The Art of Hospitality Designed by Jessup Cellars
In the beautiful Jessup Cellars Tasting Gallery in Yountville, General Manager Tracy McArdle talks enthusiastically about the customer-centric values of the company. Ultra-premium wines are distributed almost 100 percent direct-to-consumer, so the convivial tasting experience at this location is at the heart of the Jessup Cellars label.
Over the past 12 years, the story of Jessup Cellars—the first tasting room in town—has been intertwined with the story of Yountville. Tracy said, “Since we opened in 2003, this town has truly blossomed. It has such a wonderful, friendly atmosphere, and due to positive word-of-mouth, we grew organically. After all, if you’re going to be in this valley, you’ve got to have great wine. Yet, that’s just the beginning for us.” She continued, “Our philosophy at Jessup has always been that when the guest walks through the door, 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.”
Jessup Cellars Tasting Gallery features a curated, rotating art gallery and a robust calendar of cultural events, including a sing- er-songwriter music series and a short film series. The venue prides itself on the fact that 50 percent of the visitors to the tasting room are returning guests. Tracy said, “We love building relationships and seeing friendships develop around wine-related conversations.”
However, in the pre-dawn hours of a Sunday morning in August of 2014, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California. Just as harvest was getting underway, the quake shook many Napa Valley wineries and “shook us at our core,” Tracy recalled. “Tourism fell off.” As a result, Jessup Cellars doubled down on customer experience, focusing on creative ways to bring its popular tasting experience to club members in their own homes.
“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 ‘Tasting Room Without Walls.’ Our wine educators travel so members can host friends and family for a catered event paired with Jessup wines.”
Today, Jessup Cellars is part of the Good Life Wine Collective – the umbrella company that also owns Handwritten Wines and Humanitas Wines. Tracy said, “Handwritten Wines has a new tasting room that’s only a 10-minute walk south from here, so the two tasting rooms bookend Yountville, and we’ve dubbed them ‘NOYO’ and ‘SOYO’.”
The Good Life is also excited to have received Napa Green Winery Certification in 2019. To celebrate, on June 13, Jessup Cellars will be participating with 16 other Napa Green wineries in Napa Green’s in- augural signature event, ‘Rosé & Bubbles Spring Soirée’ at Bardessono Hotel And Spa. At the soirée, Jessup Cellars will be launching its new rosé program with ‘Ma Chéri Rosé’ as part of its ‘Art of the Blend’ series of wines.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
6740 Washington St, Yountville
707-944-5620 // jessupcellars.com
Article By: Laurie Jo Miler Farr
