BENTON CITY, Wash. — In Washington State's Red Mountain wine region, timing is everything. And for Shae Frichette, this is the best time of the year.
"I love everything about being in the vineyard during harvest," Frichette said. "I mean the vibe and the energy. There's a lot of action that happens in the vineyard. And to get to be a part of that, to me, it's just magical."
As pickers work in a frenzy, snipping vines at the peduncle to load grapes in baskets, Frichette takes a bite out of a single grape.
"Thick Skins," Frichette said. "Very sweet. Good acid. Good balance. It's gonna make some great wine."
For more than a dozen years Shae Frichette and her husband Greg have been growing and pressing grapes at their destination winery. It's all thanks to a coin flip the couple made in Southern California back in 2010.
"If it lands on heads we move to Washington," Frichette remembered. "And if lands on tails we go to South Carolina. And that sucker landed on heads for Washington. So that's what brought us to Washington state. We wanted to do something that would give us goosebumps. We loved wine, and decided to leave our jobs in I.T. and corporate training and jump feet first into making wine."
It's a craft far more complex than just letting 300 days of sun do its thing.
"There are a million decisions that are made starting with where do you want to source your wine grapes from, when to pick it, what happens when it comes into production, and those decisions just keep going and going and going and going and going," Frichette said.
One of Frichette's favorite decisions has been creating the Sashay label.
"But when you say it you have to say 'Sashay'," she laughed, snapping her fingers.
The labels feature confident women whose full sized portraits can be found in the tasting room.
Frichette wrote the message on the back of the bottle
"I wanted it to be a message that inspired other women the way that I was inspired when I saw a black female winemaker for the first time," Frichette said. "So the back of the label says 'You are strong. You are courageous. You are fierce. You have the ability to create positive change in this world. So lift your chin. Push your shoulders back and sashay girl, sashay.'"
It's the kind of confidence that suits Shae Frichette.
"I don't mind being one of the first Black female winery owners in our state," she said. "I certainly don't want to be the last."
Then raising a glass, she said " Come out and see us on Red Mountain! Cheers!"
If you can't make it to Benton City, Frichette Winery has Seattle pop up events about once a month. Check the website for the next one.
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