our Wine Club that offers specialty wines and year round discounts, please check here.

We planted one-acre of Tannat in 2007 and it’s been a thrill to work with this new grape.  Tannat berries are thick-skinned and inky colored.  It’s one of the most tannic grapes available, similar to a heavy Cabernet or Syrah.  The color and depth of the resulting wine is impressive and the flavors are heightened with exposure to French Oak and some aging.
 
Tannat’s homeland is in the Basque region of southwest France in the appellation of Madiran near the Pyrenees Mountains, grown since the 17th century and highly prized.  It is also the national grape of Uruguay and called Harriague by the Uruguayans, and the wine is softer and lighter than its French and American counterparts. 

Tannat was first introduced to the US in the late 1800’s by the University of California at Berkeley and was primarily used as a blending grape for Meritage blends, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.  It is now grown in California, Arizona, Virginia and Oregon and gaining increased notoriety as its own varietal.

We look forward to many delicious vintages of this unique wine to come.

Frey Vineyards participates in Millésime Bio 2012, France

In late January 2012, Katrina and Jon Frey attended Millésime Bio 2012, the world’s largest organic wine show at Montpellier, France. Jon Frey noted “It was an awesome showing of the whole spectrum of organic wines. Organic viticulture is growing rapidly in Europe.” 

Millésime Bio organic wine convention hall in Montpellier, France.

The show featured wines from Europe, Eastern Europe and beyond, with 470 wineries represented. Katrina Frey said, “As the only US winery there, and coming straight from our NOSB victory to maintain the definition of Organic Wine in the US as wine made with no added sulfites, it was gratifying to meet so many European Winemakers who are experimenting with making non sulfited wines.”

We look forward to continue our participation in this event, to share notes and collaborate with more European winemakers as their non-sulfited wine movement expands.

Check out this video from Millésime Bio 2012, including a short interview with Katrina Frey at the end.

The NOSB voted: no added sulfites in Organic Wines

A big thanks to all of you who took the time to petition the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).  The board voted and they agree with you:  sulfites have no place in organic wine!

With a 9-5 vote a few weeks ago, the NOSB rejected the petition that would have allowed sulfites, a synthetic preservative, into USDA certified organic wine for the first time.  The petition would have allowed the addition of up to 100ppm added sulfite to organic wine despite the fact that organic processing laws expressly prohibit the use of synthetic preservatives.  You helped to educate the policy makers about the quality and popularity of truly organic wines!

Non-sulfited winemakers banded together to advocate truth in labeling and to reject the watering down of organic standards.  Representatives from several certified organic wineries gave public comment.  

Thanks again to all who voiced their opinions.  The large volume of public comments were crucial in keeping synthetics out of wine and other organic products.

Following is a press report issued after the vote:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 2, 2011
Savannah, Georgia

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted to uphold organic wine standards. They rejected the petition requesting the use of the synthetic preservative sulfite in organic wine.

A coalition of organic winemakers and distributors including Frey Vineyards, La Rocca Vineyards, Stellar Organics, The Organic Wine Works, Ten Spoon Winery, Honey Run Winery, and Organic Vintages gathered to defend the integrity of the USDA seal, the gold standard for food purity.

“Organic wine has always been defined as preservative-free with no added sulfites,” says Phil La Rocca, founder of La Rocca Vineyards in Forest Ranch, CA.

Paul Frey, President of Frey Vineyards in Redwood Valley, CA states, “The preservative sulfite has never been allowed in any organic food that carries the USDA organic seal.”

John Schumacher of Organic Wine Works in Felton, CA remarks on the overwhelming consumer support expressed at the meeting and that "the decisive 9-5 NOSB vote was very gratifying."

During the months leading up to the NOSB meeting there was a huge outpouring of consumer support declaring the importance of truth in labeling and denouncing the addition of sulfites, a synthetic preservative, to organic wine. The Organic Consumers Association gathered over 10,000 signatures, and of the 484 comments posted on the USDA NOSB site, over 80% opposed the petition.

Schumacher sums up the victory by bringing it back to the health of the consumer: "Consumers can continue to choose award-winning USDA organic wines with no sulfites added.”

Steve Frenkel, owner of the New York distribution company Organic Vintages declares, "I am elated that we have prevented the proposed rule change which would have caused much confusion resulting in consumers being easily mislead and misinformed.  Instead, I am very happy to report, this victory has insured the continuation of clear, honest, and forthright labeling of organic wine."

Harvest 2011 report

Harvest 2011 was an exciting one for North Coast grape growers here in Mendocino County, California.  Two large rainstorms in early October got growers scrambling to harvest the fruit as quickly as possible.  Our picking crew worked under gray skies during the day and at night under a Harvest Moon, successfully bringing in our entire crop in record time.  The cellar crew worked overtime to process such large volumes.  But then it cleared up and the vineyards dried out, allowing us to harvest less frantically during the final stretch.  The pressing is finished now and the wines are put to bed for the winter as they complete malolactic fermentation.  Mendocino County weathered the storms and we anticipate some great wines despite the challenging harvest.  Look for the first of our 2011 white wines in early 2012!

Harvesting organic grapes, Mendocino County, California.