ELLMAN Estate Winery

ELLMAN Estate Winery was founded by two brothers, Neil and Lance Ellman. Both were born in South Africa and moved with their family to the United States when they were very young (to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area) in 1974. Their grandfather Nathan Ellman started Softex in 1954, a pillow and bedding manufacturing business in South Africa (the family grew this to one of the largest mattress manufacturers in the country). When they moved to the United States, they brought the company with them; their father, Leon Ellman opened a factory in Florida, eventually operating ten factories in the U.S.

Neil became interested in wine after fortuitously meeting Darryl Frank at college, the son of Napa Valley’s Frank Family Winery founder, Rich Frank. They become good friends; at one point both Neil and Darryl lived in Los Angeles, and they would visit Napa Valley in the early 1990s as Frank Family was just getting started. In 2005 the Ellman Family sold their mattress business; after the sale, Neil approached Lance about starting a wine business and both agreed to work on this next project together.

Initially, they hired wine maker Kian Tavakoli (who they met at the former Crushpad) and through some of Crushpad’s vineyard connections they were able to start sourcing grapes from prominent Napa Valley vineyards including Stagecoach, Georges III and To Kalon.

Looking to return to the bedding business, in 2010 with their father, they started a new brand, Sherwood Bedding which remarkably in a fairly short amount of time has grown to one of the largest private label mattress companies in the country with (as of our latest update to this review) six manufacturing locations including Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Arizona (as of 2020, a part of Tempur Sealy International). Before Tempur Sealy acquired the assets of Sherwood Bedding, this company had sold more than 4 million mattresses in the United States using numerous retail outlets across the country. Pretty impressive for a company that was only 10 years old at the time of the sale.

Leon and his wife Elaine are also partners in ELLMAN Estate Winery. Leon is currently Chairman of the JLE Group, a private equity investment and management and investment consulting firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 2013 Neil and Lance were introduced to Adriana Chinsky who a year prior had begun a boutique wine brokerage business based in Fort Lauderdale focused on premium smaller mostly Napa based producers (Adavino). Adriana had the resources (20+ years in the wine world), passion and energy to help grow their brand. She proposed they hold a special tasting in Fort Lauderdale focusing on the ELLMAN Estate Winery. This particular tasting was highly successful and ultimately the Ellman’s hired Adriana as their Director of Sales in 2015 and she was with the company until 2019.

Adriana was extremely instrumental in the more recent evolution of ELLMAN Estate Winery and their growth. She moved to Napa Valley in May 2017 and despite never living here before one could easily make the mistake, she that has lived here all her life based on her intimate knowledge of the valley, the wineries, the vineyards and the vintners. While in Fort Lauderdale, she lived and breathed Napa Valley, often making business trips out to the region.

When Neil and Lance decided to look for property (they were interested in an accessible piece of vineyard land on the valley floor) Adriana connected them a local realtor. They purchased 14 acres just off the Silverado Trail, located within a short drive of downtown Napa. And following that acquisition, they purchased another adjoining 4 acres of land. The property is now 20 acres and came with an old barn, a water tower dating from 1906 and vineyards. The property was originally part of Rancho Yajome, a Mexican land grant from 1841, later part of the much larger Feliz Ranch and was also previously associated with Soda Canyon Elementary School which permanently closed in 1980. The old school building is located on their property but has since been converted into a residence.

Their is in the Napa Valley Appellation (no sub-AVA, but if this ever were to become a sub appellation, it might be called The Silverado Bench. This landscape is a series of rolling hills that are not high enough to be called mountains and are not low enough to be considered the floor of the valley, but are distinctive enough to merit their own sub-appellation. Winery or vineyard neighbors in this part of Napa Valley include Reynolds Family, Grassi (the same family that oversaw the construction of their winery), Seven Apart and Roy Estate.

A site was soon identified for the winery, but before the winery was built, the Ellman’s oversaw the construction of a small home. Napa County Planning Commission approved plans for a winery both in 2019 and again in 2023 with some additional modifications. Access to the winery is off of lower Soda Canyon Road rather than from their existing driveway on the Silverado Trail. The architectural firm of record was Taylor Lombardo Architecture; winery construction was completed in spring of 2025. The first guests were received to the property in July 2025 and the first harvest crushed here was also 2025, utilizing twelve stainless steel tanks from Bordeaux based Lejeune as well as a number of square concrete tanks, used for their Sauvignon Blanc. After years of custom crushing at another winery, they now have full control over their winemaking operations. This gives them more flexibility during winemaking and cellaring; for example they can do more micro ferments and have more flexibility in terms of aging.

In a nod to their South African heritage, three sculptures by South African artist are located on the property including two cheetah sculptures and one of a white rhinoceros. The hospitality space features a commission by ceramics artist Raina Lee and also six original prints from Andy Warhol’s 1979 Grape Series. A culinary kitchen is also located here, used for private events; the corner window in the back kitchen is a nod to a similar designed window at the French Laundry. And a glass wine room houses wines from both ELLMAN and some of their neighbors.

And ELLMAN is one of the few wineries in Napa Valley to use stemware from Josephinenhütte in their tastings. We were a very early adopter of these glasses and have since convinced several Napa Valley wineries and or brands to use them. All our evaluative tastings at home are always with this stemware. The ELLMAN/Josephinenhütte educational experience pairs the Josephinenhütte stemware with the same wines, served at different temperatures. And this experience always includes two Josephinenhütte glasses.

Accomplished winemaker Andy Erickson and his team craft the ELLMAN wines; he is noted for his work at Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle and Favia, among other wineries. Mike Wolf originally managed the ELLMAN vineyard but sold his company to vineyard manager Domenick Bianco who currently oversees the management of ELLMAN Estate. The vineyard is 12.5 acres, with 6 distinctive blocks including the oldest vines, a ‘Palmer clone’ of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 1999. Additional varieties include Merlot, a small amount of Petite Verdot and one acre split between Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Musqué. The Sauvignon Blanc is planted in a cooler and more shaded part of their property; as a result they often pick this variety around when they start harvesting their red varieties.

Lejeune headquarters, Bordeaux

Since the acquisition of the property, their wine making philosophy (in part with Andy’s input) has been to move away from sourcing grapes and focus on creating estate wines. In this regard, they have stopped sourcing from a number of vineyards; 2015 was the first vintage from their property including a lot they entered into Premiere Napa Valley for the first time, a trade auction and event held annually in Napa Valley every February, and is often the reason we head back to Napa after our annual extended winter break in Thailand.

The property is in a beautiful location – set against rolling hillsides to the east, and despite being so close to the highway, once one walks out among the vineyards the noise of traffic quickly disappears and you ‘lose’ yourself to the vines and the picturesque surroundings. Their wines tell the story of place; this is always an important attribute to note in terms of contemporary Napa Valley winemaking.

Select Wines
Sauvignon Blanc
The 2023 ELLMAN Caryn Renae Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of both Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Musquée. This wine is medium straw in color; the bouquet is an elegant expression of this variety perfectly saddled between this varieties’ more herbal attributes generally from cooler sites and tropical expressions from riper versions of this variety. The bouquet offers scents of pineapple, white nectarines, pineapple guava and star jasmine. Brightly endowed, the palate offers flavors of mandarin orange, Golden delicious apple, white peaches, lychee, lime juice and grapefruit. Its texture is rounded and perfectly aligned with the vibrant acidity. Energetic, juicy, bright and refreshing this wine would pair well with a variety of bivalve dishes. Our choice would be steamed mussels with garlic and Thai holy basil. This wine was fermented in a combination of neutral and new French oak barrels and stainless steel barrels for 7 months prior to bottling. And this wine is meant to age.

The first ELLMAN Estate wine released that was made entirely by Andy was the 2016 ELLMAN Caryn Renae Sauvignon Blanc sourced from a vineyard in the Vaca mountains on the south eastern side of Napa Valley. This wine shows an extremely inviting bouquet; it is pretty, showing floral notes including honeysuckle, white pineapple and perhaps a hint of vanilla spice. Interestingly, the bouquet does not reveal similar characteristics on the palate. Rather the flavors are more citrus driven including notes of lime, lemongrass and hints of vanilla. This bottling features great acidity complemented by some textural weight. It was aged sur-lie for 6 months in barrel. This is a very balanced wine that drinks well young.

Reds
Brother’s Blend
The 2021 ELLMAN Brother’s Blend is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Ellman Estate Vineyard and 14% Merlot from Bench Vineyard, located about a mile from the property off of Soda Canyon Road. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet is an elegant union of both fruit and floral notes. These include violets, lavender and lilacs, accompanied by roasted herbs, dried sage, smoked cedar, blackberry, dark raspberry and boysenberry. As the wine evolves it open to a light note of mint. On the palate there are flavors of dark raspberry, dark plum, boysenberry and blackberry. The fruit is the star of the show here but accompanied by a light savory note on the finish. Persists with a light gravelly texture – lingering with a seamless and supple kiss. This wine is balanced, not heavy or over extracted, and the same descriptor for its acidity. This is a medium bodied wine with a long finish.

The 2020 ELLMAN Brothers Blend, Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and opaque in color. Dark fruited with bramble, dark plum, blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry, pipe tobacco and old cedar wood. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry and dark chocolate. The tannins are soft and supple and finely grained, perhaps representative of this particular vintage. The finish is brightly lit. This is an easy drinking red but with enough character and complexity to keep it entirely interesting. The finish lingers with a savory attribute, paralleled by a dusty character and dried tobacco leaf. For reference, we tried this bottling four years post vintage. This wine is a listed 14.8% alcohol; one can feel the warmth of a gentle kiss deep on the palate from the alcohol. It was aged for 22 months in 52% new French oak barrels.

The 2014 ELLMAN Estate Winery Brothers Blend is 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot; this wine offers a diversity of aromas on the bouquet, including blackberry, black olive, and hints of smoke and sage. It is somewhat savory in its aromatic presentation. The palate reveals flavors of blueberry and blackberry with hints of cedar box and mocha towards the finish. Young and somewhat tight tannins are felt, and linger for some time in parallel with very bright acidity. Seems like this will be a wine worthy of aging for many years.

Jemma
The first vintage of ELLMAN wine produced was in 2007 and was called Jemma, named after Neil’s wife, Evan Jemma Ellman. They continue to produce this wine. It is the only wine produced that is blended with non estate grown grapes and while it can be cellared, it is meant to be their most approachable red bottling. And it is typically always dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc continuing to play an important role in subsequent vintages.

The 2021 ELLMAN Gemma is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon from their estate and 18% Cabernet Franc. This wine was aged in 60-70% new French oak barrels. It is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet offers scents of crushed rocks, dark cocoa powder and suede, with its fruit showing dark raspberry, cherry pie, Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry and Persian mulberry. As this wine evolves its fruit begins to dominate. Its flavors include blackberry, boysenberry and dark plum. So balanced and bright, this wine is drinking in a sweet spot right now. The palate sports an intensity of flavor while accompanied by firmly gripping but not overly robust tannins. Their gravelly and grainy texture lingers with a chalky and dusty character with a dryness outpacing the fruit on the finish.

The 2018 Ellman Gemma is 100% varietal; it is a field blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from entire property. This wine is deep ruby and opaque. We love the spice notes on the bouquet; these include dried red chili, roasted herbs, dried sage, and a light jalapeno with its fruit being dark raspberry, red cherry, red plum and boysenberry. Showing lots of fruit at this age both on the bouquet and the palate, its flavors include red cherry, raspberry and currant. Balanced, still youthful and still fresh, this wine drinks quite comfortably at the time of our tasting, 7 years post vintage. In a blind tasting we probably would have guessed it to be a couple of years younger than its vintage. The well tumbled and gravelly tannins linger beyond the fruit, with their presence showing more on the front of the palate than the back.

The 2014 ELLMAN Jemma is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 75% sourced from Stagecoach Vineyard on Atlas Peak and 25% from the Andy Beckstoffer owned Georges III in Rutherford. Reveals bright ripe fruit including sweet notes of dark cherries and berries and a hint of vanilla. A touch of dessert spice shows as the wine opens. Offers a smooth entry with flavors of blackberry, red cherry and red currant. Features broad-shouldered long-lasting tannins. Nice acidity.

The Estate
The 2017 ELLMAN The Estate is always made from what they call the ‘sweet spot’ of their property, block 3. This is block is dominated by volcanic soils, high mineral content, low nutrients and is always well drained. Yields are small from loosely scattered bunches with grapes featuring a high skin to juice ratio. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; regardless of vintage, its color is always dark. One can immediately smell this part of the vineyard including the dry and dusty soils. The bouquet smells like chalk, dried herbs including sage, blood orange and a ferrous quality that doesn’t cross into the territory of being sanguine. And plenty of mature fruit including plum, dark cherry, boysenberry and blackberry. Still very youthful on the palate, a vein of bright acidity has kept this wine fresh and focused, 8 years post vintage. On the palate its flavors include red cherry, plum, currant and raspberry. The finish lingers with a note of tobacco leaf and dusty and gravelly tannins on an extended finish. Juicy. This wine has aged remarkably well and still has plenty of years ahead of it with the proper aging. It was aged in 50% new French oak barrels; the wine was already in barrel when the Atlas Peak fires began burning in early October that year.

Tastings, Vintner’s Collective
ELLMAN Estate Winery is a part of a coveted collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. Vintner’s Collective showcases wines from a select group of mostly Napa Valley based producers most of which do not have their own tasting rooms. And it’s not easy to have one’s wines represented here. Vintner’s Collective has an in-depth vetting process to make sure the wines match what their customers are interested in, including varieties, price points and wine styles.

The tasting flights differ everyday which is certainly part of the appeal for visitors. Unless you are acutely tuned into the world of boutique Napa Valley producers, you probably will never have heard of any of the labels that are being poured, and that is not a bad thing. The wines represented are typically from producers who have a maximum annual production of 1,000 cases. A number of tasting flights are offered – geared towards all levels of wine interest and prior knowledge.

Walk-in customers are generally welcome if space allows but appointments can also be requested including for more private tastings hosted upstairs.

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Production has grown significantly since their first vintage; today they produce approximately 3,500 cases a year. In a nod to their family heritage, note the ‘stitching’ that shows on the foil of the bottle. They sell mostly direct but have some distribution in Florida, North Carolina and southern California.

And their first vintage of South African grown olive oil was produced in 2025 from ancient trees. This is available at the winery.

For more information, to signup for their mailing list, to schedule a tasting and to join one of three allocation list offerings, creatively called, Ellevate Your Cellar, visit: www.ellmanfamilyvineyards.com

ARCHIVED NOTES
Tasting Salon, Napa
Wanting to connect more closely with their customers they decided after a number of requests for tastings to open a tasting room/studio in downtown Napa, they did so in mid 2017. Despite being in the heart of downtown, it was quietly tucked away in the back of a tiny courtyard near Oenotri Restaurant and across from the Andaz Hotel. Visitors with prior appointments rang a doorbell before entering the tasting room. This space was previously used as a premium home furnishings store and was vacant for several years after the Napa earthquake in 2014.

After a complete interior decoration, the space was an ideal place to host intimate private tastings. Guests were never combined with other groups and tastings were always private for your own party. And in an interesting tasting room twist, a big screen television was setup to provide multiple live feeds from their vineyard and property off of their Silverado Trail property.

And their tasting room was within a close walk of numerous other tastings rooms in downtown and across the street from the Archer Hotel and a couple of blocks away from the Andaz Hotel (both great choices of places to stay when visiting downtown Napa).