Frias Family Vineyard

Traditionally, in Mexico, the town squares resembled Spanish styled plazas. At night, all the boys walked in one direction around the town square while the girls, seeming not to notice the boys, walked in the opposite direction. That is where my mother first caught my father’s eye. He handed her a flower as she passed by as was the traditional way to initiate courtship. He would go to her parents’ house and sit outside and talk through an open...

When I first visited the Napa Valley, land was dirt cheap. However, it wasn’t until 1977 that I finally made the purchase with my father. The elderly woman who owned the 100 acres and Victorian farmhouse we purchased wanted to sell, but with the caveat of a life stake to the property. At 83 she was still quite able to take care of herself, but couldn’t find a buyer as no one wanted to take a chance that she might live to 100! We sold three pro...