If you run a google search on Michael Marks the first thing you may uncover is an impressive resume of high-level high tech leadership. Based in the Silicon Valley, Marks and wife Carole began visiting to the Napa Valley many years ago, however owning a piece of it wasn't on his original list of pressing acquisitions.

That said, with their children grown and out of the house, Michael and Carole began to spend more time a little further north. Longtime friends Frank and Kathy Dotzler (Outpost Wines) had retreated to agriculture several years earlier and encouraged the Marks to spend more time in the Napa Valley, which offered a wonderful adjunct to their hectic Silicon Valley lifestyle. 

Over dinner with the Dotzlers, Michael discovered that Gemstone might become available to the right person and the idea piqued his interest. Thanks to the efforts of Suzie and Paul Frank, Gemstone offered Marks, whose Harvard MBA was preceded by both a Bachelors and a Masters of Fine Art from Oberlin College, a new creative outlet. The Marks family could pursue a budding interest with a firm foothold already established in the market, and the Frank family found the right successor for their most treasured label. For both parties it was a perfect fit.

Although the ownership of Gemstone has changed, the goal remains the same: to create the highest quality experience, and to have fun doing it.