The Team
Estate Proprietor
Alejandro Bulgheroni
Alejandro Bulgheroni, an Argentinian-Italian businessman, farmer, vintner, and entrepreneur has a portfolio of focused and emblematic properties.
Since 1965, he has developed many projects guided by his principles of environmental preservation, investment in people, the fusion of innovation and tradition, and the creation of healthy, high-quality products. He continues to develop his focused wine portfolio representing the authentic expression of the most emblematic terroirs around the world.
Consulting Winemaker
Philippe Melka
Like the celebrated wines on which he has built his reputation, Philippe Melka would be the first to tell you that his career has been primarily influenced by soil. His wines are exalted for their hallmark complexity, texture, and depth of flavor, all while harnessing the unique traits of the fruit from various plots of dirt.
He describes his own style as one that brings together his fluency in French winemaking tradition with a keen understanding of current industry trends and techniques.
Consulting Enologist
Michel Rolland
Michel Rolland began consulting in 1985 and has worked with hundreds of wineries on four continents, helping to create scores of successful wines. Michel’s guiding principles tend to result in rich wines with a focus on ripe fruit and plush structure.
Rolland has served as a foundational pillar in writing the modern history of Napa Valley and has served as a beacon for bringing together Old World methodologies with New World flair. It is this unique mindset that helped revolutionize the wine industry as we know it, and Rolland’s fingerprints are all over that evolution.
Consulting Winemaker
Maayan Koschitzky
Maayan has amassed an impressive winemaking resume spanning from the vineyards of Israel to Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle here in the Napa Valley, working alongside some of the top winemakers and among the most coveted terroirs in the world. In 2014 Maayan Joined Atelier Melka, He brings a dynamic array of talents to the Melka team.
With a background in Engineering and years of experience in both wineries and vineyards, Maayan plays a multifaceted role at Atelier Melka involved not only in winemaking and operations but design and implementation of winery development for clients.
Winemaker
Matt Sands
A native of New Zealand’s Waiheke Island, Matt has trained under some of the best teachers and worked for some of the best wineries on the planet. He learned an array of modern techniques from some of New Zealand’s most famous wineries and also served as a committee member of the Waiheke Wine Growers Association.
His domestic experience has helped him ascend into a different stratosphere. Time working harvests at Screaming Eagle and Bryant Family gave him an inside look at the premiere wines and terroir of Napa Valley. His commanding understanding of the unique microclimates of Napa Valley is what has set him apart from other young upstarts in the industry.
Assistant Winemaker
Mark Pittman
Mark grew up in Houston, Texas, and had no notion that the world of wine existed until his mid-twenties. A childhood friend of his recruited him for his first harvest in 2014 in Washington. After a fun and challenging first harvest, he was hooked and decided to pursue winemaking as a ticket to travel.
Over the next two and a half years he traveled to Oregon, Washington, and New Zealand, which enabled him to learn about different winemaking techniques at a wide range of wineries, from boutique to large-scale production. After six vintages in a span of three years, he decided to come to Napa to make wine full-time as Napa is the pinnacle of New World winemaking.