Jenn and Matt Berger
"When our good friends called and asked if we’d like to join them in Sonoma to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary over Memorial Day weekend, my first thought was, "You don’t have to twist my arm!" and then my next thought was, "I bet David and Destination Cellars could set up an experience that would make this special weekend even more memorable.” Turns out I was right. They created a remarkable day of food and wine that none of us will soon forget.
Cheers to Arista Winery, David and Destination Cellars for making a our trip to Sonoma something truly special! We can’t wait to do it again. This upcoming weekend sounds good to me!"
Santiago Sanchez
"Destination Cellars has changed, in a very profound sense, the way I am able to appreciate wine. The unique opportunity to access the finest selection from the Old as well as the New world is something I cannot find anywhere else. Through Destination Cellars I get timely updates of the best offerings, and I have the possibility of ordering as many or as little as I want or need. Having Destination Cellars is like traveling with my own sommelier.
Developing a relationship with David and Sean is the best way to explore the world of wine. Throughout the years this relationship has allowed me to develop a taste for some favorite varietals and labels, which are timely delivered to my selected vacation spot. And there is always the possibility of some incredible surprises on wines new to me, which I can share with my wife and friends."
Chef Marv Messenger
"Big thanks to you and your crew for what has been an over-the-top trip for these members. They have been raving about it! Big success! Thanks for getting us into the best of the best! Each day our events got better and better and the final event at Arista just blew everyone away! The perfect event! Their wines are tremendous, dinner was terrific, the setting in the vineyard outstanding!"
Richard Carosella
"David and I talked about a trip I wanted to do with clients in Los Angeles. I chartered a sail boat and David had Daniel Ha come to LA with a few of the wines they like. They were all wines from Phillipe Melka, (Dana Estates, Vineyard 29, Gemstone). Daniel did a wine tasting for us as we did a cruise up the California coast. It was a beautiful day and having Daniel Ha in to teach us about wines made the day perfect. David had set up the wines for us to taste, and set Daniel up to fly in from Napa and spend the day with us."
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Brian Kabateck
Brian and his family went to Bordeaux for five days, as part of a Destinations Cellars exclusive wine experience. Why Bordeaux?
"It’s the holy land for people who like wine and the wine culture," he said. "I haven’t been there before and the Destination Cellars trip appealed because it is top of the line. The trip was customized to maximize the time but not saturate us with too much activity. Like a fine Bordeaux, the trip could be savored an enjoyed."
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Kai Stratmann
Shelby and I are thrilled to announce that we are engaged! I think all engagements are exciting, but I believe ours is hard to top with the amazing location and events you put together for my proposal. We arrived at the beautiful Fisher Vineyards under the premise that I had reserved a special wine tasting for the two of us. We were greeted in the drive by Catherine Fisher, the daughter of the owners, and their head of marketing. She couldn't have been more warm and welcoming, and made us feel like we had the entire place to ourselves – which we actually did! She then showed us into their cellar where her sister Whitney, the Fisher winemaker, and her apprentice were waiting on us for our own private blending session. After a brief introduction to wine blending, Shelby and I each teamed up with a winemaker and competed to see who could blend the best wine. Cameron came by a bit later to be the judge. No surprise to me, Shelby won the blind tasting. She didn't know at that time, however, that you had already organized to have 4 cases of the wine she blended to be bottled and shipped to me for our engagement dinner. That was a big surprise for everyone later in the day.
Once we were done marveling at Shelby's winemaking skills, Cameron took us up to the top of the hill in their aptly named Wedding Vineyard. She graciously gave us a bottle of Fisher Chardonnay, and excused herself to get ready for our wine tasting. We sat in two Adirondack chairs, looking out over San Francisco bay, on a gorgeous blue sky day, sipping some amazing wine, and discussed what our life would be like together. Of course, I couldn't let the moment pass any longer, so I got down on one knee at the top of the vineyard and proposed. She was so excited she could only hug and kiss me, and tell me that she loved me. I did end up reminding her that she needed to say yes, which she whole heartedly did! We stayed on top of the hill for a while longer to soak it all in, and then made our way down back to the Fisher's house where Shelby was in for another surprise. She was thrilled to see that our families had arrived to celebrate with us – her parents, her brother and his wife, and my parents were all waiting on us already toasting with Cameron and Mrs. Fisher. We celebrated in the beautiful courtyard while Mrs. Fisher baked delicious pizzas in an outdoor oven for us to have while we tasted the various Fisher wines – all of which are outstanding!
It was an incredibly wonderful evening, and I am so thankful that you were able to arrange it all to go off without a hitch. Your communications to me leading up to the big day were excellent, and I never felt more prepared for such a once in a lifetime event. Shelby, our families, and I all want to say thank you for making our engagement a truly everlasting incredible memory.
Andrew Medley and Parker McLachlin, PGA Tour Pro
"We had an amazing time. The drive up from Roma was so spectacular that we had to stop a lot to take pictures w/ our wives. And the weather was perfecto! The structure of the trip was perfect and we all recognized the efforts you and your company put into making the trip special. The evening at Nardi was such a special evening. We were up to late hours drinking wine and telling stories."
Dr. James George, President of Team Health East
"We travel extensively and I’ve never experienced a trip like Bordeaux. The cuisine, the wines and the people were all superb. I’ve never been as well cared for."
Eric Furfine and Barbara Tardiff
"We now know one recipe for making fabulous Red Burgundies – two parts artistry, one respect for science, one part respect for traditional ways, and five parts sweat equity in the field. That is our interpretation of the Thibault Liger-Belair way!"
Barry LaBov, CEO of LaBov & Beyond
"My wife and I recently signed up for the member wine experience to Napa and Sonoma Valley. We went ahead and had a private wine experience arranged by Destination Cellars."
"It was a fantastic time. We visited five wineries, and in most cases met the owners themselves. At one location, we had a private lunch at the winery and to top it off on the last night, we had dinner at the home of the owners of Harris Vineyards."
Libba Griffin
"The itinerary you set up for the March Napa and Sonoma Valley member event was awesome! We visited 4 wineries. The experience was intimate, with the owners and sometimes the actual wine-makers. We had either lunch or dinner with a sampling of 4 to 6 wines at each meal. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the history of the vineyard and the family stories."
Warren Ross
My wife and I just coordinated a trip with Destination Cellars to Napa Valley. This was our fifth visit to Napa Valley but our first visit using Destination Cellars and it was our best trip ever. Destination Cellars clearly understood our goals, set up amazing accommodations and arranged great wine experiences at some top "cult wineries" in Napa.
Jim Siegel
"Recently while in Tuscany, my guests and I experienced a wonderful wine excursion, thanks to our partnership with Destination Cellars. They arranged for a private tour, tasting and lunch at a property in Bolgheri. Our time at the winery was magical. The setting idyllic, the guide delightful, the wines poured most impressive, and the lunch outstanding."
"Destination Cellars helped us gain access to a difficult property to visit and their attention to detail was most impressive. I look forward to another experience with them in the near future and thank ER for once again bringing value-added services to our membership."
Herb Shear
"I joined Destination Cellars about a year ago. David Keuhner, the Founder and CEO, has been very attentive to all my needs. David has secured for me many hard-to-get wines. Recently, he got me several bottles of Hourglass Cabernet, which I had been trying for two years. I can recommend Destination Cellars and David for your wine needs."
Martha Shaker
"We had a wonderful time in Napa! It was a great 2 days. My husband and I and our friends really enjoyed our planned events. Fisher Winery was outstanding. We were met at the bottom of the hill by Fred Fisher and were introduced to Whitney…. and Jewell was in and out the entire time. We were there for about 5 hours!!! It was a long, leisurely 5-course lunch. We had a wonderful time with our chef Tyson, he was just fantastic. We toured the vineyard, the wedding vineyard, the garden where we picked herbs and peaches for our lunch. The cooking lessons, the lunch, the wines and the people were amazing."
"Thank you so much. Your service is excellent AND I received some lovely flowers today—thank you."
Alli and Will McKenzie, PGA Tour Pro
"Our trip was wonderful. We had a great time! No complaints. Thank you for your recommendations!!! We will definitely be going back again. And, will certainly be calling Destination Cellars to coordinate."