Frederick Dame was born in Monterey, CA on June 3, 1953. He grew up in Monterey and attended public high school there. He then went on to attend Washington and Lee college in Virginia. He found his love for wine in his travels in Europe and began his work from there. He was the first American to ever win the Krugg Cup and passed his masters exam in one try. He met his wife and has two children currently while residing in San Francisco.