Winemaker
Julien Fayard was born in Saint Etienne, France and grew up in the French Riveira. He has a masters in Agribusiness and Winemaking. He studied in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, and has worked in Provence, the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and the Napa Valley.
His journey to Nicholson Jones included experience gleaned at the sides of the winemasters of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Smith Haut Laffite, and Quintessa in the Napa Valley. For 3 years, he was the winemaker at Chateau Sainte Marguerite a Cru Classé winery located on the Cote d'Azur in Southern France.
In 2005, he became a U.
S. Resident and committed himself to creating exceptional wines using the
finest California grapes and his unique legacy of French tradition and
California creativity. Julien fell in love
with the Napa Valley and a beautiful local girl, Élan. They married and started to produce their own wines under the Azur label.
Currently, Julien is the owner and consulting winemaker of Fayard Wines, LLC (Azur Wines). He is currently working with Philippe Melka to develop, high-end luxury red wines and of course his collaboration with Cal Nicholson at Nicholson Jones Selections.