Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate

Matt is a New Zealand native Waiheke Island and has worked for several notable wineries including Man o'War, Goldie Vineyards, and most recently Stonyridge Vineyard as harvest winemaker. He began his winemaking career in 2009 as assistant winemaker for Passage Rock Wines. While there, he also served as a committee member of the Waiheke Wine Growers Association.

Matt also worked harvest in Napa Valley for Screaming Eagle and Byant Family. At Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate, Matt works closely with famed cinters Phillippe Melka and Michel Rolland to produce wines according to Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate's high standards.

On a whim, Philippe took a wine course in his final year of study at the University of Bordeaux while completing a geology degree – a moment that changed the trajectory of his life. He began his journey at Château Haut Brion where his passion for Cabernet-based blends and Sauvignon Blanc began and completed a Masters program in Agronomy and Enology. He was intrigued by the relationship between soil and wine quality, a fascination that continues today.

Yearning to learn more, he set out for Napa Valley (Dominus Estate), Western Australia (Chittering Estate), Chianti in Italy (Badia a Coltibuono) and Bordeaux (Chateau Petrus) where he divided his time between soil study and winemaking. From the great diversity of terroirs he studied, Napa Valley revealed itself to have the most exciting potential for extraordinary wine.

Trained and influenced by some of the most notable personalities in the wine business, Philippe has devoted the past 19 years to winemaking here in Napa Valley – getting his start as a consultant with Lail Vineyards at its inception. Being recently named one of the top nine wine consultants in the world by Robert Parker underscores his truly remarkable gift in a career that has only just begun.

Michel Rolland is a rock star winemaking consultant who began working with our Winemaker Henrik Poulsen and Consulting Winemaker Jean Hoefliger at Newton Vineyards in 2001. Nearly five years later, the three men who share the same approach to wine teamed up again at Alpha Omega where Michel has proved to be a wonderful source of knowledge and experience for our winemaking team.

Michel was destined to work in wine. Born in a hospital in Libourne, less than 450 yards from the Pomerol appellation and two and a half miles from Maillet, he grew up walking through vineyards with his grandfather who sold wines under the Château Le Bon Pasteur label. Introduced to viticulture by his father, Michel studied oenology at the University of Bordeaux and in 1973, along with his oenologist wife Dany, took over a large laboratory in Libourne.

Still, he found time to travel. Michel’s consulting duties have taken him to four continents and more than 150 different estates exposing him to a variety of climates and conditions. In addition to conferring with highly-regarded wineries around the world, Michel continues to produce his own wines at his estates in Bordeaux where he also directs one of the wine industry’s most respected laboratories.