Freeman Winery: A Tail of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & Hurricane Gloria

It's almost like a Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film. A young man meets the woman of his dreams after his sailboat is chased ashore by a hurricane. Marriage and career success ensue and years later the happy couple end up running a Sonoma winery that just so happens to produce some of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in all of California. Yes, Ken Freeman's life story may indeed be one of which movies are made. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Ken Freeman about his eponymous winery, Freeman Vineyard and Winery, as well as his unique path to becoming a revered wine maker.

Your path to winemaking involved Hurricane Gloria. How so?

After graduating from college I spent some time working on Martha's Vineyard as a personal helper to Lillian Hellmann. At the end of the summer one of her friends who owned a boat asked me if I wanted to help him sail it to the Caribbean. A day or two after departing, while we were sailing down Long Island Sound, Hurricane Gloria started up the coast, so we headed to land and parked the boat in Larchmont, NY. My hometown is located nearby, so I decided to stop in for a visit. A friend happened to be having a keg party. Next to the keg, my friends were all standing around in their jeans, but there was also this beautiful, Japanese girl in a Chanel dress. That’s how I met my amazing wife Akiko. Early on, we discovered that we shared a passion for wine, especially great Pinot Noir. Needless to say, we’ve found a way to embrace that passion. I should also add, that the date we met is engraved on the keystone of our cellaring cave at the winery.