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Fries enjoys status as 'maverick'
Doug Flanagan/reporter@qvpr.com
Cameron Fries enjoys the views that his winery provides on a daily basis.
The local wine industry has boomed over the past several years, but Cameron Fries, owner and winemaker of White Heron Cellars, has been hard at work growing grapes and making wines in the Quincy Valley since 1986.
Fries is also involved with Farmer-Consumer Awareness Days, which will be held Sept. 10-12. Recently, the Post-Register caught up with Fries at his tasting room, scenically located on top of a hill near Trinidad overlooking the Columbia River and Cascade Mountains, to talk about FCAD, how he got his start in the wine business and why he doesn’t mind if someone doesn’t like his wines.
QVPR: Since this is our FCAD issue, let’s start by talking about your involvement with the event. How did you become a part of the planning committee?
CF: I’m not sure, actually. A while back they asked me if I could do a Friday night iron chef thing here at the winery, and that went well. Then I started attending FCAD board meeetings, and unfortunately I had some good ideas, and that was the end of that. I guess I’m the ‘idea man.’ I’m certainly not the only one with ideas, but I guess I’ve come up with some useful ones.
QVPR: What does FCAD mean to you?
CF: My kids are old enough now so that I’m not fully occupied, so it’s nice to spend time in the community. The thing with FCAD is, Quincy is a farming community, and we should celebrate that heritage. (FCAD) strikes me as a worthwhile endeavor.
QVPR: Where did you grow up?
CF: I was born when my mom was at the University of California-Los Angeles. So I was raised in southern California, but all of my mother’s family is from western Washington. Growing up I didn’t know the east side of the state existed. The first time I came across the mountains, I was amazed. I was like, ‘Where did all that come from?’
QVPR: Where did you gain your winemaking expertise?
CF: My dad was Swiss, so when my wife and I graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, I told her I wanted to go to Europe for five years to learn how to make wine, and she foolishly said OK. In Europe, winemaking is a trade, like a mason or a plumber, so you serve an apprenticeship. Wine is a lot more common over there. I think learning in Europe helped me to do a style that’s unique, and it’s nice to be that way. There’s a lot of similarity in Washington wines, and I like being a maverick, although it’s difficult in other ways.
QVPR: How is your family involved with your business?
CF: My son, Dylan, works with me. My wife is involved as well. But we wouldn’t have been able to survive without her salary. This is an expensive business to start up in. You’re really thinking about a 10-year return on your investment. There’s a joke: To make a small fortune, you better start with a big one.
QVPR: What made you decide you wanted to be a winemaker?
CF: My dad was a French chef, but he didn’t want me to work in the restaurant business, but I figured I had to do something similar. I always liked wine, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ After all, I wear size fifteen shoes; you can crush a lot of grapes with feet this size. I decided to start up in 1978, when the wine industry in the state was just getting started. I actually wanted to start a winery on the west side, but I figured I should work in the industry for a while. I worked at Worden’s Winery in Spokane for a couple of years, and was a winemaker for Champs de Brionne winery from 1986 until 1990. White Heron started in 1986 and I believe we are the oldest continually running winery in North Central Washington.
QVPR: Where do you see the future of the Washington wine industry going?
CF: Well, that’s a tough question. There’s been three waves of winery openings in the state. During the first two, a lot of wineries weren’t open that long. This last wave has been huge, but I kept thinking that it would have to break sometime. I’m not sure with the economy how long this will last. Wineries have already started to close, and most of the ones that have closed are charging $40 or more for a bottle. I kept my wines under $10 a bottle for years. The thing is, with wine, being inexpensive has nothing to do with value. Somebody can enjoy a $4 bottle more than a $100 bottle, because individual tastes are so subjective.
QVPR: So it doesn’t bother you when somebody doesn’t like your wine?
CF: Not at all. I’d say 20 percent of the people who walk in here like all of my wines and 20 percent don’t like any of them. I make wines that I like. I think with wine, if you’re not offending somebody, that probably tells you that you have made a bland wine. I stopped entering competitions and I’ve stopped giving credence to critics. The reality is, it comes down to whether you like the wine or not.
QVPR: So how would you describe your wines?
CF: Wine kind of has its own language, so it’s difficult to speak in terms that can be fully comprehended, but I would say that our wines are more astringent and are more acidic than others. In America, wine is a cocktail. In Europe, it’s paired with food. I prefer the European style that has an extra bite to stand up to the food. With wine and food, there’s a synergy that occurs. Also, a lot of people can taste a menthol or minty taste in our wines. That comes from the sagebrush that’s out here. I’m growing three varieties of Swiss grapes, and I might be the only person on the Americas who’s doing that.
