The Freeman Keystone

September 26, 1985

Since Akiko and I first unveiled the stunning 6,000 square-foot wine cave at our Sebastopol winery back in 2004, people have been noticing the cave’s crowning keystone, engraved with the date, September 26, 1985. Noting that it well precedes the founding of our winery, visitors often ask us what the date on the keystone signifies. While this date does go back long before we ever crafted our first bottle of wine, it is at the root of who we are, our love affair with wine and food, and ultimately, the founding of Freeman.

In 1985, after a stint working for famed playwright Lillian Hellman and as a bartender at Martha’s Vineyard, I took a position crewing a yacht on its way to the Caribbean. Fate, in the form of Hurricane Gloria, forced us to head to port near my hometown of Scarsdale, New York, where a lifelong friend happened to be hosting a rather lively keg party. Amidst the jeans and t-shirts of the casually dressed partygoers, I spotted my future wife, Akiko, beautifully dressed in a Chanel dress. Akiko had moved to the United States only a week before, and unaware of our more laid-back Scarsdale style, followed Japanese tradition and came to the party dressed to kill. I was smitten. The date was September 26, 1985, and we have been together ever since.

Ken Freeman