素晴らしいワインは、素晴らしいブドウ畑の精神を宿しています。同時に、ワインを素晴らしいものへと導くためには、思慮深さ、気配り、洞察力が必要です。ここでは、ワインメーカーのアキコ・フリーマン率いる少人数の献身的なチームが、ブドウの木からグラスに入るまでの全ての行程でワインを管理しています。この情熱的なチームのおかげで、フリーマンはニューワールドで最も高く評価される家族経営のワイナリーのひとつとしての地位を確立しました。
Great wines capture the soul of great vineyards. At the same time, thoughtfulness, care and vision are required to guide wines to greatness. At Freeman, a small, dedicated team led by winemaker Akiko Freeman shepherds each wine from vine to glass. This passionate team has established Freeman as one of the New World’s most acclaimed family-run wineries.
Akiko Freeman アキコ・フリーマン
Winemaker ワインメーカー
A native to Tokyo, Akiko attributes her love of wine to her grandfather, whose influence imbued her with a lifelong passion for the enigmatic beauty of great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. After earning her master’s degree in Italian Renaissance art history from Stanford in the mid-1990s, Akiko traveled throughout Europe and as far as South Africa to explore the great winemaking regions of the world. Returning to California in 1997, she worked with Ken to realize their longtime dream of establishing a small, family-run winery dedicated to crafting expressive, cool-climate California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Today Akiko’s gifted palate guides every Freeman wine, every vintage. When she and Ken founded Freeman Vineyard & Winery in 2001, she immersed herself in the world of viticulture and winemaking, and apprenticed herself to renowned winemaker Ed Kurtzman. Akiko now oversees every aspect of Freeman’s winemaking program, from the organic farming of the estate vineyards and the selection of grower partners to fermentations, racking, lot evaluations and blending. Her vision and refined palate have positioned Freeman as one of the great benchmarks for cool-climate New World wines, while establishing Akiko as a winemaking talent in her own right.
東京生まれのアキコは、祖父の影響でワインを愛し、ピノ・ノワールとシャルドネの解きがたい美しさに生涯をかけて情熱を注ぐようになりました。1990年代半ばにスタンフォード大学でイタリア・ルネッサンス美術史の修士号を取得した後、世界の偉大なワイン生産地を探索するためにヨーロッパ各地、そして南アフリカまで旅をしました。1997年にカリフォルニアに戻り、夫のケンと共に、カリフォルニア冷涼産地の表情に富むピノ・ノワールとシャルドネを造ることを目的とした家族経営の小さなワイナリーを設立するという長年の夢を果たしました。
今日では、アキコの天与の鋭い味覚がフリーマンの全てのワイン、全てのヴィンテージの方向付けをしています。2001年にケンと一緒にフリーマン・ヴィンヤード＆ワイナリーを設立した時、彼女はブドウ栽培とワイン造りの世界に没頭し、著名なワインメーカーであるエド・カーツマンに師事しました。現在は、所有畑での有機栽培やパートナーとなるブドウ栽培者の選定から、発酵、澱引き、ロットごとの出来の評価、ブレンドに至るまで、フリーマンのワイン造りのあらゆる行程をアキコが監督しています。彼女の洞察力と洗練された味覚により、フリーマンは冷涼気候のニューワールドワインの偉大なベンチマークのひとつとなり、彼女自身もまた才能溢れるワインメーカーとしての地位を確立しました。
Ken Freeman ケン・フリーマン
Proprietor オーナー
Ken fell in love with wine while growing up in Scarsdale, N.Y. as part of a wine-loving family. He met Akiko in 1985 and soon discovered that they shared a passion for Bungundian-style wines. After earning an M.B.A. in international business from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Ken helped establish the Discovery Channel in Asia. Whenever possible, Ken and Akiko traveled to the world’s great winegrowing regions and dreamed of one day producing their own cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
In 1997, Ken became the director of business development for CNET in San Francisco. Living in close proximity to California’s North Coast inspired the Freemans to set their winery plan in motion, and they began a search for grower partners and vineyard properties in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast regions. Meanwhile, Ken transitioned into investment banking, working with Citigroup, UBS and he is now spearheading BNY Mellon’s wealth management business in Napa and Sonoma, along with covering private equity funds. He and Akiko finally realized their dream in 2001, when they established Freeman Vineyard & Winery.
Ken has since become a jack-of-all-trades, managing the winery’s estate vineyards and rolling up his sleeves to help Akiko in the cellar. He is also a founding member of the West Sonoma Coast Vintners association and is on the board of the Sonoma Land Trust, helping to preserve the region’s precious natural, agricultural and open landscapes.
ケンは、ニューヨーク州スカースデールでワイン愛好家家族の一員として育ち、ワインの魅力にはまりました。1985年にアキコと出会ってすぐ、ふたりが同じ情熱を持っていることに気付きました。ノースウェスタン大学ケロッグ経営大学院で国際ビジネスのMBAを取得した後、アジアでのディスカバリーチャンネルの設立に貢献しました。ケンとアキコは可能な限り世界の偉大なワイン生産地を訪れるうち、いつか冷涼気候産地のピノ・ノワールとシャルドネを自分たちで生産することを夢見るようになりました。
1997年、ケンはサンフランシスコのCNETの事業開発担当ディレクターに就任しました。カリフォルニアのノース・コーストに近い場所に住んでいたことがきっかけで、夫妻でワイナリー事業計画をスタートさせ、ロシアン・リヴァー・ヴァレーとソノマ・コーストで、パートナーとなるブドウ栽培家と畑の物件探しを始めました。その一方、ケンは投資銀行業に転身し、シティグループ、UBS、ナイト・キャピタルで働きました。そして、2001年にフリーマン・ヴィンヤード＆ワイナリーを設立、ついに夢を叶えました
それ以来ケンは、ワイナリーのエステート・ヴィンヤードを管理し、セラーではアキコの手伝いをするなど、多岐にわたって才能を発揮するようになりました。また、ウエスト・ソノマ・コースト・ヴィントナーズ協会の創立メンバー、ソノマ・ランド・トラストの理事も務め、この地域の貴重な自然、農業、広大な景観の保護に貢献しています。
Ed Kurtzman エド・カーツマン
Consulting Winemaker コンサルティング・ワインメーカー
Over the course of his storied career, Ed Kurtzman has earned acclaim as one of California’s most sought-after consulting winemakers. As a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay specialist, Ed is known for crafting elegantly structured wines that fuse his intimate understanding of cool-climate viticulture with a gentle, small-lot approach to winemaking.
Ed began his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay journey at Bernardus in the early 1990s. In 1995 he became the enologist and assistant winemaker at Chalone Vineyard, where he honed his craft working alongside Dick Graff and winemaker Michael Michaud. Within a few years, Ed was named the winemaker for Testarossa Vineyards, where he developed the winery’s Pinot Noir program. He became Freeman’s founding winemaker in the early 2000s and discovered a kindred winemaking spirit in Akiko. Ed spent the next decade teaching her the art of winemaking as the two developed Freeman’s portfolio of wines together. While his talents have since helped to shape the wines of such producers as Roar and his own August West and Sandler brands, Ed remains an integral part of the Freeman team.
エド・カーツマンは、その長いキャリアの中で、カリフォルニアで最も人気のあるコンサルティング・ワインメーカーのひとりとして高い評価を得てきました。ピノ・ノワールとシャルドネのスペシャリストであるエドは、冷涼気候のブドウ栽培への深い理解と、小ロットの穏やかな醸造へのアプローチを融合させた、エレガントで骨格のあるワインを造ることで知られています。
エドは1990年代初頭にベルナルドゥスでピノ・ノワールとシャルドネづくりの道を歩み始めました。1995年にはシャローン・ヴィンヤードのエノロジスト兼アシスタント・ワインメーカーに就任、ディック・グラフやワインメーカーのマイケル・ミショーと共に腕を磨きました。数年後には、テスタロッサ・ヴィンヤードのワインメーカーに就任、ワイナリーのピノ・ノワールプログラムを開発。2000年代初頭にフリーマンの創設者に就任した彼は、アキコの中にワイン造りの精神を見出しました。エドはそれからの10年間、彼女にワイン造りの技術を伝授し、共にフリーマンのポートフォリオを開発しました。エドの才能はその後、ロアーや自身のブランドであるオーガスト・ウェスト、サンドラーなどのワインを形とすることに発揮されてきましたが、彼は今でもフリーマンのチームに欠かせない存在です。
Kevin Hinchman Kevin Hinchman
Brand Director Brand Director
Kevin grew up in southwest Michigan wine country, surrounded by vineyards. While studying art history in Berlin through Western Michigan University, he traveled to Burgundy and the Rhône Valley, and his fascination with wine grew. This experience led to a decades-long career in the wine industry, including positions as the Illinois Market Manager with Henriot USA; Eastern U.S. Sales Manager for Patz & Hall, and Director of National Sales for Cliff Lede/FEL. He joined Freeman as Brand Director in 2022. Kevin lives in Napa with his wife and two daughters.
Kevin grew up in southwest Michigan wine country, surrounded by vineyards. While studying art history in Berlin through Western Michigan University, he traveled to Burgundy and the Rhône Valley, and his fascination with wine grew. This experience led to a decades-long career in the wine industry, including positions as the Illinois Market Manager with Henriot USA; Eastern U.S. Sales Manager for Patz & Hall, and Director of National Sales for Cliff Lede/FEL. He joined Freeman as Brand Director in 2022. Kevin lives in Napa with his wife and two daughters.
Dar Cluster Dar Cluster
Director of Hospitality Director of Hospitality
Born in Santa Cruz, Calif., Dar spent a few formative years living on a 120-acre Christmas tree farm in Oregon. It was there that she learned to appreciate the land and the hard work that goes into preserving and protecting it.
Her family eventually moved back to California, where Dar attended San Francisco State University to study accounting. After exploring various positions in the accounting world, she relocated to the Russian River Valley to be closer to her sister, who introduced her to wine. Dar’s discovery led her to Flowers Vineyard & Winery, where she spent 10 years as a staff accountant and later as operations manager. In the latter role, sitting with the winemaking team as they sampled barrels and blends, her wine hobby became a passion.
It was during her stint at Flowers that Dar visited Freeman with her niece—and it was love at first sip. Dar told her niece that day that that she wanted to work at Freeman to help share their story and their wine with the world. In May 2022, her dream came true.
Born in Santa Cruz, Calif., Dar spent a few formative years living on a 120-acre Christmas tree farm in Oregon. It was there that she learned to appreciate the land and the hard work that goes into preserving and protecting it.
Her family eventually moved back to California, where Dar attended San Francisco State University to study accounting. After exploring various positions in the accounting world, she relocated to the Russian River Valley to be closer to her sister, who introduced her to wine. Dar’s discovery led her to Flowers Vineyard & Winery, where she spent 10 years as a staff accountant and later as operations manager. In the latter role, sitting with the winemaking team as they sampled barrels and blends, her wine hobby became a passion.
It was during her stint at Flowers that Dar visited Freeman with her niece—and it was love at first sip. Dar told her niece that day that that she wanted to work at Freeman to help share their story and their wine with the world. In May 2022, her dream came true.
Eiji Akaboshi Eiji Akaboshi
Associate Winemaker Associate Winemaker
Eiji Daniel Akaboshi has fond memories of his childhood in Chile, watching his father enjoy wine at the dinner table. Years later, while in college, he had a eureka moment when he realized that he could combine his major in biology with his passion for wine by pursuing a career in winemaking. After earning a master's degree in enology from California State University Fresno, he began making wine in Napa and went on to gain experience at additional wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties. He has now spent 17 years as a winemaker.
Eiji first encountered Freeman Winery 10 years ago when he tasted the Freeman Pinot Noir and instantly fell in love with it. Now, a decade later, he has become part of the winemaking team, working alongside Akiko and Ken Freeman.
Eiji feels that fate had something to do with his arrival at Freeman; he is a descendant of Nagasawa Kanae, a Japanese immigrant who began making wine in Sonoma County around the turn of the 19th century and played an important role in the growth of California’s wine industry.
In addition to English, Eiji speaks Spanish and Japanese.
Eiji Daniel Akaboshi has fond memories of his childhood in Chile, watching his father enjoy wine at the dinner table. Years later, while in college, he had a eureka moment when he realized that he could combine his major in biology with his passion for wine by pursuing a career in winemaking. After earning a master's degree in enology from California State University Fresno, he began making wine in Napa and went on to gain experience at additional wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties. He has now spent 17 years as a winemaker.
Eiji first encountered Freeman Winery 10 years ago when he tasted the Freeman Pinot Noir and instantly fell in love with it. Now, a decade later, he has become part of the winemaking team, working alongside Akiko and Ken Freeman.
Eiji feels that fate had something to do with his arrival at Freeman; he is a descendant of Nagasawa Kanae, a Japanese immigrant who began making wine in Sonoma County around the turn of the 19th century and played an important role in the growth of California’s wine industry.
In addition to English, Eiji speaks Spanish and Japanese.
