Vintage Wine Distributor, Inc. was formed in 1972 by Jim Forbes and Gene Parrino.

Jim had recently retired from his career at General Electric and Gene was working at Shaker Square Beverage selling and delivering wine. Jim was looking to run a business that would keep him busy in retirement and a friend suggested buying a winery.

In Jim's research on wineries, he spoke with the owner of Shaker Square Beverage, who employed Gene Parrino. He learned of a need for an importer and distributor of French and German wines to handle the demand of products for Shaker Square Beverage customers.

With Jim's business knowledge and Gene's wine expertise, Vintage Wine was born with their first warehouse being in Shaker Square in the basement below a retail shopping center.

Casey Forbes, the youngest son of Jim, began working at Vintage full time in 1974 as a part-time delivery driver. Being underground as a distributor of goods proved to be very difficult logistically, and they quickly outgrew the space.

In the summer of 1979, Vintage Wine moved to an above ground warehouse in Solon, Ohio.

Around the same time, Jim stepped down and Casey became President of the company.

Vintage Wine primarily serviced northern Ohio, but they started sending a salesman to Columbus to build the market. They delivered wine to Columbus out of the Solon warehouse a few times a week and the volume eventually became large enough that in 1985, Vintage was able to expand its footprint.

With the help of Peter Bourlas and Bill Forbes, a warehouse was opened in Columbus which then allowed statewide distribution.

The Columbus warehouse started out by servicing any permit holder south of Mansfield. Over the years, Vintage's imprint in the Cincinnati area grew, and the West Chester warehouse opened in May 2020.

The proximity of each location across the state now allows them to better serve their customers in each of the major Ohio markets - Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.

In November 2021, after over 40 years as President of Vintage Wine, Casey Forbes became Chairman and named Darren Wyville President and Steve Gifford Vice President.

Casey remains a large part of the day-to-day business, always ready and willing to share his wine and industry knowledge.

Vintage Wine has grown from its original 2 employees to 130 employees statewide and has expanded its portfolio to include products from wine-growing regions around the world.