Frias Family Vineyard is owned and operated by Manny (Mexican heritage from Guadalajara) and Maria (Italian heritage) Frias and their family. They were one of the early Hispanic owned wineries within the Napa Valley – although today there are certainly more. Manny grew up in San Francisco and fell in love with Napa Valley during visits in the 1960s when Cabernet Sauvignon was several dollars per bottle (IE Beaulieu Vineyard, Inglenook). Finally in 1977 (along with his father) Manny purchased 100 acres on Spring Mountain above the town of St. Helena, the property bordering and immediately north of Brasswood Village. The timing and circumstances for this purchase were favorable; they sold three properties in San Francisco and paid the prior owner $1,000/acre with the caveat that she could stay on the property as long as she desired.
After the prior owner moved away, Manny’s parents moved into the home on site in 1983. Over the years, Manny became interested in the wine business including taking courses at Napa Valley College.
Manny planted 5 acres of vines 1985 (the property was originally planted to walnuts); his first home wine was from 1988 – the first commercial release under the Frias Family label was from the 1991 vintage. They later planted more Cabernet Sauvignon along with small blocks of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Today their total vine acreage is around 20 acres separated into a lower block next to the highway and several upper blocks. Most of their upper vineyard is in the Spring Mountain District (above 800 feet) while their lower block is in the St. Helena Appellation.
First and foremost, the family are farmers. Wine making starts in the vineyards and they spend significant time in their vineyards micromanaging each vine. Their winemakers and wine making locations have changed several times throughout the years, but one thing remains consistent: cultivating premium grapes from their own vineyard.
Their vineyard neighborhood is certainly in a well-regarded part of the valley; nearby neighbors include Grace Family, Colgin’s Tychson Hill and Vineyard 29.
Soil types differ dramatically from one block to the next; parts of their vineyard are extremely rocky. This unique “terroir” contributes to interesting and complex wines.
Second generation, brothers Fernando (Fern) and Manny Jr. have taken over operations from their father and bring a significant enthusiasm and creativity towards promoting the brand. Both have put a thoughtful effort into not only helping oversee their vineyards, working on harvest activities but also promoting and selling their wine. To this, Fernando speaks about the great personal satisfaction of seeing his hard work rewarded when he walks into a fine restaurant and sees a bottle of wine on their wine list, or better yet sees a patron enjoying one of their wines.
Over the years their wine making has become more detailed – sorting three times in the vineyard and another several times in the winery. Not only this, but they have also upgraded the look and feel of their packaging to represent the time invested into producing premium grapes. Their wine labels now feature an attractive contemporary look. In the early years of producing wines, they primarily used American oak but have long since transitioned to using French oak for aging.
For about 10 years they focused on a single wine – a 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. Today they make two Cabernet Sauvignon wines from their Spring Mountain estate including a Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (usually blended with small amounts of select other varieties) and their Reserva, a 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition, they source fruit from premiere vineyards in select parts of Napa Valley including Oakville.
The focus of the Frias Family Vineyard wines is on precision farming, growing the best possible grapes from their hillside vineyard blocks. The wines are crafted to showcase plenty of fruit while simultaneously featuring supple textural profiles which in part allows the wines to be extremely approachable in their youth. Yet, these are also wines that can age.
Select Wines
Whites/Rosé
Our first introduction to Frias Family Vineyard was a rosé we enjoyed at a tasting in San Francisco in 2007. This was a varietal blend not found anywhere else in Napa Valley as it contained Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Frias Family still produces a rosé each year.
The 2023 Frias Family Vineyards Rosé, Napa Valley is made from Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is deep salmon in color; the bouquet is both citrus and red berry influenced. These scents are of raspberry, strawberry, pink grapefruit, cotton candy, watermelon, hibiscus, horned melon (look that one up if you are unfamiliar with that), rose petals, dried tobacco and hiding deep in all this other aromatic complexity, a note of nutmeg. Fully ripe, the palate offers flavors of strawberry, raspberry, cran-apple, watermelon jolly rancher, pomegranate, pink grapefruit and blood orange, finishing with a light phenolic grip and a subtle bitter note, perhaps most like grapefruit pith. Its texture features a creamy, satin-like and supple mouth feel, gliding gently across the palate. This is is supported by a bright but balanced sweet/sour/tangy acidity. We are guessing this wine is made from a heavier red variety. In terms of pairing, we are going to lean heavily into seafood, perhaps yellowtail sashimi or one of the fish tacos at La Taquiza in the city of Napa.
The 2024 Frias Family Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley is pale yellow in color; this wine smells energetic, fresh and ready for action. Its aromatics burst from the glass including not fully ripe pineapple, fresh pine branch, green apple, grapefruit, lemongrass, lemon zest, orange blossom, kaffir lime, white nectarine and white peach. Alternating between more herbal and riper characteristics, its aromatics are diverse and layered. Minerally. This wine tastes like pineapple, Babcock peach, white nectarine, apricot, pineapple guava, golden kiwi, Sierra Nevada mountain gooseberry, honeydew melon, mandarin orange and key lime pie. Its texture is supple and lightly fleshy, buoyed high by its lively but not bracing acidity. A wise man recently told us he gets goosebumps when he tries a wine that rings true with him. This wine gave us the same physical reaction. Bright, balanced and beautiful, this wine sings with plenty of varietal expression, right out of the gate. It is fully ripe at 13.5% ABV. We would love to enjoy this with a Greek salad topped with freshly caught octopus on a Greek Island of your choice. Ours is Paros.
Reds
SMD
The 2022 Frias Family SMD Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Spring Mountain District is deep ruby and nearly opaque; well endowed and brimming with ripe fruits and sweeter oak influenced attributes, the bouquet smells compote-like with aromas of blackberry jam, boysenberry preserves, dark fig at the peak of ripeness, cherry pie, baked plums, Pakistani mulberry, dark chocolate, Graham cracker, toasted oak, smoked cedar, mocha, espresso and cloves. This wine smells riper than the listed 14.5% ABV. Mouth filling deliciousness, its heartbeat is its forward fruit including flavors of dark plum, dark cherry, boysenberry, blackberry and black currant. And notes of dark chocolate, toasted cedar, mocha and vanilla. Lush, rich and ripe, the finish lingers with loads of fruit and sweet and well-resolved tannins in their youth; we tasted this wine 3 years post vintage. Their texture persists with a light gravelly character along with a darker spice including a light dash of peppercorn and smoked sage. This will be a crowd favorite for those who favor riper expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lady of the Dead
Lady of the Dead is a Napa Valley red wine featuring an intriguing label, with artwork similar to what is created around Mexico’s ‘dia de los muertos’ celebration every November 1st and 2nd. Regardless of vintage, this wine is strongly weighted towards Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2022 Frias Family Lady of the Dead Red Blend, Napa Valley is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the fruit is clearly the star of the show here. A life of the party kind of aromatics. The first and most prominent scent we noted is that of Satsuma plum with plenty of ripe and supporting other fruits including blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry and dark raspberry. Also dried rose petals. And as the wine evolves, it opens to an assortment of darker baking spices including clove and nutmeg. While thoroughly ripe and a full on throttle expression of California sunshine, the nose doesn’t quite cross into the territory of being jammy or over ripe. Its barrel influences include old cedar box, toasted oak, smoked meats, dark chocolate and mocha. While the fruit is different than the 2021 vintage, our guess is the oak aging is similar. Crowd friendly across the palate, this wine tastes like ripe blackberry or blackberry jam, boysenberry, blueberry, dark raspberry, dark cherry and dark plum. Not shy. But there is a balance here, bound by a thread of bright acidity running the length of the palate. Finishes ripe with a perception of sweetness, perhaps not from residual sugar but from the intensity of the ripe fruit. Lingers with gravelly and lightly grainy tannins and an accompanying dusty and chalky character
The 2021 Frias Family Lady of the Dead Red Blend is a blend of ‘vintner Juan Mercado, Napa Valley meets San Luis Obispo County’. Insiders will understand that sentence. This wine was crafted with 53% San Luis Obispo County and 47% Napa County grapes wth the varietal composition including 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 5% Mourvèdre, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Tempranillo. It is deep ruby and nearly opaque; open-knitted, fully ripe and generous its aromatic union tugs from both fruit and barrel influence. These scents include blackberry, boysenberry, ripe dark cherry, Persian mulberry and dark plums. Additional layers include cedar box which hasn’t been opened in an extended period of time, coffee grinds, toasted oak, dark chocolate and mocha. Filled with ripe and dark fruits, its flavors include Coral cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, dark plum and Himalayan purple mulberry. The finish lingers lively, juicy and bright, but with a softer styled texture. Four years post vintage, the tannins are well-tumbled with a gravelly character that lingers with a light to moderate grip, beyond the fruit. And a subtle finishing dryness. This wine was fermented in tank and then aged for 19 months in small French and Hungarian oak barrels of which 20% were new.
Reserva
The 2018 Frias Family Vineyard Reserva is dark ruby with purplish tinges on the rim; the bouquet is lightly savory but quickly opens to a freshness of ripe fruit. It offers an intensity of aromas including a medley of ripe blackberry, plum and boysenberry. Deeper into the aromas are notes of Graham cracker, mocha and vanilla. This wine is very balanced and highly approachable in its youth. Shows darker fruit flavors including plum and blackberry. Features plush, ripe, rounded and very well integrated tannins, almost silty or chalky in their textural feel. The finish persists for some time and along with fruit, lingers with white pepper and a hint of dried tobacco leaf. This wine was bottled unfiltered and aged for 21 months in French oak barrels.
The 2013 Frias Family Vineyard Reserva represents two small blocks from some of the oldest vines in the upper corner of their estate vineyard (100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon). The wine is very fragrant, perfume like at times including aromas of violets. On the palate the wine is soft and plush with a density of fruit that is well layered – somewhat brambly with flavors of blackberry. The earthy tannins are noticeable – somewhat chewy in nature. The finish is very lively and lingers for quite some time.
Block 5
The 2014 Frias Family Vineyard Block 5 was sourced from the immediate vicinity of what is arguably Napa’s most well-known vineyard, To Kalon (the heart of Oakville). Shows well young, it is 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. Features a voluptuous well-endowed bouquet – showing floral notes and a sweetness of ripe fruit. Layers of flavor dominate, rich at times with dark cherry, blackberry and blueberry. Fairly soft on the palate with a prolonged finish.
Prado
The 2014 Frias Family Vineyard Prado was named in tribute to Manny’s wife Maria; Prado is her maiden name which means “meadows” in Spanish. This wine was sourced from a premium vineyard in Oakville not far from Screaming Eagle. Shows an initial sweetness of dessert spice on the bouquet along with aromas of fig, blackberry and ripe plum. As it opens deeper darker aromas continue to develop. Well layered aromatics. To be sure, this is a big wine, but it still has balance. Fairly smooth texture. The finish has nice ‘oomph’ both in flavor and structure. Fernando indicates there is a certain sexy quality about the style of this wine along with several of their other reds.
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Napa Tasting Room
Tastings are for serious enthusiasts and are held in north Napa (by appointment only) in a two-story set of offices appropriately called the Cooperage Square Business Center. The family refer to this tasting room as ‘the man cave’. This location is ideal as it is directly next to Highway 29 on the north bound direction.
Tastings are private and are typically held with one of the Frias brothers, Manny or Fernando. At the time of our latest update, this small complex is home to one other Napa producer – although over the years other wine producers or wine related businesses have been tenants for short periods of time.
Frias Family currently produces around 4,000 cases annually with select distribution in a variety of states including New York, Texas and Florida. We have seen select wines by the glass and on the extensive wine list at the legendary and iconic Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, Florida. Their wines also see some distribution in British Columbia and Alberta as well as in Japan.
Manny often travels around the country visiting client’s homes for winemaker dinners. He usually ships out a case of wine in advance of his visit; the homeowner will invite some of their closest wine enthusiast friends over for an intimate gathering. A minimum purchase amount per couple is decided prior to the dinner. And for serious wine enthusiasts, Frias Family offers the private-label barrel experience. Buyers will select their barrel based on barrel samples tasted in person at the Frias Family tasting room, or samples will be shipped. The wines will be bottled, labeled and then delivered to a provided address.
For more information, to schedule a visit, to purchase wines or to become a member of their mailing list, visit: www.friasfamilyvineyard.com
Love your Cab!
Their wines are excellent 🙂