Chantal Forthun

Chantal Forthun, a native Californian, grew up in Stockton, surrounded by the agricultural environment of the Central Valley. Her family, having been in the restaurant business, focused on food, not wine. Insofar as a possible future career was concerned, Chantal knew that she loved science and wished to work outside.

After completing high school, she enrolled at California State University, Chico, in 2000, earning a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from there in 2005. Not one to focus only on her challenging academic major, Chantal was a member of the Chico State Symphonic Wind Ensemble while a student.

Immediately following graduation, Chantal joined Oak Ridge Winery in Lodi, remaining there until early 2008, starting as a laboratory technician and becoming the winery’s enologist in late 2006. It was at Oak Ridge while barrel fermenting Chardonnay that she realized that she’d found the right career, one that engages all the senses, combines science, art, and physical labor, and fosters camaraderie through teamwork. Because she wanted to live in Santa Cruz, she applied for a position at Bonny Doon Vineyard, totally unaware of the reputation and stature that Randall Grahm, the owner, had in the wine industry. He hired Chantal as assistant winemaker/enologist. Under the mentorship of Grahm and his two associate winemakers, Nicole Walsh (now Director of Winemaking at WarRoom Cellars) and Jillian Johnson DeLeon (who played a major role in the winery’s transition to biodynamic winemaking and now has her own brand, Onesta), she learned biodynamic viticulture and natural winemaking in making terroir-driven wines.

Realizing that she needed more cellar experience, Chantal left Bonny Doon in early 2011, departing for a harvest internship with Quartz Reef in Central Otago, New Zealand. She returned to the U.S. in the summer for a stint as senior harvest intern at Rhys Vineyards in Los Gatos, CA. This was followed, in early 2012, by a call from Flowers Vineyard & Winery located in western Sonoma County—Flowers has since relocated to Healdsburg—offering her a harvest internship, followed over the next two years by appointments to other winemaking roles. When the then lead winemaker at Flowers moved on to another position in early 2016, and Chantal, at age 33, was promoted to Director of Winemaking. In recognition of her talents, Wine Business named her a “2022 Wine Industry Leader.”

Chantal loves everything about her work, her team, being outside, noting that every season is different. Her winemaking philosophy is epitomized in her own words: “Each vintage gives us a fresh opportunity to attentively farm our Sonoma Coast vineyards and take these grapes from vine to bottle. At Flowers, ‘minimal intervention’ doesn’t mean hands-off; it actually means more hands are involved in the preparation, requiring us to be present in each moment, through every step of the process.” She prides herself on the fact that the winery uses meticulous biodynamic and organic viticulture techniques, and relies exclusively on native yeasts for producing its wines.

Outside of the winery, her activities are nature- and art-centered, including bird watching, gardening, hiking, music, and drawing and painting. Time with family and travel to other wine areas are also priorities. Her spouse, whom she met at Rhys, also works in wine production.