Dinner party wine
In April 2015, the 2013 vintage of Ryofu Chardonnay was served at the White House official dinner hosted by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In April 2015, the 2013 vintage of Ryofu Chardonnay was served at the White House official dinner hosted by President Barack Obama, who invited Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Freeman Vineyard & Winery was founded in 2001 by Ken Freeman and his wife Akiko, who is from Roppongi. 15 years ago, when the two had just met, they hit it off as lovers of elegant and sophisticated Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and dreamed of one day making wine in California with the complex flavor and power to attract drinkers like Burgundy. In order to establish a winery that can rival the world, they began to inspect more than 300 fields and growers, focusing on vineyards planted on cool, gentle slopes. As a result, they chose the production area of Sonoma Valley, which is covered in fog and influenced by the cold sea breezes that blow inland from the coast. The grapes grown there mature slowly, retain fresh acidity, and grow very pure and rich in flavor. When Freeman was founded in the 2000s, California was in the midst of a boom in the production and consumption of fruit-rich wines, but they were not influenced by such trends and stuck to their belief of brewing balanced and elegant wines based on organic farming. As a result, Freeman's wine style has attracted attention not only in California but also around the world, and has been adopted by famous restaurants around the world, growing into a small but well-known brand. In April 2015, the 2013 vintage of Ryofu Chardonnay was served at the White House official dinner hosted by former President Barack Obama, who invited Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and it suddenly became a spotlight. As of 2019, Akiko is the only Japanese female winemaker who owns a winery and vineyards in California, and continues to produce modest, sharp, high-quality wines.