“Mendocino, where life’s such a groove.” – Doug Sahm and Sir Douglas Quintet (1969)
Frey (pronounced Fry) Vineyards is a winery located in Mendocino County, California. If you’ve never had the chance to visit Mendocino, you’ve missed seeing a slice of American paradise.
Its location along the Pacific Ocean not only ensures a wonderfully cool climate along the coast, it also has an inland area with dry and hot climates. This variation is heaven for winemakers because they can choose what type of microclimate they want for their varietals and be able to access all of it with just a short drive.
Frey Vineyards is located where the famous Russian River crosses the town of Hopland. Frey’s fame has come from the fact that they use expensive growing techniques like organic and biodynamic and then sell their wines for quite reasonable prices. Their Sun & Rain Chardonnay is a perfect example. This wine is made with organic grapes and virtually no processing other than organic yeast and bentonite clay.
The result is a well-structured wine, full of fruity aromas and mineral driven flavors. It is delicious as an aperitif, but it is also wonderful with Gulf shrimp, redfish, snapper, chicken, or even roast pork. My family loves it so much, we buy it by the case. Try a bottle. I bet you’ll be impressed. Sun and Rain Chardonnay is available at Whole Foods and on Amazon, as well as most online merchants.
This article appears in August 5 • 2022.
