FORUM

A connection between friends, family and loved ones; an excuse to share ideas, thoughts and time; a wine to compliment conversation, shared experiences and inspire connection.

INSPIRATION

Our inspiration has come from a few key elements that have influenced the style, spirit and craftsmanship in the way we develop Forum wine.

THE RHONE

Stylistically, we have a taste for old world wines. We like the understated nature of the fruit, the rusticity and earthiness of the palette, and complexity balanced with elegance of the finished product. Our love for Rhone Valley wines was ignited by a family trip to the region where we were lucky enough to sleep among vineyards and visit neighboring wineries during harvest. Experiencing first hand, the Old World craftsmanship and tradition of the Rhone, cemented our vision of bringing an Old World style to a New World wine region. We were inspired by the quality and art that they put into each bottle and made a goal to bring that sensibility back home. Washington State was the obvious location for us to develop Forum, capitalizing on the minerality, complexity and depth found in the terroir in the region. A nice mirror to the Rhone.

OUR FAMILY

Raised in a family of six, we were taught at an early age, the importance of the family meal and realized how these dinner events became the center point for family life in our childhood home. Over time at these meals, we were taught an appreciation for two things: first, the art of debate, discussion and how to get a word in around a crowded mealtime table and second, the way a glass of wine could perfectly complement a meal. These lively events were probably the first incarnations of the “Forum” vision. As brothers, we were interested in undertaking a passion pursuit together and as such have embarked on this labor of love, painstakingly sweating every detail from the feel of the paper on the label, to the curvature and line of the bottle, to the sensory experience of our product from nose to finish, all in an attempt to embody the spirit of our family and our partnership.

wines

2009 Syrah

True to the 2009 vintage, Forum showed its more fleshy side.  Fruit flavors tended more toward red stone fruit, as compared to the darker fruit of 2008.  Notes of slightly brighter raspberry, and subtle currant showed through.  The fruit is framed with a backdrop of smoked meat, white pepper, and a subtle tar note, true to Forum’s Rhone inspired roots.  On the palate, subtle but detectable tannins suggest potential to age and compliment the showier fruit profile of the vintage.  The finish is held together with very well balanced acidity and integrated oak that shows a pleasant “paine grille”, typical of French oak.

2008 Syrah

The 2008 vintage, combined with insights garnered from our 2007 vintage, conspired to prove the potential to achieve Forum’s stylistic “end”; to produce a wine that is true to both its Washington (Wahluke Slope/ Colombia Valley) fruit and its old-world inspired stylistic roots.   2008 Forum displays darker fruits, tending toward what we are best able to describe as a “brambleberry” or tart raspberry character that we love and wish we could put in a bottle for future vintages!   On the mid-palette, a Rhone-like profile described as a wonderful black pepper, earth and tobacco cacophony emerges.  On the finish, very well integrated tannins, subtle oak and bright acidity frame what is a wonderful food friendly wine.  It will continue to evolve in bottle for the next several years, but is a superstar now for those of us Rhone lovers; especially after some time in a decanter, where it opens and fully reveals itself.

2007 Syrah

Our initial vintage and hence our “first born”, 2007, was the type of vintage all burgeoning wine makers dream about.   First, the fruit was varietally true, displaying the wonderful balance of floral Syrah notes associated with the Wahluke Slope, and the more subtle, but desirable, terroir notes of blackberry and red cherry, complemented by a whole host of maturing, savory notes: turned earth, briney streaks of cured and smoked meat and black olive.  Initial vineyard focus and wine making decisions designed to preserve acid have paid off during bottle aging where ripe fruit has integrated into what was initially bright acidity.   We are extremely proud of our first vintage and the legs it is already showing with initial bottle age.

Heritage Pack

While we find “minimum purchases” frustrating as avid wine buyers, we contemplated it in the context of pragmatic reality.  First, shipping costs of individual bottles are a bad deal for our supporters.  Secondly, packing individual bottles at our scale is problematic.  That said, as avid boutique wine producer supporters, we want to enable Forum supporters to compare wines across vintages without having to buy multiple bottles of each vintage.  The Heritage Pack is our way of allowing a sampling or a “Probierung” (German for sampling) of the first three vintages of Forum.  We hope that in trying all three, you will convene your own tasting “forum” and let us know through your feedback and future purchases which you personally like best!

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Brothers

Somewhat unique to Forum, but emblematic of the concept, is the collaboration between two brothers.  Some likely shudder at the idea, with thoughts of “family business” horror.  However, it’s the foundation of this project—and its greatest strength.

For us, it starts with a common vision.  One forged over years of shared experiences, perhaps fostered in briefly sharing a bedroom when we were kids.  More likely, it is born of shared meals, holidays, discussions, trips, and our own individual experiences garnered through careers, relationships and experiences acquired in adulthood. 

Founded in a style and quality of wine, family, sharing of ideas, concepts, goals, aspirations and visions for life, we established Forum.

Brad Bullington

From Brad’s earliest memories, likely a function of being born in close proximity to the Napa Valley, wine has been a part of his life. To this day, he can still remember participating in cave tours around age 5 taking in the musty smell and the mystery of it all. This experience clearly left an imprint at a young age and incredibly so, after not even getting a chance to taste a drop of wine!

After years of regaling (or perhaps boring!) dinner party guests with his encyclopedic knowledge of all things wine, Brad decided to pursue his passion in a more structured fashion. In 1998, he started making wine with a colleague from work. This project only fueled his desire to continue his own wine making and after much conversation with his brother Greg, they decided to meld together their vision for family and wine pursuits.

When he’s not tending to Forum Cellars, Brad spends time with his wife Colleen, Forum’s “CMO”, son Kieran and daughters Emery and Brooklyn, enjoys University of Washington “Husky” football, skiing and traveling. He works professionally in the technology industry.

Greg Bullington

Greg has been an entrepreneur since the day he was born. At a tender age he was already planning and executing profitable lemonade stands and garage sales, followed by managing his own paper route. Growing up, his early liquidity enabled him to be an underwriter of NINJA loans to his older siblings and he realized how much he liked being his own boss! In 2006, after starting his own successful consulting business, helping build and grow over 30 different startups, he realized that he would love the opportunity to bring his rigorous planning and execution to an artisan business. Seeing that he and his brother were naturally gifted with complementary skill sets, Greg put the wheels in motion to begin the process of operationalizing their vision of a family wine business. From this start, Forum Cellars was born.

Greg co-founded and runs a startup medical device company, holds leadership roles for a number of charities and enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, skiing and biking. Additionally, he loves vying for favorite uncle status with his nephew, Kieran and nieces, Emery and Brooklyn.

Winemaking Team

Critical to the early success of Forum wines are our winemaking partners, Justin Neufeld and Sean Gilbert.  Serendipity brought us together and they have both been fantastic partners and friends in helping craft Forum. Having one of the best up-and-coming wine makers in Washington State, as well as one of the real innovative winery proprietors support us every step of the way has been critical to the “running start” quality of our initial vintages of Forum.

Justin Neufeld

http://www.jbneufeld.com/about/

Sean Gilbert

https://www.gilbertcellars.com/family-story/people