Julien gained his knowledge and defined his core winemaking style from working at grand Chateaux in France such as Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite. In Napa Valley, he’s worked alongside renowned winemaker Philippe Melka. He has come to be a Napa Valley veteran after many years of working with some of the most highly acclaimed and sought after wines from the Napa Valley.

His philosophy is to produce wines that express pure, terroir-driven specificities and characteristics. He believes that as a winemaker, one doesn’t control the wine but rather wine style is the result of a combination of soil, climate and vineyard management.

Julien has been working to launch a new winery, neighboring Italics, in the newly created AVA in Coombsville, Covert Estate Winery.  They use a very traditional Bourdeaux winemaking technique, proven to respect the Terrior and extract only the best elements of the grapes.