Trisaetum Welcomes Second Generation Into Winery, Distillery Leadership

NEWBERG, Ore. — A winery named for the founders’ two children is entering a new era as Tristen and Tatum Frey join the leadership team at Trisaetum Wines and Brixeur Spirits.

“When Andrea and I started Trisaetum, we hoped it might someday support our family — and now to see our children not only working alongside us, but thriving in this business, brings us incredible joy,” founder James Frey said. “It’s one thing to hope your children get along; it’s another to see them collaborate under the daily demands of running a winery and distillery.”

James and Andrea Frey founded Trisaetum (pronounced tris-ate-um) Wines in 2003 on five acres outside McMinnville. In 2005, they found the Ribbon Ridge site where the winery sits today. James, also a painter whose art hangs in the tasting room, had no vineyard or winemaking experience and relied on mentors, including Oregon’s Josh Bergström and Burgundy’s Jacques Lardière.

The brand grew and received national acclaim, including 40 Wine Enthusiast Editor’s Choice awards, several Top 100 wine designations, and three Trisaetum wines served at the White House.

Today, Frey Family Wines encompasses two additional brands — the Washington grape-focused 18401 Cellars and sparkling wine brand Pashey Sparkling — all produced at the Ribbon Ridge winery alongside Brixeur Spirits, founded in 2020.

“It’s a cool job. It’s a cool industry,” Tatum said. “We are very lucky that our parents built a really cool business for us to come into with lots of different facets.”

Tatum and Tristen were born in Orange County, California, and moved to Oregon in 2006 when the family purchased its first winery. They have been working around the vines ever since, as is common in family wine businesses.

Tatum’s journey with Trisaetum began in college, working in the tasting room and assisting with harvests — a role she shared with her now-husband, Yamhill county-native Jackson Harloff. She spent summers during high school cleaning barrels, assembling boxes, and doing “random odd jobs” before taking on larger responsibilities.

“There is no, ‘I’m the owner’s daughter so now I’m the winemaker,’ because I wouldn’t know what I was doing,” she said. “I knew I had to start at the bottom in order to learn the right way to do things.”

After graduating from the University of Oregon in 2021, she transitioned into formal production roles and is now the winery’s enologist. Another passion emerged during the pandemic: distilling. James, together with Tatum and Harloff, launched the Brixeur Spirits brand in 2020.

“Brixeur was kind of a COVID project that then went a little crazy after the fact,” Tatum said. “We started distilling gin. After a few batches, we realized it was really fun, and first and foremost, we really enjoyed it. But then we were tasting it and realized they’re actually pretty good.”

Brixeur is now a core part of Trisaetum’s portfolio, offering rye and bourbon whiskey, a line of gins, and a new botanical vodka.

“Tradition is everything in distilling, and we don’t necessarily have that long-running tradition. But we try to honor and respect it,” Tatum said. “There are so many ways to innovate as well. That’s something we picked up on right away — we want to try things nobody’s tried, but we also want to do things that have worked for people in the past.”

That balance carries over into the winery. After more than 20 years, Trisaetum has a long-running customer base that has grown up with the family.

“It’s crazy to see wine club members I’ve known since I was a kid,” Tristen said. “It says a lot about our wines and customer service that these club members are still here, now working with the kids.”

After graduating from college in 2019, Tristen moved to Manhattan and began working as a business analyst. When the opportunity arose to return home this year, he saw a chance to bring his business experience to the winery and discovered another passion: management of the company’s 11 employees and ensuring they’re happy and taken care of.

“It’s not necessarily the business part that I find super interesting,” he said. “It’s making sure the company and all the employees are doing very well. That’s what I care about.”

He said that while he isn’t on the crush pad or in the cellar, his goal is to ensure the winery runs smoothly so winemakers and distillers can focus on their craft.

“It’s fun to have the capability to allow the winemakers and distillers to experiment because the business is working well,” he said. “I think it was a role that fit really naturally for me. I get excited about what they’re doing and do whatever I can to ensure they can keep doing it.”

For now, the second generation isn’t looking to make major changes. They say there’s more to learn in an industry adjusting to shifting consumer habits.

“For the Oregon wine industry, Pinot noir is king and chardonnay is right behind,” Harloff said. “But after that, everyone’s trying a bunch of different stuff to see what works best out here. We try to embrace that.”

Tatum said Willamette Valley wineries are in a unique position: they have established brands with broad distribution, but are not locked into producing the same few wines year after year.

“It’s a great opportunity,” she said. “Sometimes it’s easier to focus on tourism and distribution, but we don’t want to forget the people around us who want to come out and support us and this industry. It will be fun to talk with them in the tasting room and share something new we’re trying.”

James remains involved but plans to focus more on his art and enjoy more time off.

“Our parents have worked so, so hard,” Tatum said. “They have worked their tails off for years to build something they were able to pass down to us. I want them to go golf all day, travel to Italy, and do all the fun stuff they haven’t done while they’ve been raising us and raising this company. Now it’s our turn to work our tails off and build whatever comes next for the legacy.”

Learn more about Trisaetum Winery at its website and Instagram page.