Frichette Family Winery Breaks Barriers, Opens Doors

A Black-owned winery in Washington State that was started as the result of a coin flip? Back2Besa Producer Cesar Canizales traveled to Benton City, Washington to tap in with Frichette Winery Co-Owner Shae Frichette during #NationalBlackBusinessMonth to hear the unique story behind her and her husband’s vineyard.

“We couldn’t decide if we wanted to go to South Carolina, where my family was, or Washington, where my husband Greg’s was,” Frichette said. “We got heads, and packed our bags and looked for new careers.”

Both Frichettes come from farming families, but neither knew how to make wine or manage a vineyard. They built connections in Washington's famous wine country, and began to learn the craft.

“Agriculture was very comfortable for us, and so we thought growing the grapes would be simple,” Frichette said. “Making the wine, we had no idea.”

They produced their first vintage in 2011, and have been producing wine ever since. Their winery is one of two Black-owned Wineries in Washington State, out of nearly 1,000 total. Shae said that the push to make the industry more diverse is underway, and that she was at a recent conference where organizers brought in students from Black Universities.

“One of the students said ‘I never saw myself in viticulture. I never saw Black people owning vineyards’,” Frichette said. “He said he was going to be the first Black vineyard owner in his state.”

She says the industyr is shifitng in a positive direction, and she’s proud to be part of that change. 

You can see more and hear from Shae Frichette in the video above.

This segment originally aired on Back2Besa. Make sure to tune into Back2Besa with Besa Gordon every Saturday at 10:30 pm on FOX 13 Seattle and Sunday at 10 am on FOX 13+.