Meet The Team: Meet The Team

The Stonemason Family

Our team is passionate about making exceptional wines and creating a memorable experience for our guests. We take pride in the quality of our products and the level of service we provide. Our staff is made up of experienced professionals who have a deep knowledge and understanding of the winemaking process. Our team is also dedicated to sustainability, using eco-friendly practices to ensure we are doing our part to protect the environment. We are proud of our work and look forward to sharing our passion for winemaking with you. Thank you for your interest!

Timothy "T.J." Elam
Founder | General Manager

Growing up with family in Napa Valley, TJ visited often and was always surrounded by wine talk. Because of his fondness for the area, he chose Sonoma State to pursue a business degree. TJ had intentions of eventually going into hospitality, but the wine industry had other plans. During his last year at SSU, TJ worked sales in an ultra-premium winery tasting room in the Russian River Valley. Here, he became infatuated with the wine industry, particularly the art of winemaking. Wanting to “learn in the trenches,” he chose to work a harvest on the production side. Working alongside very talented winemakers gave TJ access to a wealth of daily knowledge, picking up experience sorting fruit, managing fermentations, crushing fruit, blending, and more. Next, TJ found himself traveling to the Barossa Valley in Australia to work for one of the country's largest wine producers. There he learned about different viewpoints, grew his wine network, and gained experience at a rapid rate. Upon return to the US, TJ also worked with Williamson Wines in Healdsburg, CA. With the dream of one day producing and selling his own wine, TJ’s next move was to obtain an MBA in Wine Business from his alma mater SSU. Inspired to use new knowledge, experience, and connections within the industry, TJ set out to bring high-quality wines farmed locally directly to consumers without price spikes from “middlemen.” With the help of many friends, mentors, and family, TJ has been able to go from dragging someone else's hose to dragging his own.

Maxime "Max" Gautier
Winemaker | Vineyard Manager

Max’s first experience working with wine involved selling it, not making it! In 2012, Max studied sales and sold wines on ferries crossing the English channel. He spent a winter as a sommelier in Tignes, a ski resort in the French Alps. After that, he traveled to London, started selling wine in a wine shop, and transitioned into selling wines to restaurants and bars throughout England. It was then that I met an Australian winemaker who told me I should be making wine instead of selling it. He saw I appeared much more interested in the techniques and vineyards than wine sales. Taking his advice, I moved to the Rhone Valley for my first harvest as a cellar hand in Maison Jaboulet Ainée in 2017. After that first harvest, I knew this would be my career. I packed up and moved to the Barossa Valley in Australia, where I worked at Bethany wines. I left with a wealth of knowledge in winemaking and a new friend in TJ. Trying to learn as much and fast as possible, I applied for harvest in Napa at a well-known cult winery - Screaming Eagle. I got the job, and my first taste of California and American wines came along. The most beautiful part of winemaking is that it is never the same. All year round, your office is in various places in the cellar or the vineyard. I got my interest in wine from my father, who would bring my sister and me around France. He would love to find good wineries and bring us to visit them. Coming from Brittany, in the Western part of France, it was improbable that I would go into winemaking. You can imagine how happy my father was when I ended up sharing his passion for good wine!

Francesca "Fran" Elam
Marketing Director | Wine Club Manager

Francesca was born on the East Coast but moved at the age of 3 and has been raised in Wine Country ever since. She has a passion for education and spent several years working her way up to director at a local preschool before deciding to shift focus and major in Marketing and Wine Education. For the last few years, she has worked at a website design and marketing company which has allowed her to learn more about SEO, sales, and marketing as a whole. During her free time, Francesca has visited her fair share of wineries while conducting market research. When asked, she says her favorite wines are rosé and a good pinot noir from Sancerre, although she also is a huge fan of lesser-known wines like Picpoul and Alicante Bouchet. At Stonemason, you can find Francesca running our wine club and managing our Marketing Department, using the skills she learned through the years and her charismatic personality to take our brand to the next level.

Our Equity Investors

Thank you to our equity investors who make all of our dreams possible, we appreciate you more than you know!

The Rest of The Stonemason Family

We, of course, wouldn't be anywhere without the support of all the friends and family who have sacrificed their time to help build up the Stonemason foundation. We love you all so much!