Bobby on the left and partner Alex Sauer pictured on the right.

Bobby Whelan

Location – San Francisco, California

Label – La Ferme de la Forêt

Partners with Threemile since – 2021 harvest

Wine made with Threemile – Grenache

Began working in wine industry – 2020

Winemaking style – Expressing the singular site from which the grapes originate, whole cluster fermentation and minimal pumpovers.

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Biography

Born and raised in Boston, wine was ever-present in Bobby’s childhood with the influence of his wine-passionate father who carefully paired a bottle to every family dinner. Later moving to San Francisco for a change in lifestyle in 2015, Bobby met Eric Railsback at his bottle shop down the road from where Bobby lived. While still working his day job as an investment banker, Bobby’s passion for wine and the potential for winemaking grew with the support of his friends, and now partners, Eric and Lyle Railsback, and Alex Sauer. Now, Bobby is launching his new beginning in winemaking under the label Forêt.

Bobby_whelan_winemaker_threemile_granche_bio

Threemile Wines

Grenache 2021

The partners of the Fôret label want the quality of farming, pureness of fruit, and expression of Threemile as a site to shine in the glass.

Visiting Threemile for the first time, standing at the top of the vineyard blocks looking down on the layers of the valley below, Bobby expressed,

“It’s hard not to fall in love with an area like that after seeing it. As I say, good grapes never grow in ugly places”

This 100% Grenache Noir was fermented at Apollini winery with the support of winemaker Kevin Green. Picked at 24.1 brix and and aged in French oak, minimal extractions were used to keep the Grenache light, elegant, and perfumed. The final product has ideal aromatics and structure that nod to classic Southern Rhône wines.