Trisaetum invites visitors to get inspired for not only a treat to the palate, but also a visual feast at the newly enhanced tasting room and art gallery
February 11, 2026 (Newberg, OR) — To be immersed in creativity can be a truly moving experience for many. Testament to this is packed concert halls, bustling art museums and sold-out Broadway shows where people go to delight in their senses and breathe in the creative expressions of artists. A similar immersive experience is now offered in Oregon’s wine country to visitors of Trisaetum’s tasting room with a new gallery installation that delights the visual senses, while the award-winning Trisaetum wines enchant the palate.
James Frey, founding winemaker of Trisaetum, Pashey, and 18401 Cellars, and decorated abstract expressionist painter, has unveiled a new show to celebrate the newly designed art gallery at Trisaetum Winery. James has sold more than 600 paintings to date, exhibited throughout the U.S and in over eight countries, and his artistic expression and winemaking are intertwined, with each inspiring the other for over two decades.
2025 was Frey’s most prolific year of painting to date, and this refreshed gallery installation is now open to the public, along with the first of James’ 2026 collection of paintings. Frey’s oil paintings capture places and experiences he’s encountered, and viewers can uncover abstract vineyard landscapes in his paintings, both bucolic and windswept, moody skies that are characteristic of Oregon wine country, and fiery storm clouds evoking deep emotions.
Notable changes to the gallery include a new hanging system for the collection to elevate the art viewing experience, painting the walls with a stormy blue to underscore the intense color palette in each painting, and James Frey’s artwork itself, which has shifted to expressive oil pieces after years of working in primarily acrylics.
An artist before he made wine, Frey’s creativity was on display at an early age. At 12, he delved into photography after his father built a darkroom in the family farmhouse cellar, learning how to develop prints surrounded by shelves of canned beans and house paint. Just three years later, Frey was hired as a photojournalist for the local newspaper, and by 17 he was winning awards for his photography and paying his way through college with it. Frey’s photography eventually turned into stretching his canvases and oil painting, and a new creative endeavor was born.
The gallery refresh is part of a progression for the Frey family as his children Tatum, Tristen and son-in-law Jackson have recently taken leadership roles within Trisaetum, allowing James Frey to continue evolving his winemaking and painting passions.
Artist’s Statement – James Frey
As an abstract expressionist painter, my work is rooted in place, memory, and lived experience. I began my creative life behind a camera, which expanded to painting, and then winemaking. Painting is inseparable from my life as a winemaker – for more than two decades, these two crafts have informed and inspired one another. Both require patience, intuition, and a willingness to respond to what’s unfolding rather than control it.
Working primarily in oils, I try to capture impressions of place and moments that have stayed with me. For me, the more you try to manipulate a painting, or the more you try to manipulate a wine, the less interesting, the less dynamic they both become. The best art and the best wines have energy, have complexity, have a little something special that you have to let evolve naturally.
About Trisaetum Winery
Trisaetum’s wine and spirits serve as creative expressions of both its artist winemaker James Frey and of the Willamette Valley it calls home. Family owned and operated for over 20 years in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, Trisaetum sees two generations working side-by-side to artfully craft wines with minimal intervention and spirits distilled from the local ecosystem. Along with the James Frey Gallery, the four brands within this ecosystem are:
- Trisaetum: Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay from 100% estate fruit – the core tenet of Trisaetum’s winemaking, owing to the expressive painting philosophy of its artist winemaker, is to let site and vintage drive the energy and complexity in each bottle
- Pashey: Traditional method sparkling wines from 100% estate fruit, aged a minimum of three years on tirage in our subterranean barrel cave
- Brixeur Spirits: Small-batch whiskey, gin, and vodka heavily influenced by Trisaetum’s winemaking roots, utilizing freshly emptied wine casks and locally foraged botanicals
- 18401: Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot wines sourced from the Walla Walla Valley but crafted with Trisaetum’s signature winemaking
