Annulus Cellars is a wine brand strongly rooted in family and community. It was founded by Luke Evnin, Deann Wright and their two daughters Alexandra and Elena, all of whom are actively involved in promoting their wines. After 15 years of living in San Francisco, Luke and Deann were becoming tired of the San Francisco summers. In case you need a reminder about the weather in San Francisco from June through August, a quote by Mark Twain best sums up the frigid experience, “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”.
They discovered a historical property on the east side of Rutherford and purchased a second home here in 2000. They had been visiting Napa Valley years prior including marrying at Sullivan Estate Winery in 1990. They fell in love with the passion people had for their family owned wine brands. And they were inspired by vintner’s energy and the openness they experienced at various parties in the valley.
Both daughters are very much involved in Annulus Cellars. Alex, their older daughter minored in viticulture and enology at Cornell University and later worked in the retail side of the wine business in New York City. She has also worked harvest at a number of wineries including locally at Seavey and Mayacamas, in Sonoma County at Hirsh and also in New Zealand.
The family finally decided, as Luke puts it, “to convert the latent energy that had been lit years ago, into starting our own family wine brand, with a purpose to connect our family through a shared business, especially as our daughters build their own careers”. Initially they explored the possibility of building their brand around an estate vineyard property. But as they looked for a winemaker they realized they would gain access to premium vineyard sites through the right winemaker.
They wanted to find a winemaker who they could connect with both on a personal level but also whose wines they enjoyed. They originally were introduced to Bart and Daphne Araujo through their neighbor Barbara Eisele (died 2007). Through the Araujo’s they were introduced to winemaker Nigel Kinsman who they were already familiar with and some of the wines he had previously crafted for Araujo Estate (now Eisele Vineyard) and Accendo Cellars. Nigel, through his connections has been able to secure grapes from some of Napa Valley’s most coveted sites including Las Piedras Vineyard and Vine Hill Ranch. The wines are made at Wheeler Farms, ground zero for Nigel’s production.
When mulling over ideas for the name of their wine brand, they zeroed in on an image of a ring. A ring represents what they appreciate about Napa Valley, its cycles of the seasons and the circle of friends and family. And being part of the community, a circle of both receiving yet also giving is an important part of their ethos.
Both their daughters spent a semester abroad studying in Florence, Italy. Their youngest daughter Elena designed their wine label, featuring a stylized ring connecting to an image of an oak tree. Each label depending on the bottling, is a slightly different color. This visual is modeled and inspired by a public sculpture on via dei Georgofili in Florence, Italy, by acclaimed artist Andrea Roggi. The piece is titled Albero della Pace which translates in English to: Tree of Peace. Roggi specializes in a diversity of art including poetry and painting but perhaps he is most known for his eye catching sculptures. The bronze Albero della Pace sculpture is mounted on a solid stone pedestal and depicts a ring joined with an olive tree. The piece commemorates a tragedy resulting from a bomb explosion next to the Uffizi Gallery on May 27, 1993 killing five people, destroying a tower and part of the museum including valuable works of art.
We have visited this inspirational statue several times; there are always far fewer crowds here than on the nearby road paralleling the Arno River and the always bustling Ponte Vecchio stone bridge.
The family reached out to Roggi’s art workshop, La Scultura di Andrea Roggi, and have since commissioned him to create a similar sculpture modeled after the Annulus Cellars image.
Annulus Cellars connected with oenologist, master blender and Bordeaux based Michel Rolland in 2022; Along with Nigel he participated in creating the final blends for their inaugural 2021 wines and continues to assist with final blending decisions for future vintages.
All their wines reflect what they appreciate the most about Nigel’s winemaking including balanced wines right out of the gate, similar to the older Araujo Estate wines. As Luke told us, “the wines fit within an evening of drinking and are always interesting, featuring attractive textures, core mineralities from each site and invariably identifiable as Napa Valley fruit”. The Annulus wines are both site and vintage driven, but within those confines, both a simultaneous balance and Cabernet Sauvignon’s inherent structure are always expressed.
Select Wines
The 2022 Annulus Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley is medium golden in color; this wine is a blend of 61% Sauvignon Blanc, 24% Sémillon, and 15% Sauvignon Musqué, all from Rancho Pequeño Vineyard located in the northern part of Oakville, next to the southern boundary of Rutherford. This wine is medium golden in color; the bouquet sports aromas of pineapple, a light mineral character, chamomile, orange blossom, star jasmine and mandarin orange. The palate begs another sip and its minerally character also includes flavors of pineapple, red apple, guava, passion fruit and kiwi. It features a light fleshy attribute which is complemented perfectly with a crisp freshness of acidity. Refreshing and balanced with a lively finish, we love the interplay of both flavor, texture and acidity. This wine was aged for 6 months with battonage occurring weekly, in a combination new & neutral French oak barrels & stainless-steel drums. Only 61 cases were produced.
The grapes from this site were not available in 2023 so Annulus Cellars produced no wine that year.
The 2021 Annulus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of grapes from Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena, Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville, Bench Vineyard in the Stags Leap District and the 1520 Vineyard on Diamond Mountain (formerly known as Reverie). This wine is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. The Petit Verdot was fermented separately and then blended back into the Cabernet Sauvignon. The bouquet smells simultaneously fresh and floral accompanied by layers of fruit. It’s aromatics include lilac, lavender, dried rose petals, blackberry, dark cherry, tobacco spice, old cedar box, sage and dried earth. The aromatic layers are immediately attractive. Balanced and bright and focused on the fruit, the palate reveals flavors of dark raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry and dark cherry. Lingers with a light earthy character. The texture features ripe, resolved and rounded tannins with a light lingering dusty character showing more on the front of the palate than the rear. Of the three red wines, this bottling is styled to be the most approachable in its youth. 192 cases were produced.
The 2021 Annulus Las Piedras Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; it is deep ruby and opaque in color. The bouquet sports aromas of dust, old cedar box, dried rose petals, dark cherry, blackberry and dark plum. There is a pleasing interplay between its spice and fruit scents. The well-layered and dark fruited palate offers flavors of blackberry, boysenberry and plum. The hallmark of this wine besides its fruit are its core terroir/minerality characteristics. And the palate expresses a restraint not always found from producers sourcing from this particular vineyard. The finish lingers with a dusty, gravelly, minerally and a graphite character which ultimately outpaces the fruit. The texture is also attractive component of this wine with the ‘Nigel balance’ clearly on display here.
Las Piedras Vineyard was the first site planed to grapes in St. Helena AVA. Andy Beckstoffer took over this vineyard in 1983; it is one of Beckstoffer Vineyards six Heritage Vineyards identified as the most historically significant and premium quality vineyards under their ownership. The site was gifted to Edward Bale in the 1840s; he was the first to plant wine grapes in St. Helena having planted Mission vines on the property. Annulus sources from Block D1, planted in 2014. This wine spent 21 months in 100% new French oak barrels.
Only 103 cases were produced.
The 2021 Annulus Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal (clone 4) sourced from nearly 3 dedicated acres within the eastern facing Block 2. This is one of the lower blocks in this vineyard and is located near Hopper Creek. This wine is deep ruby; the initial aromatic reminded us of harvesting ripe and juicy blackberries in the summer as a child. And blueberries, which is an aromatic fresh in our mind, coming off of our trip the Pacific Northwest and frequenting several U-pick blueberry farms. Other aromatic layers are also at play here including of dark raspberries, boysenberry, dark coral cherries at the peak of their ripeness and old cedar box. The tannins are dense, with rounded edges and a cushiony character framed by a persistent drying note. This bottling features an extended finish supported by both structure and fruit paralleling each other before both eventually dropping off. Like Vine Hill Ranch’s own bottling of the same vintage, this is an exceptional wine from a well-regarded and much needed vintage, following 2020 in Napa Valley. With the proper cellaring, it should continue to age nicely for at least several decades. 270 cases were produced.
Vine Hill Ranch is one of Napa Valley’s premiere vineyards. The property encompasses over 600 acres in the southwest corner of the Oakville appellation with part of the site bordering the Yountville appellation. Approximately 70 acres are planted to grapes with the remaining land, rugged, steep and forested.
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Luke and Deanne met in the 1980s; she was working at UCSF as a research technician and Luke was going to graduate school. He eventually graduated with a PhD in Molecular Biology and spent a career investing in biotech through MPM Capital, a company he co-founded. Deanne practiced law before moving into non profit work. Both are an integral part of the San Francisco Scleroderma Research Foundation. Founded in 1997 by scleroderma patient Sharon Monsky, this foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit investor in scleroderma research in the U.S. Comedian Bob Saget was a long time supporter of the foundation until he died in 2022.
This is a small but mighty research organization that raises money and funds projects relating to Scleroderma, a potentially life threating auto immune disease which affects skin and internal organs. Luke and Deann have been board members for more than 20 years and oversee their research programs; Luke has been Chairman of the Board since 2002. Similar to how wine brings people together, their careers have been built around a spirit of comradery and collaboration.
Luke spearheaded international clinical trials for the foundation which now remarkably spans more than 160 sites across 30 different countries. In addition to numerous private donors, several pharmaceutical companies have made major financial contributions.
Hospitality
Annulus hosts tastings at Wheeler Farms by appointment, located on Zinfandel Lane just south of St. Helena. A limited number of premium brands use this winery for both production and hospitality purposes. The property offers a diversity of places to enjoy the wines including both indoors and weather permitting, outdoors.
Due to its limited production, the Annulus Sauvignon Blanc is only tasted and sold through visits. Private tastings include a light cheese and charcuterie board and samples of the current release Annulus bottlings. Wheeler Farms houses a commercial kitchen; Annulus can also arrange lunch experiences with tastings of their wines.
And Annulus can also meet interested consumers by showcasing their wines at select area hotels, restaurants or vacation rentals.
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Their bottles are intentionally lighter weight; for reference, wine bottles are the most significant contributor to a winery’s carbon footprint. And they use sustainable packing. The wines are primarily sold direct to consumer with plans to build up a select distribution in states such as Florida, Massachusetts and New York. Total production from their inaugural vintage is around 700 cases. Having multiple larger vineyard sites will allow them to grow the brand as needed, primarily their Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wines are sold in three-packs. Annulus pours their wines at a limited number of events in Napa Valley including WineaPAWlooza and Staglin Winery’s annual Music Festival for Brain Health event every September. For more information, to purchase wines, or to setup a tasting, please visit: www.annuluscellars.com
Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard, St. Helena
Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, Oakville
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