MEET PAUL AND CYNDI
Welcome to Dutch Creek Winery. We specialize in hand brewed, bottled and labeled mead, cider and fruit wines.
We are a husband and wife team who manage both the farm side and production side of our local business. Currently living in Columbus, Ohio, we spend our weekends in small town Athens where we keep our bees and apple/peach/pear orchard year round. Our first batches of mead wine were just bottled and labeled in early November and are available in local stores around the Athens area. We anticipate more batches to be finished in the next coming weeks. We invite you to scroll down and learn our story and see a behind-the-scenes peek of the brains behind the budding business of Dutch Creek Winery. Thanks for stopping by and please LIKE our Facebook page to stay up to date on our latest adventures.
It Starts With Love
In only took weeks for Paul and Cyndi Freedman to fall in love with each other and their beautiful land in Athens, Ohio. Press Play above to hear Paul talk about his symbolic journey.
"We view ourselves as off centered and quirky. So this lifestyle fits us." -Cyndi
Why I Chose Athens, Ohio
Athens and the spirit of Athens is just incredible to me. The eclectic nature, the self sufficiency, the rustic altruism that runs through this area adds beyond just the relationship to the land...there's a connection to the people here. I feel at home. Athens is truly a place for me to find myself. And finding other like-minded individuals within literally walking distance, even though I am out on 100 acres and 8 miles from the city, I feel connected here like I never did in the city. I can walk to my neighbors and we help each other out. There is a big sense of self reliance but also reliance on each other so I really feel connected to Athens both because of the natural elements as well as the humanistic elements. People look out for each other here, they have the same connection. The land spoke to me and the people drew me here. Athens is truly the perfect place to begin this journey of starting a small business and exploring my abilities as well as the land's abilities. Hopefully the land will reciprocate by helping us finally transition from Columbus to Athens full time. We can't wait until we can truly call this "home."
-Paul Freedman
"I had never imagined I would be a mead maker or a wine maker. It was the farthest thing from my imagination." -Paul
How the Mead Found Us
Just like everything else down here, the land tells you what it wants. When I first got this land, I just wanted a woodland retreat and log cabin to relax. Ironically, I do less relaxing here than I do anywhere else. At first, we started farming and heavily gardening, then eventually I decided to get bees. The bees were very prolific at producing honey and we decided to make a lot of products with them–breads and baked goods–but we found that what had the longest shelf life and what our friends liked the most was our honey wine.
-Paul Freedman
Press Play to hear how Paul's friends were the ones who actually convinced him to stat his business.
Finding A Future
For the past 7 years, the Freedman's Athens cabin has served as their weekend home. Now, they are fully commited to finding a way to bring their lives to the woods permanetly. Press Play to hear from Cyndi about how she's ready to finally make the move.
