Why it matters
The producer
The Frey family’s winegrowing roots reach back to the 18th century, while the present estate is run by Philipp and Christopher Frey with their father Stefan. Their shared work from vine to bottle matters because the same family oversees the fruit grown across the estate’s scattered holdings and the finished wines made from it.
The winery’s own page reports 23 hectares and annual production of about 15,000 cases. Published vineyard-area figures differ elsewhere, but the scale on the estate’s site helps place Frey between a small family address and a large-volume brand: enough ground for several varieties and sites, with production still tied to one family team.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Ober-Flörsheim is described by the estate as southwestern Rheinhessen’s highest-elevation municipality. Frey’s vineyards then extend north and south towards Biebelnheim, so a bottle labelled by the winery may bring together fruit grown well beyond the home village rather than claiming one compact block of land.
That geography is especially useful in understanding Pazzione Riesling. The wine was assembled from later-picked grapes in warmer sites and grapes from higher-elevation limestone vineyards, making its profile a deliberate conversation between ripeness and cooler-positioned fruit.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The official winery material covers harvesting, pressing, fermentation and maturation as parts of Frey’s winemaking, while the supplied evidence confirms no individual timings or vessel details. What is clear is the sequence of control: Philipp and Christopher Frey work with Stefan from the vineyard through bottling, connecting site selection and cellar work within the same family operation.
Organic-viticulture guidelines have been part of that work since 2013. Across loamy and clayey limestone soils, the family grows Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot varieties; the wines therefore begin with distinct grapes and sites before any blending decision brings them together.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range has three clear grape families: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot varieties. That architecture allows Frey to move from white wines rooted in limestone soils to Pinot-based reds, rather than asking one grape to carry the whole estate’s story.
Pazzione Riesling is the most explicit example of assembly across sites. Later-picked grapes from warmer places are blended with fruit from high-elevation limestone vineyards, joining ripe fruit with citrus, floral and saline notes reported for the wine, alongside noticeable acidity.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Yoko Pinot Noir Organic 2023. It is a 100% Pinot Noir with reported raspberry, forest-berry, sloe and violet aromas, and it offers a direct view of Frey’s Pinot work on the estate’s limestone-based soils. The bottle also gives the range a useful counterweight to its Riesling: red fruit and floral perfume first, rather than citrus, salinity and acidity.