The 2012 vintage is the first vintage of grapes from the winery's own vineyards adjacent to the winery.
Gloria Estate, Freeman's estate vineyard, is adjacent to the winery. Owners Ken and Akiko Freeman purchased the land, which was originally an apple farm, in 2005 and began planting grapes the following year. The vineyard was named after Hurricane Gloria, which hit New York in 1985, and was the catalyst for Ken and Akiko's meeting. Freeman Vineyard & Winery was established in 2001 by Ken Freeman and his wife Akiko, who is from Roppongi. 15 years ago, when the two first met, they shared a love for 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 could 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 Sonoma Valley, a region covered in fog and influenced by the cold sea breeze that blows inland from the coast. The grapes grown there ripen slowly, retaining fresh acidity, and are 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 was invited to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and it suddenly became a spotlight. As of 2019, Akiko is the only Japanese female winemaker and owner of a winery and vineyard in California, and she continues to produce modest, sharp, high-quality wines.