Winemaker Consultant Philippe Melka has been with Seavey since 1995. A graduate of the University of Bordeaux, he holds degrees both in enology and geology with a specialization in terroirs and clones. Before joining Seavey he worked at a number of well-known wineries in France, Italy, and California. His advice has been valuable in the vineyard as well as in the winery, where he strives to produce a perfectly integrated wine with classic structure, balance and elegance. He treats his wines gently and controls the amount of oak, so that the fruit flavors will not be lost. In addition to viticulture, his favorite hobby is surfing. Jeremy, Philippe & Bill Seavey work very hard to find the best possible blends of wines from the separate harvest lots.
World-reknown wine critic, Robert Parker, of The Wine Advocate, posted an article in a Summer 2008 edition of Food & Wine magazine, that he considered Philippe Melka among the 9 most influential winemaker consultants in the world. Philippe continues to achieve international acclaim, including Food & Wine's prestigious 2005 AWA Winemaker of the Year Award.
P.S. - Philippe's dog, Mocha (above), is famous in the Valley. Mocha is always hard at work in the vineyard at Seavey, along with Philippe, inspecting the Cabernet Sauvignon before Fall harvest...
From MelkaWines.com website:
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 reputed 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 ideal picking times. In 1993, Philippe studied soils at Badia a Coltibuono in Italy as well as the emerging 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 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. This common stylistic thread is apparent in the following wines crafted by Philippe Melka:
Seavey Vineyard
Lail Vineyards
Parallel Wines
Marston Family Vineyard
Vineyard 29 & Aida Vineyard
Dana Estates
Flanagan Family Vineyards
Gemstone
Hundred Acre
PreVail Winery Estate
Roy Estate
Skipstone Ranch Winery
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