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Destination Cellars was founded in 2006 with a mission to provide wine, food, and travel enthusiasts exclusive and personalized access to the most prestigious and exclusive vineyards and winery properties around the world.

The club, based in Virginia offers members tailored experiences at over 65 winery properties around the world. The experiences offer the kind of custom adventures you can't get just by showing up at the winery. Private tours, lunches and dinners, wine and food pairings and special overnight stays are all part of the fun.

You can also arrange special romantic wine-themed events for important moments like proposals or anniversaries. And for those who want the hands-on experience you can arrange for a custom blending session and create your own wine to take home. The club has partnered with American Express Travel as well as Capital Dream Cars and Cellar Storage. Memberships start at $15,000.

For more information, follow the link:
DESTINATION CELLARS

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Here is some more information:

Destination Cellars: A Wine Lover's Escape

Interested in touring a private estate to learn about the makings of a fine Brunello and later staying the evening at a private home in Tuscany complete with an intimate Tuscan dinner? Then perhaps a membership to Destination Cellars is in order.

Destination Cellars, which opened just over a year ago, is the first and only luxury destination club partnered with American Express Travel to offer affluent wine, food and travel enthusiasts personalized access to prestigious winery properties around the world.

"Memberships start at $15,000, which includes five experiences at any of the wineries we are partners with around the world," said David M. Keuhner, founder and CEO of the Virginia based company.

"We have more than 25 members and are partners with about 70 family-run estate properties in everywhere from Australia and France to New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. Our members are a mixture of professionals who have an avid interest in wine and the means to do this, and also those who are at a point in their lives where they want to learn more and get experience about wine. People see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity as well as an education process."

Individual and corporate club members enjoy tailored experiences including everything from intimate tastings and fine dining to cave exploration and biodynamic seminars.

"We sell not only experiences but memories to our members," Keuhner said.

We have a mix of corporate members for executives and employee incentives where we become your wine and travel consultant. We have certain member profiles they need to fill out so we can learn as much as we can about our members like when their birthdays are, if they are married, number of kids, etc. We cater to their needs with a reservoir of experiences."

Keuhner had been in the restaurant industry for several years when he came up with the idea of Destination Cellars.

"I used to be the general manager at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Washington, DC and it was there that I took a passion to the grape," Keuhner said.

My uncle used to be the sommelier at the 21 Club in New York and a light bulb went off about 11 years ago. I worked for three startup companies after Ruth's Chris and each was affiliated with the restaurant industry so I was able to keep close ties in the industry and my appreciation and education with wine continued to grow. I came up with the idea when my wife and I decided to go to Napa Valley. I wanted to do something private and intimate with my wife and because I didn't have strong ties to the industry and wasn't a big purchaser, I received a really cold reception from the winery that I went to. I wanted to sit down with the winemaker and since I was just coming in to have a good time and not buy a lot of wine, they didn't have any interest. I was somewhat shocked and turned off by this experience but knew there must be others out there wanting the same experience as me."

While Napa and Sonoma Valleys are certainly known for their wine tastings, the experiences are not private.

"I know there are tasting rooms all over Napa where you can share your experience with a lot of people and experience what wine tastes like but there was nothing available for an exclusive experience," Keuhner said.

I came back and researched both the wine market and consumer side to find out what they wanted. I wanted to have wineries involved within a network that would be held in high regard and of the same caliber around the world."

Keuhner's research determined that the consumers wanted to be seen on a personal level.

"They wanted to be known as Mr. and Mrs. Smith and were looking for a unique experience," he said.

We needed to secure companies that we wanted to partner with to allow member access. We then traveled around the world securing these partnerships. One corporate member just got back two weeks ago from Napa Valley where he went with his girlfriend. I had the 24-hour curveball thrown when he said he wanted to get engaged. There is a place called Fisher Vineyards with a view of Sonoma on one side and Napa on the other. They had a table set up on top of a mountain where they had a tiki umbrella where they had dinner literally on top of the world. The couple was offered a private blending experience where they blend their own wine and they are planning on serving it at their wedding."

As a result and due to a member request, the club has designed a Napa Valley "engagement experience," which includes a private table atop the mountain to enjoy a bottle of "Wedding Vineyard" wine.

"Where else can you do a private blending session with a world renowned winemaker and leave with a wine that is proprietary to you," he noted.

Our goal is to cater to an intimate experience. We have a professional sommelier on staff, who can provide wine pairings with food or if a member is having a dinner party, they can call for advice. People are often intimidated by wine so having that service available to our members was an important step."

For LxM Kellie K. Speed

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STONE RIDGE, VA -- 01/14/08 -- Destination Cellars, the first and only luxury destination wine club, announced today a collaboration with the nation's premier network of confidential learning groups for high net worth investors, TIGER 21. The company joins the Destination Cellars Strategic Alliance, giving TIGER 21 members access and preferred pricing to once-in-a-lifetime wine experiences around the world.

"Our partnership with TIGER 21 is the perfect pairing," said David Keuhner, Founder and CEO of Destination Cellars. "We, like they, are committed to maintaining the highest level of exclusivity and service for our members who are focused on making smart, quality investments whether in the stock market or in their wine cellar."

Founded in 1999, TIGER 21 [The Investment Group for Enhanced Returns in the 21st Century] has more than 150 members nationally, representing nearly $10 billion of combined investable assets. Members meet monthly to exchange investment ideas and share personal experiences on a broad range of wealth-related and personal issues. Similar to Destination Cellars clientele, these members include successful entrepreneurs and business-owners, CEOs, Wall Street executives, professional money managers, and real estate executives.

"Our relationship with Destination Cellars provides our members with a truly unique experience with a leader in the luxury destination wine club field," said Tommy Gallagher, CEO of TIGER 21. "We remain a peer-to-peer learning group focused on wealth related issues, but we recognize the fine program offered by Destination Cellars and its appeal to our members. Preferred pricing is just the first of many benefits our members will receive as a result of this special offering."

Destination Cellars and TIGER 21 will officially launch their new collaboration at the TIGER 21 Townhouse in New York City on January 22, 2008. At the event, club members will experience the finest wines from Prunotto, which is recognized worldwide as one of the most refined, elegant and value-driven producers in the Piedmont region of Italy.

In addition to TIGER 21, the Destination Cellars Strategic Alliance includes prestigious companies such as Cellar Advisors, the nation's foremost independent fine wine consultancy and Addy Bassin's MacArthur Beverage, leading retailer and importer of fine spirits.

Kagehitokiri

heh, i doubt there are many people with $10MM+ of investable assets reading this forum.

OTOH for those who might want to run into such Tiger21 members, this could certainly be an interesting way of attempting to do so while having a good time.

also this really isnt a destination club, they just offer 5 "experience days" IIRC, so $3K per day. id imagine there are numerous such offerings for oenophiles, although they might not be packaged the same way.

The Vintner's Club is more like a destination club like yellowstone club world i believe, with a property that can be used by multiple members at a time. deposits are from $85K. not sure about annual fees/usage.

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Luxury Wine Club Destination Cellars Expands Partner Network

DULLES, VA -- 05/21/08 -- Destination Cellars, the first and only luxury destination wine club, today announced its newest partnership with the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), the world's largest leadership network. YPO joins the Destination Cellars Strategic Alliance, giving its national and international C-level executive members' access to custom designed once-in-a-lifetime wine experiences around the globe. Since its founding in 1950, YPO's 16,000 members in 100 countries have enhanced their personal growth and professional success through the sharing of ideas, pursuit of learning and exchange of strategies. In addition to offering traditional YPO programs tailored to meet the needs of today's global business leaders, the organization's fastest growing member offering is YPO Networks. This redefines member networking by shifting the focus onto personal interests. To cater to these personal interest groups the YPO has aligned with some of the world's most elite service providers to offer its members an array of exclusive offerings.

"Our alliance with Destination Cellars is about providing our members with a passion for wine with access to the best wineries and wine experts in the world. Our members are the global leaders of today's largest companies and the visionary heads of the world's most influential brands," said Brad Scott, YPO wine network strategic alliance chair.

"They often pursue their personal interests with the same zeal that they lead their businesses with and will not accept anything less than the best. Destination Cellars is the leader in its market," added Glenn Rotner YPO wine network chair.

Destination Cellars will roll out its partnership with YPO in stages, beginning with the members of YPO's Wine Network. As one of the largest personal interest network YPO offers, these wine members are focused on learning about and experiencing the latest offerings the wine industry has to offer. Next, Destination Cellars will reach out to YPO members that have indicated an interest in wine. Finally, the company will extend its offering to the entire YPO member organization.

"Partnering with Young Professionals Organization's is an incredible opportunity for us," said David Keuhner, founder and CEO of Destination Cellars. "Like the YPO, we hold our members and partners to the highest level of qualifications and remain committed to knowing the personal aspects that make each member unique, no matter how much our network grows."

About YPO-WPO
YPO-WPO is the world's premier global leadership network, connecting more than 16,000 business leaders from more than 300 local chapters in 100 countries. The organization provides unprecedented education and networking opportunities for its members throughout every stage of their lives. YPO-WPO offers an expansive array of learning opportunities at the local, regional and international levels. Alliances with leading higher-learning institutions, including Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School and London Business School, provide members access to the world's top business minds, and a variety of events and networks address a full spectrum of personal, business and social enterprise topics. For more information, visit www.ypo.org.

About Destination Cellars
Founded in 2006, Destination Cellars is the first and only luxury destination club that offers affluent wine, food and travel enthusiasts personalized access to prestigious winery properties around the world. Individual and corporate club members enjoy exclusive, tailored experiences at more than 100 of the world's finest wineries spanning seven countries. From an intimate wine tasting and fine dining experience, to cave exploration and bio-dynamic seminars, Destination Cellars creates private "once in a lifetime" experiences, to ensure it opens the world of wine to those who desire an extraordinary and memorable journey. Destination Cellars has built an esteemed alliance network to guarantee its members receive the best services available, including YPO, TIGER 21, Exclusive Resorts, MacArthur Beverage, Cellar Advisors and American Express Travel, which provides all travel services for Destination Cellar experiences.

For more information on Destination Cellars membership, visit http://www.destinationcellars.com or contact us at 703-327-3109.