"Vintage 2005 was the first Gemstone to be totally controlled from vineyard to bottle by celebrated winemaker Philippe Melka, who came to California following a distinguished career in Bordeaux France. Philippe and his able assistants Marie-Laure Ammons, Julien Fayard, John Paul (JP) Formento are truly responsible for the "gems" in Gemstone wine."

                                                                - Paul Frank, Founder

Philippe spent much of his early life in Bordeaux, receiving his geology degree in 1989 from the University of Bordeaux. In his final year of study, he took a wine course purely out of sheer curiosity, and from that moment on realized his passion - and future - lay in the world of wine.

In 1991 he completed a masters program in Agronomy and Enology under the direction of Professor Sequin, a noted specialist with regard to terroir. Philippe was fascinated by the relationship between soil and wine quality and his appreciation of the study of soil agronomy continues to this day in his work as a viticulturist as well as winemaker.

Philippe set out for the New World to discover its wines and expand his knowledge in the process. In 1991-1992, he worked for Dominus in both winemaking and vineyard management. He split 1992 between working harvest at Chittering Estate in Western Australia and returning to Dominus to study grape maturation and picking times.

In 1993, Philippe studied soils at Badia a Coltibuono in Italy as well as the Sangiovese varietal. In the spring of that year he was once again on French soil, joining the J. P. Moueix company in Libourne, where he stayed until returning to Napa Valley in 1994 to devote himself to winemaking, viticulture, and continuing soil studies.

Fifteen years later Philippe is one of the most sought after winemakers and viticulturalists in California. His extended family of wineries represents a diverse range of vineyard sites and soil types, from cool-climate, shallow, volcanic soils to deep, rich, warm-microclimate clay. Philippe's wines express the voice of the soil as much as that of the winemaker.