A local to the Central Coast, Phil grew up running around the hills on the west side of Paso Robles. With a love for cooking and music he first embarked on a career in the service industry while moonlighting as a local musician. In 2011 he started working at Shale Oak Winery for some extra cash and discounted wine for his upcoming wedding. Working at a boutique winery unlocked access to winemakers, cellars, and vineyards across the Central Coast. From there a new passion, and ultimately a new career, was born. Phil spent any free time in vineyards and cellars, swept up in the excitement of the rapidly growing Paso Robles wine scene. By 2015, he was enrolled in the Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program while working over at Denner Vineyards and Terry Hoage Vineyards. In 2016 Phil became the first recipient of the Garagiste Festival Scholarship on his way to graduating summa cum laude from the Wine and Viticulture program. Harvest of 2016 Phil was named Assistant Winemaker at Terry Hoage Vineyards. Just a year later, he was promoted to Lead Winemaker and was given the reins to the winemaking program. While running the wine program at Terry Hoage (TH Estates) the winery released its most heralded and critically acclaimed wines in its 20+ year history. In 2022 the Hoages made the decision to retire and close down the winery operations. Phil used the opportunity to strike out on his own project, teaming up with longtime coworker and friend, Cyril Pujadas. They cashed out their retirement plans and bought 10 tons of fruit from some of their favorite blocks to work with and IIWII Wines was born.