Hemingway once wrote "Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."
Destination Cellars looks to combine the civility of wine with the experience of unsurpassed luxury vacation experiences. Founded in 2006 and launched in February of 2007, Destination Cellars targets the oenophile who looks to enjoy their Malbecs, Rieslings, and Syrahs in fabulous wine specific destinations around the world.
While not a traditional destination club, Destination Cellars closely mirrors many of the benefits of destination club membership and even markets themselves as "the first and only luxury destination club that offers affluent wine, food and travel enthusiasts the exclusive and personalized access to prestigious winery properties around the world." While most destination clubs assist members in reserving properties within the club, Destination Cellars has partnerships with over 70 vintners across the globe. Offering two different membership plans, Destination Cellars receive unbridled access to wineries and vineyards traditionally reserved for sommeliers. Members can arrange to have private tastings, cellar tours, or catered corporate retreats. Members also have access to a certified wine sommelier that can be used for planning on everything from dinner parties to business lunches.
In August of 2008, Destination Cellars expanded their destination club offering by partnering with Exclusive Resorts, adding the industry giant to an already extensive list of partners.
As 2009 concluded, Destination Cellars was one of the few clubs to post positive gains for the year, increasing their revenues by more than 250% and further establishing their partnership network while other clubs in the industry were forced into bankruptcy or closure.
Partners and events, 2008 to 2011
Destination Cellars is one of the better documented small clubs in the archive because it kept announcing partners. After the Exclusive Resorts alliance of August 2008, the news desk reported a partnership with The Markers Club in February 2010 and with Quintess in March 2010, when Quintess members described wine tours arranged during a stay at a Quintess home in Napa Valley.
In April 2010 the club opened an online wine portal for buying directly from partner wineries, and in May it hosted a South Africa wine fundraising reception in Washington. The partner list kept growing in 2011 with Luxury Link in March and Inspirato in July, which gave Destination Cellars members preferred pricing on the Inspirato membership fee.
Founder and chief executive David Keuhner is quoted in most of these announcements. The most recent public material we found dates from late 2011, so the archive's operating status reflects that period.