CellarPass Announces 2019 Destination Award Winners

CellarPass, the leading reservations and ticketing platform for the alcohol industry, has announced the CellarPass 2019 Destination Award Winners. The annual awards competition was created by CellarPass to provide the public an opportunity recognize the CellarPass destinations that raise the bar when it comes to providing the best possible hospitality experience. ​More than 150,000 travelers and industry professionals were invited to vote between July 18th and September 4th, 2019. Over 75 U.S. and Canada-based destinations were nominated in nine categories: Best Unique Tasting Experience; Most Friendly & Knowledgeable Staff; Best Wine & Food Pairing; Best Wine Education Experience; Best Hidden Gem, Best Romantic Destination, Best Live Experience, Best Tour & Tasting, and new for 2019, Most Beautiful Destination. 2019 proved to be the most competitive year to date, with just a few votes making the difference between a win and runner up.

Once the voting ended and the results tallied, the unofficial competition between distinguished wineries across the U.S. resulted in five winners from the Napa Valley and four from Sonoma County. This is the sixth annual running of the awards that allows guests to award accolades for the excellent visitor experiences offered by wineries and tasting rooms that can be booked through CellarPass.

“Voting this year was more intense than any other year to date,” explained CellarPass co-founder Sarah Elliman. “It was actually down to the last few votes that determined the winner from the runner up in many of the categories. Write-in nominations also doubled from the previous year, challenging many of the well-known brands for the win.”

Overall, female voters weighed in for 56.1% of the votes; males cast 42.2% of the total. An unexpected shift in this year’s voting behavior was the majority age group–45.2%-- came in from the mature 55+ crowd. The next largest group, 35 - 54-year-olds cast 37.2% of votes and 15.4% came from those in the 25 – 34 age group.

“We’re so humbled, and honestly blown away, to win Most Friendly & Knowledgeable Staff for the fourth year in a row,” said A.J. Eisiminger, Director of Jessup Cellars. “Being a small, boutique winery in a market with hundreds of wineries, it’s clear that our company culture along with our loyal members and fans have made this four-peat possible.”

CellarPass, the leading reservations and ticketing platform for the alcohol industry, has announced the CellarPass 2019 Destination Award Winners. The annual awards competition was created by CellarPass to provide the public an opportunity recognize the CellarPass destinations that raise the bar when it comes to providing the best possible hospitality experience. ​More than 150,000 travelers and industry professionals were invited to vote between July 18th and September 4th, 2019. Over 75 U.S. and Canada-based destinations were nominated in nine categories: Best Unique Tasting Experience; Most Friendly & Knowledgeable Staff; Best Wine & Food Pairing; Best Wine Education Experience; Best Hidden Gem, Best Romantic Destination, Best Live Experience, Best Tour & Tasting, and new for 2019, Most Beautiful Destination. 2019 proved to be the most competitive year to date, with just a few votes making the difference between a win and runner up. Once the voting ended and the results tallied, the unofficial competition between distinguished wineries across the U.S. resulted in five winners from the Napa Valley and four from Sonoma County. This is the sixth annual running of the awards that allows guests to award accolades for the excellent visitor experiences offered by wineries and tasting rooms that can be booked through CellarPass. “Voting this year was more intense than any other year to date,” explained CellarPass co-founder Sarah Elliman. “It was actually down to the last few votes that determined the winner from the runner up in many of the categories. Write-in nominations also doubled from the previous year, challenging many of the well-known brands for the win.” Overall, female voters weighed in for 56.1% of the votes; males cast 42.2% of the total. An unexpected shift in this year’s voting behavior was the majority age group–45.2%-- came in from the mature 55+ crowd. The next largest group, 35 - 54-year-olds cast 37.2% of votes and 15.4% came from those in the 25 – 34 age group. “We’re so humbled, and honestly blown away, to win Most Friendly & Knowledgeable Staff for the fourth year in a row,” said A.J. Eisiminger, Director of Jessup Cellars. “Being a small, boutique winery in a market with hundreds of wineries, it’s clear that our company culture along with our loyal members and fans have made this four-peat possible.” The 2019 CellarPass Destination Awards winners are: ​ BEST UNIQUE TASTING EXPERIENCE WINNER- Sequoia Grove Runners Up Buena Vista Winery Iron Horse Vineyards ​ MOST FRIENDLY & KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF WINNER - Jessup Cellars Runners Up Raymond Vineyards Frank Family Vineyards ​ BEST EDUCATION EXPERIENCE WINNER - Robert Mondavi Winery Runners Up J Vineyards & Winery Beringer Vineyards ​ BEST FOOD & WINE PAIRING EXPERIENCE WINNER - J Vineyards & Winery Runners Up Jessup Cellars DeLoach Vineyard ​ BEST HIDDEN GEM DESTINATION WINNER - Mazzocco Sonoma Runners Up Stags' Leap Winery Frank Family Vineyards ​ BEST ROMANTIC DESTINATION WINNER - Chateau St. Jean Runners Up Gloria Ferrer Wine Caves Lasseter Family Winery ​ BEST TOUR & TASTING WINNER - Stags' Leap Winery Runners Up Robert Mondavi Winery Gundlach Bundschu ​ BEST LIVE EXPERIENCE WINNER - Buena Vista Runners Up Robert Mondavi Winery Sterling Vineyards ​ MOST BEAUTIFUL DESTINATION WINNER - Artesa Winery Runners Up Sterling Vineyards Buena Vista Winery