Ken Freeman, Proprietor

Ken fell under the thrall of wine’s mystery at an early age while growing up in Scarsdale, New York, amidst a wine and food loving family. He recalls venturing to Zachy’s, a leading U.S. retailer of French wines, with his mom and seeing wooden crates bearing the imprimaturs of Château Margaux and Romanée-Conti stacked high on the sidewalk in front of the store. The spell was cast. Little did he know that one day his own handcrafted Freeman wines would claim a coveted space on Zachy’s shelves.

In 1985, after graduating from college, Ken landed a crew position on a yacht sailing from Martha’s Vineyard to the Caribbean. Hurricane Gloria put her foot down squarely in the yacht’s path, leading the group to abandon ship in favor of a friend’s party ashore. There, Ken met Akiko. Together ever since, the couple’s partnership has always been fueled by a shared love for the finest in food, wine and travel. These mutual passions inspired the Freeman’s to begin planning and studying in preparation for one day founding their own artisan winery.

After earning his M.B.A. at Kellogg, Ken worked for years helping to establish the Discovery Channel in Asia, which took him and Akiko to Singapore and Hong Kong. Whenever possible, the Freeman’s traveled to the world’s great winegrowing regions, including trips to 20 of the great houses of Bordeaux. In 1997, the couple left Asia for California, where Ken took a position at CNET. In California, the Freeman’s winemaking dream began to crystallize into a plan to make cool climate Pinto Noir and Chardonnay, with the structure and complexity to pair seamlessly with modern, global cuisine. To this end, their search for a property began to focus on the Sonoma Coast, home to some of the world’s great Pinots. In 2001, the Freemans acquired a small winery in the Russian River Valley town of Sebastopol where they established Freeman Vineyard & Winery.

In addition to being a skilled businessman, as a winery proprietor, Ken has become a jack-of-all-trades, working closely with Freeman’s portfolio of respected vineyard partners, rolling up his sleeves to help with the winemaking, and adding his palate to the mix as chief taster. Says Ken, ”From the time I was 10, driving through Portugal with my family and seeing the world’s finest cork trees, I have been fascinated by winemaking. As a vintner, my goal is to make beautiful, sophisticated wines that I am proud to share with family and friends. For me, that is the essence of success.”

On top of his hands-on roll at the winery, Ken is active in investment banking, having helped both Citigroup and UBS build their private equity placement businesses in the Western United States, Asia and Australia. Currently, Ken is managing director at Knight Trading where he is focusing on helping Knight Capital Partners create a leading boutique placement group.