Most wine brands start with a vineyard that's been in the family for generations, or a winemaker who studied in Bordeaux and has opinions about barrels.
Fria Frio started differently. It started with three women who knew exactly what they wanted in a glass of wine — and couldn't find it.
Light. Fresh. Vibrant. Something you could pour at noon on a Saturday without it feeling like a commitment. Something that tasted alive without the next morning feeling like a reminder.
So they made it themselves.
Th wine they wanted to drink
Joana Santiago is the winemaker — Portuguese, precise, and deeply connected to the land she grew up near in Northern Portugal. She describes Vinho Verde not as a product category but as a feeling: "This is a wine we want you to enjoy when you think about the sea, about the beach, about good moments, slow moments, to have fun with family and friends."
Joana sources Fria Frio's grapes from a certified sustainable family vineyard in the Sousa Valley — a sub-region of Vinho Verde with strong Atlantic influence, producing fruit that's naturally bright, fresh, and lower in sugar than grapes grown in warmer climates. Harvest happens at first light, with grapes handpicked in 20kg boxes and received at the winery within ten minutes of leaving the vine. That kind of care isn't incidental. It's the whole point.
Jocelyn and Lisa brought the other half of the equation: a clear vision for what a modern wine brand should feel and sound like, and a shared conviction that the wine world had been making things more complicated than they needed to be.
What "Fria Frio" means — and why it fits.
The name is bilingual, playful, and deliberate. "Fria" is Portuguese for cold or fresh. "Frio" is Spanish for the same. Together they double down on the thing that defines this wine most: a cool, refreshing quality that's built into the grapes, the region, and the glass.
It also captures a mood — easy, relaxed, a little sun-warmed — the kind of afternoon where the details don't matter as much as the company.
Why lower alcohol? (And why it's not a gimmick)
The lower alcohol in Fria Frio — 9.5% ABV for the White, 10.5% for the Rosé — isn't engineered. It's not a selling point that required a process or a workaround. It's the natural result of where and when the grapes are grown and picked.
Sousa Valley sits under the cool influence of the Atlantic. The grapes grow slowly, develop complexity without racing to peak sugar, and arrive at harvest with less sweetness than grapes from warmer regions. Less sugar during fermentation means less alcohol in the finished wine. It's not magic — it's just good viticulture, done in the right place.
What Joana, Jocelyn, and Lisa wanted was a wine that respected the drinker: honest about what it was, light enough to be genuinely refreshing, and good enough that the lower ABV was a bonus, not a consolation prize.
The wines
Fria Frio White is made from indigenous Portuguese white grape varieties from the Sousa Valley. It's lightly spritzy, fresh, and bright — green apple, pear, and citrus, with a clean, mineral finish. At 9.5% ABV, it's the kind of wine Tamlyn Currin of Jancis Robinson called "dry, spritzy, and just damn good." We tend to agree. Shop Fria Frio White
Fria Frio Rosé is made from Espadeiro and Touriga Nacional — indigenous grapes that bring wild strawberry, red currant, and a delicate floral lift. Lively and well-balanced at 10.5% ABV, with a smooth, lingering finish. Shop Fria Frio Rosé
Both wines are gluten-free, vegan friendly, and made with no added sugars, colors, or concentrates. Just indigenous Portuguese grapes, a brilliant winemaker, and nothing else.
The sustainable piece
The vineyard where Fria Frio's grapes are grown is certified sustainable — a designation that reflects practices across the whole operation: soil health, water use, biodiversity, and the long-term wellbeing of the land. It's not a marketing badge. It's the standard Joana and the team hold themselves to because they intend to be making wine from this valley for a long time.
Why they're building
Fria Frio is still a young brand — in the best possible way. Like the wine itself, it's fresh, it's moving fast, and it's not weighed down by the conventions of how things have always been done.
The three women behind it are building something that looks and tastes like the wine world they want to exist: made with intention, worn lightly, and good enough to drink on a Tuesday afternoon just because you feel like it.
That's the whole idea. A little sparkle, for the memories. Shop Now