Napa & Sonoma Winemakers

Russell Bevan

Winemaker · Bevan Cellars · Napa Valley

Russell Bevan built Bevan Cellars into one of Napa's most celebrated small producers, with a run of 100-point Cabernets from vineyards like Tench and Beckstoffer Dr. Crane. He also makes wine for Chase, Carter, Elyse, Addax and others.

Hillside Cabernet vineyard in the eastern Napa hills at golden hour

About Russell Bevan

  • Went to Gonzaga University and started out selling wine for a Gallo distributor before writing a wine column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune in the mid-1990s.
  • Came back to California in 1999 with no formal winemaking training and taught himself the craft.
  • Co-founded Bevan Cellars with Victoria De Crescenzo in 2004, starting at a custom-crush facility in Santa Rosa; their first lot of Cabernet came from Kal Showket's vineyard.
  • Moved part of production to Napa in 2012; Wine Spectator listed him that year among California winemakers who had raised their game.
  • His joint Bevan Cellars / Chateau Boswell lot was the top seller at Premiere Napa Valley in February 2013, at $75,000 for 10 cases.
  • In 2017 Bevan Cellars moved into the Tench family's new winery and cave beside Tench Vineyard in Oakville; he also bought the 41-acre Saunders Vineyard in Oakville.
  • Bevan Cellars says he has more than thirty 100-point wines to his name.
  • In June 2025 he made a 20-case Sentinel Ridge Cabernet for tenor Andrea Bocelli's Napa charity event.
  • In November 2025 Middleton Partners bought Victoria De Crescenzo's stake in Bevan Cellars; Russell and his wife Heidi stay on as owners and he remains winemaker, refocusing on single-vineyard Napa Cabernet.
  • Adversity Cellars, the label he started with Heidi, ended with the 2023 vintage; its vineyard wines move under Bevan Cellars from the 2024 vintage.

Russell's own wines

  • Bevan Cellars · since 2004 (made at the Tench winery in Oakville)
  • Adversity Cellars (2023 was the final vintage)

Where Russell makes wine today

Wineries Russell has made wine for

Consulting relationships change often; these are clients past and recent as reported over the years.

Notable wines and scores

  • 2015 Bevan Cellars Proprietary Red EE, Tench Vineyard: 100 pts, Wine Advocate
  • 2021 Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard: 100 pts, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
  • 2014 Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Tench Vineyard, Oakville: 100 pts, Robert Parker / Wine Advocate
  • 2014 Bevan Cellars Proprietary Red EE, Tench Vineyard: 100 pts, Robert Parker / Wine Advocate
  • 2021 Bevan Cellars Proprietary Red, Sugarloaf Mountain: 99 pts, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
  • 2021 Bevan Cellars Ontogeny: 98 pts, Jeb Dunnuck
  • 2021 Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Sentinel Ridge Vineyard, Howell Mountain: 98 pts, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

Recognition

  • Top lot at Premiere Napa Valley (joint Bevan Cellars / Chateau Boswell lot, $75,000), 2013
  • Named by Wine Spectator among California winemakers who stepped up their game, 2012

Taste Russell's wines in wine country

Many of these wineries are by appointment only, and some sell only to their mailing lists. Tell us which wines you would like to taste and your chauffeur will book what is possible and build the day around it. See our Napa Valley wine tours and Sonoma County wine tours, or plan a private tour.

Sources

wineindustryadvisor.com · thewineindependent.com · winespectator.com · winejournal.robertparker.com · thedrinksbusiness.com · chasecellars.com · elysewinery.com · addaxwine.com

Taste these wines with Bien

Many of these wineries are by appointment only. Tell us the wines you want to taste and your chauffeur books what is possible and builds the day around it.

Private six-hour tours with your own chauffeur and luxury SUV for up to 6 guests, from $600 plus gratuity. Bottled water and tasting appointments included.

Plan My Wine Tour

Prefer to talk? Call or text 833-915-2436.

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