Highlights
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.
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.
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.”
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South Florida Food & Wine
Interview with Akiko Freeman, winemaker at Freeman Winery
Akiko Freeman is the winemaker at Freeman Winery in Sebastopol, California. Akiko guides every wine and every vintage as she has dedicated herself to the ideals of a family-run winery, and a belief that a wine bearing the Freeman name should reflect the Freeman touch. To achieve this goal, Akiko immersed herself in the world of viticulture and winemaking, and apprenticed herself to renowned winemaker Ed Kurtzman. Akiko oversees every aspect of Freeman’s winemaking program, from the selection of vineyard partners to fermentation, racking, lot evaluations and blending. Her vision and refined palate have established Freeman as one of the great benchmarks for cool-climate New World winemaking, while also establishing Akiko as a winemaking talent in her own right. I present this week’s Vintner in the Spotlight, Akiko Freeman |
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Prince of Pinot
Freeman Vineyard & Winery New Website
December 2012
Ken and Akiko Freeman have updated their website to include many photographs and details about them and their wines, the vineyards they work with, and the experience they offer at their Sebastopol winery. As part of the unveiling, for the first time ever, they are offering magnums of four 2010 Pinot Noirs through their online store: 2010 Keefer Ranch, 2010 Russian River Valley, 2010 Sonoma Coast, and 2010 Akiko’s Cuvée. The wines are sold out in the standard size bottle format. |
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Nortwestern
Purple Passion
Ken and Akiko Freeman had been looking for years for a hillside vineyard and winery where they could produce cool-climate pinot noir and chardonnay. They finally found a 4-acre winery near a redwood forest — in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, about 50 miles north of San Francisco — where fog blankets the hills most mornings, and the daily 50-degree temperature range helps finicky grapes hold their complexity... |
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Pinot File
Ken and Akiko Freeman are both card-carrying Pinot fanatics.
Ken and Akiko Freeman are both card-carrying Pinot fanatics. They launched Freeman Winery to produced singularly elegant Pinot Noir and, boy, have they achieved that goal. Guiding the winemaking efforts are Akiko Freeman, Winemaker Ed Kurtzman (also winemaker at Roar Wines and partner and winemaker at August West Wines) and Associate Winemaker Eric Buffington. The Freeman team has really dialed in on a beautiful, focused style of Pinot. Freeman Pinots are sourced from several Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley vineyards including Guidici Vineyard, Keefer Ranch, O'Connor Vineyard, Rayhill Vineyard and Thorn Ridge. Pinot bottlings include regional Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley blends, a vineyard designate from Keefer Ranch and the Akiko's Cuvee. The style is deep, lush, spicy fruit with great structure and silky, silky texture. |
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