Jessup Cellars

A Successful Guest-Centric Union JESSUP CELLARS + YOUNTVILLE

Photos courtesy of Jessup Cellars

 BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR

It's the story of a 17-year liaison that's stronger than ever. The beautiful Jessup Cellars Tasting Gallery was among the very first to embrace destination Yountville in 2003. Since opening day, cutting-edge innovation has driven the guest experience. Being a downtown tasting room, the challenges presented by 2020 were undertaken with an emphasis more on panache than pivot and — as ever — on community over commercial.

At Jessup Cellars, ultra-premium wines of distinction are exclusively available from the winery, so it was a smooth transition for the convivial tasting experience from the Washington Street gallery to be presented in the digital space as well. Providing loyal fans and new followers with a variety of fun and educational experiences around the wines generates word-of-mouth endorsements, which the Jessup Cellar team likes to call “Toastimonials.”

“This is the Rolls-Royce of virtual tastings.”

General Manager Tracy McArdle said, “Our philosophy at Jessup has always been that from the moment the guest arrives—virtual or not—we make them feel as special as possible. Our four core values are Connection, Uniquely Us, Collective Joy, and Pursuit of Excellence. These principles provide the foundation for our teams' actions and create an atmosphere that prompts kindness and respect.”

“...Excellent! Many customers said they enjoyed learning about the different wines, the winery, and of course, could not stop talking about how great the wine tasted.”

— Liz C., Salesforce, August 2020

“For our club members, if they can't get to Yountville, Jessup Cellars can bring the wine tasting experience to their home,” said Tracy. “We call it the Tasting Room Without Walls. Our wine educators connect so members can host an intimate gathering for a catered event paired with Jessup wines.”

Because the Jessup Cellars team loves building relationships and seeing friendships develop around wine-related conversations, they've been nimble and resilient, offering exceptional virtual wine tastings for small private groups as well as large corporate groups. New programming includes “Seven Culinary Wonders” launching in February and Art House Short Film Series, which launched in January. In a continuing effort to support the Yountville community, a special weekly Facebook Live event featured different properties around town throughout the month of November.

Meantime in Yountville, the doors are open as much as possible (currently by appointment), where up to 40 guests can be comfortably seated at safe distances in a lovely outdoor courtyard with a fireplace.

Jessup Cellars is part of the Good Life Wine Collective, the umbrella company that also owns Handwritten Wines. Handwritten Wines has a tasting room that's only a 10minute walk south from Jessup Cellars, so the two tasting rooms dubbed NOYO and SOYO are bookends in Yountville where first-time and repeat visitors always encounter a generous pour of friendliness.