It actually began fifty million years ago when the site of our Coast Range estate was on the floor of the Pacific near an extensive line of submarine volcanoes and fate chose that one such volcano would erupt in that very location, spewing lava through the ocean floor, scattering glassy basalt nodules across the seascape, and leaving a unique mixture of volcanic and sedimentary soil that just so happens to be perfect for grapes. Unfortunately for grapes, the soil was at the bottom of the ocean.
In a few years, fortune followed fate when this volcanic island chain collided with North America and created Oregon’s Coast Range mountains, leaving the site on the eastern side of mountains looking at what would one day become the Willamette Valley. This activity left the site not only dry, but with the precise combination of soil, elevation, orientation, temperature, and micro-climate necessary to make something extraordinary from grapes.
In 2003, Andrea and James Frey purchased this now steep and rocky piece of land, moved their young children to Oregon, planted a vineyard and founded Trisaetum (tris-say-tum) in one of the few places where climate, soil, and entrepreneurial spirit combine to produce some very special wines. Two years later in 2005, they found another piece of land twenty minutes away on Ribbon Ridge, cleared the site, planted a second vineyard and built the winery where Trisaetum’s wines are made today.