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Toast to International Ties: Freeman Wines Featured at State Department

On Thursday, April 11, 2024, we had the honor of presenting our wines during a luncheon at the State Department, hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris to celebrate the visit of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan. Esteemed attendees included Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Featured wines were the 2022 Ryo-Fu West Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and the 2021 Akiko's Cuvee West Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, both of which paired exquisitely with the seasonal menu, enhancing the culinary experience.

This prestigious event was not only a profound honor but also a testament to the deep cultural ties between the United States and Japan. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such a significant occasion and look forward to fostering further connections through our shared appreciation for fine wine.


Historic Award for Akiko Freeman: The Green & White Medal for Agricultural Excellence

Akiko Freeman was recently honored with the Green & White Medal for Agricultural Excellence, becoming the first woman ever to receive this prestigious accolade. The ceremony, held at the Japanese Consul General’s residence in Los Angeles, recognized her for being the first Japanese winemaker with a wine served at the White House and her transformative approach to organic farming. Shinkichki Koyama, who presented the award, said of Akiko, “She worked very hard to achieve the best growing conditions on the property — irrigation, ensuring that the soil was well-drained and well-oxygenated — all with the long-term vision to produce better grapes under organic farming protocols.” Her efforts have significantly contributed to the agriculture sector, reinforcing Japan-USA relations. This milestone achievement underscores Akiko's pioneering role in the field.

Historic Award for Akiko Freeman: The Green & White Medal for Agricultural Excellence

The White House

We are honored that the White House featured our Ryo-fu Chardonnay at a recent State Dinner welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the United States. 

Akiko Freeman

LE.PAN: The small Sonoma winery with Asian ambitions; “We don’t manipulate anything. We just try to grow the best fruit and bring out the best of it. That’s our philosophy.” 

 



Freeman Vineyard picks up inspiration from Burgundy cover
SF GATE
Freeman Vineyard picks up inspiration from Burgundy

The vineyards at the Freeman Winery in Sebastopol, Calif. are seen on February 2nd, 2019.

Ken and Akiko Freeman started Freeman Vineyard and Winery in 2001 after being inspired by the fine wines of Burgundy.

With two estate vineyards, Gloria and Yu-ki, the Freemans devote themselves to cool- climate, coastal Pinot Noir, working with other sites within the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley to produce five unique Pinots, as well as one Chardonnay from Hawk Hill Vineyard nearby. Everything is made in small quantities with the utmost attention.

Tokyo native Akiko makes the wines, having apprenticed alongside consulting winemaker Ed Kurtzman since the winery’s inception.

Ken has been actively involved in the West Sonoma Coast Vintners, which has applied for a new appellation to be formed, incorporating vineyards like his that lie within a certain proximity of the Pacific Ocean.

Visits ($30) are held in the wine caves and are by appointment from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. They’re private and intimate and, in addition to tasting the wines, visitors will have the chance to experience the Freeman’s small-lot winery and Gloria Vineyard next door.

WHAT TO TRY: The two estate Pinot Noirs are well worth trying side-by-side if possible. The Gloria is from a hillside spot once planted to apples that the Freemans named after its original owner. Yu-ki, from a high-elevation site above Occidental that is surrounded by redwoods, is spicy and sublime. Akiko’s Cuvée is a selection of the best barrels each year.

INSIDE INFO: From Freeman it would be a shame not to head just a tiny bit farther to Freestone’s Wild Flour Bread Bakery for brick-oven breads, scones, fougasse, flatbreads and sticky buns.


Freeman 2018 Yu-Ki Estate Pinot Noir
95 points.  & Cellar Section
A Wine Spectator Sonoma Pinot Noirs Favorite cover
Wine Enthusiast
Freeman 2018 Yu-Ki Estate Pinot Noir
95 points. & Cellar Section
A Wine Spectator Sonoma Pinot Noirs Favorite

Freeman 2018 Yu-Ki Estate Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast); $68, 95 points. Vibrant, focused and well balanced, this medium- to full-bodied wine offers brilliant aromas and complex flavors of ripe black cherries, violets, sour cherries and black tea. It offers a firm, elegant texture, with fresh acidity and fine-grained tannins. Enjoy through 2026. Cellar Selection. —Jim Gordon


We’re living in the midst of an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Pinot Noir in Sonoma. Throughout the county’s appellations, including Carneros, which has its foothold in parts of both Napa and Sonoma, the region has been blessed with a string of great vintages that are current on the market, stretching at the moment from the 2016 red wines through the 2019 rosés.

The quality of the 2017s in particular should be noted. While it was the first year California wasn’t in a yearlong drought, it saw dangerous heat spikes during harvest, followed by fires in October. Pinot was picked relatively early, hurried along by the heat—a result of smart decision making and hustle by experienced producers like Gary Farrell, Patz & Hall, La Crema, Flowers and Emeritus.

“The Pinot Noir bottlings shine because the fruit is so vibrant with incredibly lifted, fresh aromas,” said Gary Farrell Winemaker Theresa Heredia. “These sorts of qualities are unexpected from a very hot vintage like 2017, but we busted our ass to bring all the fruit in as quickly as possible before it began to dehydrate, which would have led to overripe qualities and jammy wines with flabby acidity.”

She started picking on the day of the total solar eclipse, August 21, 2017, bringing in only 6% of the harvest. A heat wave came around August 26, and over the next seven days, she harvested 53% of her total tons. Once she saw a severe heat wave on the horizon, she called all her growers to schedule picks of any grapes that were even remotely ready.

Because of this quick harvest period, she and others were able to capture flavors that are bright and lifted, with aromas that are fresh and energetic.

 


Akiko's Recipe as featured on Better Magazine! cover
Better
Akiko's Recipe as featured on Better Magazine!

Sweet Pea and Fennel Soup

Freeman Vineyard & Winery, Sebastopol

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp butter
1 tbsps
olive oil
2 medium to large fennel bulbs, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
5 cups chicken stock
20 oz sweet peas (If it’s not season, frozen peas works great for this)
Salt and pepper
Heavy cream (optional)

METHOD

Serves 4-6

1. Melt butter on a large pot, add olive oil when butter is melted. Add onion and fennel — cook stirring occasionally until softened about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste as you cook.

2. Add chicken broth and peas. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer, partially covered, and cook for another 15 minutes.

3. Cool the soup and puree in batches in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. Add about ¼ cup cream if you like to finish.

4. Check the taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

5. If you are serving the soup cold, cover and chill it in refrigerator at least 6 hours.

If you like an onion flavor, top with chopped chives. You can also add chopped tomato if you like. If the soup is too thick, add more chicken stock later. This soup is very forgiving.

Chef’s tip: Pairing with Freeman Winery Yu-Ki Estate Pinot Noir or Ryo-fu Chardonnay


The BEST winery in Sonoma County! cover
CALYgirl STYLD Blog
The BEST winery in Sonoma County!

Have you always wanted to visit the wine region of Northern California but didn't know where to start? Napa? Calistoga? Sonoma? Where do you start?  There are a lot of regions, wineries and restaurants to visit and it can be VERY overwhelming not to mention a lot of miles to cover in what could be a short trip. Most of us go out for a long weekend with friends to celebrate a birthday, enjoy harvest season or just want to drink some really good wine! A lot of the top/well known wineries are invite only and/or require advance notice and reservations. They are hard to find unless you know exactly what you are looking for. Some of the BEST wines in Sonoma County are barely on the map.  This can be challenging as once you arrive to the winery you'll find you are in the middle of nowhere and now need to drive miles to find a good spot for lunch. I PROMISE if you start at Freeman Winery you'll be VERY pleased and will DEFINITELY be spreading the good word to ALL of your friends for a future visit!...


ホワイトハウスが認めた醸造家、アキコ・フリーマンのワインとは? cover
Madame FIGARO.jp
ホワイトハウスが認めた醸造家、アキコ・フリーマンのワインとは?

この4月、岸田文雄首相の米国訪問の際、公式昼食会で供されたのがカリフォルニアで日本人の女性醸造家が造るワイン。優雅さと品格に満ちたワインを生み出すアキコ・フリーマンとは?


ワインは平和のための飲み物。ナポレオン戦争後の事態収拾のために1814年に開かれたウィーン会議の「会議は踊る、されど進まず」という紛糾を揶揄した言葉がいまも残るが、この時に活躍し各国の要人の心を掴んだのがボルドー・メドック格付け1級のシャトー・オー・ブリオンだった。国際外交にワインはつきもの。現代では、主催国が誇る自国のワインで相手国を接遇することが多くなっている。

2024年4月の岸田文雄首相の訪米は記憶に新しいが、実は11日にカマラ・ハリス副大統領が開催した岸田首相を招いてのアメリカ国務省公式昼食会でふるまわれたのが、カリフォルニアで日本人女性醸造家アキコ・フリーマンが造る「フリーマン・ヴィンヤード&ワイナリー」のワインだったのだ。レセプションにはスパークリングのフリーマン ユーキ・エステート ブラン・ド・ブラン ソノマ・コースト2020が登場、コースに合わせてフリーマン 涼風 シャルドネ  グリーン・ヴァレー・オブ・ロシアン・リヴァー・ヴァレー 2021やフリーマン アキコズ・キュヴェ ピノ・ノワール ウエストソノマ・コースト 2021がサービスされた。来賓にはアントニー・ブリンケン国務長官やピート・ブティジェッジ運輸大臣などアメリカの政財界の要人たち。そしてそこにはワイナリーオーナーのケン・フリーマンとアキコ・フリーマン夫妻の姿もあった。アキコはこの時の心境をこう語っている。

「私たち夫婦は、このような記念すべき日に参加できて幸せでした。アメリカは日本と素晴らしい関係にあり、私たちが微力ながらその関係に貢献できていると思うと、素晴らしい気分です。多くのビジネス・リーダーや政治家たちと同席できたことは刺激的でしたし、仲間意識や両国の将来に対するヴィジョンを共有できたことは、控えめに言っても感激でした」

ワイナリーの設立は2001年のこと。以前はニューヨークに在住、ケンは銀行員として、アキコはメトロポリタン美術館でエデュケーターとして活躍していた。その後、ケンの転勤でカリフォルニアへ移住。もともとワイン好きだったふたりは、週末にワイナリー巡りを楽しみながら「いつか自分たちのワイナリーを」という夢を抱くようになったのだ。そしてその夢は結実、アキコは"師匠"である醸造家エド・カーツマンの教えを受けながら、実地でブドウ栽培とワイン造りを学んでいった。ケンはアキコをバックアップ、経理や管理などのいっさいを担い、夫婦二人三脚でワイナリーを成長させた。

無名だったアキコのワインが一躍世に踊り出たのは2015年4月のこと。安倍晋三元首相渡米の際に開かれたバラク・オバマ元大統領主催の晩餐会で、フリーマン 涼風 シャルドネ グリーン・ヴァレー・オブ・ロシアン・リヴァー・ヴァレーがサービスされたのだ。日本人醸造家のワインがホワイトハウスで使われたのは初めてのこと。現地のメディアはこぞってこのワインを紹介したが、皆が驚いたのは、その豊かな香りとエレガントな味わいだったのだ。

フリーマン・ヴィンヤード&ワイナリーはソノマでも最も冷涼といわれるロシアン・リヴァー・ヴァレーの西に位置する。ブドウ品種はシャルドネとピノ・ノワールで、果実は豊かでありながらもどこか涼やか、ピュアな酸味との調和が素晴らしい。ピノ・ノワールは知性を感じさせつつもどこかセンシュアル、シャルドネは透明感のある味わいで、煌めくようなフレッシュ感が印象的だ。ワインは造る人の個性も表すというが、美的センスに長け、人との繋がりを大切にする彼女の品格も味に反映されている。これが要人たちの大切なテーブルを彩るのは当然と言っても過言ではないだろう。

アキコのワインは飲む人を確実に幸せにする。彼女はフィガロワインクラブの読者に、こんな言葉を寄せてくれた。

「ワインが1本あるだけで、人は幸せになります。グラスを傾けながら、互いの幸福な未来について話せたら、とても素敵ですね」






Freeman

Friends of Freeman: Drink Well & Do Good

Join the Friends of Freeman where passion for cool-climate fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay meets philanthropy. As a member, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits such as special events and curated wine allocations. Your participation also supports a 5% donation to important causes, including local nonprofits.

Details & Sign Up Here!

To receive periodic updates and access our limited-availability wines: Join Our Mailing List
定期的な更新を受け取り、限定品のワインにアクセスするために: メーリングリストに参加する