The history of organic grape growing in California’s Mendocino County can be traced to the early Italian immigrants who first planted grapes there in the late 1800s.
Before the introduction of agricultural chemicals following World War I, all grape growing and food production was, in essence, organic. Many of the early grape-growing families resisted the pressure to accept modern chemicals in favor of their traditional “organic” methods.
Frey Vineyards, along with a handful of other family-owned vineyards in Mendocino County, joined California Certified Organic Farmers in 1980 and created the first wines in the U.S. to be made from certified organic grapes.
In 2008, fruit from more than 30 certified organic grape growers was utilized to make 12 varietals of Frey organic wine.
Over the years, Frey has helped many of these growers through the process of certification, increasing the total organic vineyard acreage in Mendocino County to more than 3,500 acres.
