Cellar & Scholar

What Cellar & Scholar does

Cellar & Scholar is a boutique wine shop, lounge, and education business based in Spokane Valley, Washington, co-founded by Certified Sommeliers Justine Recor and Cathy Hand. The venue combines retail wine sales (by glass, flight, and bottle) with a lounge environment, a multi-tier wine club, structured wine education classes aligned to WSET curricula, themed pairing dinners, and sommelier consulting services for hospitality clients. Product sourcing is anchored on direct relationships with small-lot producers, including SMAK Wines, Dossier Wines, and Figgins Family Wine, which gives the business access to allocations not typically found in mass retail.

The business model blends transactional retail, recurring subscription revenue (wine club at $30, $50, or $75 per bottle), experiential revenue (pairing dinners and events), educational revenue (per-class fees of roughly $136–$212), and B2B service revenue (consulting). There is no proprietary technology platform disclosed; the operating model is human-curated and venue-based. Customer segments are diversified across local wine enthusiasts, club members, hospitality trade clients, and event attendees, with no single customer or channel dominating.

The core assets are the founders' sommelier credentials and curated producer relationships, which differentiate the business from generic wine retail and justify the education and consulting extensions. Scaling constraints implied by the model include the single physical location, the founder-dependent curation function, and the limited geographic catchment of the Spokane Valley market.

Name

Cellar & Scholar

Legal name

Cellar & Scholar, LLC

Website

https://cellarandscholar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cellar & Scholar is a Spokane Valley, WA boutique wine shop, lounge, and education venue co-founded by two Certified Sommeliers, offering curated retail, a tiered wine club, WSET-aligned classes, pairing dinners, and sommelier consulting for hospitality clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Wine Retail

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine Bars (THAFAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wine Retail (Bottle Shops & Wine Merchants) (CRANABAB), Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD)

Keywords

• Wine retail shop
• Wine education classes
• Wine club membership
• Wine consulting services
• Wine tasting events

Headquarters

HQ city

Spokane

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Wine Retail (In-Store): Direct sales of wine by the glass, flight, or bottle along with chef-created plates for on-site consumption. Global selection of sommelier-curated wines including sustainable, organic, and biodynamic options.
2. Wine Club Membership: Monthly personalized wine allocations customized to member preferences. Members choose from red only, white only, or mixed allocations in three price tiers ($30, $50, $75 per bottle). Allocations prepared second Thursday of each month.
3. Events and Classes: Revenue from ticket sales for wine tastings, pairing dinners, winemaker events, wine education classes (Wine 101 series), trivia brunches, drag brunches, and special dining experiences with visiting chefs.
4. Wine Consulting Services: Consulting services for restaurants, personal dinner parties, and events including wine selection and pairing, menu building, staff training, estate and auction appraisal, cellar building, and gift curation.
5. Gift Cards and Merchandise: Gift cards in $50, $100, and $250 denominations. Merchandise including wine keys ($7) and wine tote bags ($7).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cellar & Scholar operates a sommelier-curated wine shop and lounge in Spokane Valley, WA, selling wine by the glass, flight, or bottle alongside chef-created plates. The business also runs a tiered wine club with personalized allocations, wine education classes (Wine 101 series, American Wine Class), and professional consulting services for restaurants and events including wine program development and staff training.

Product overview

Cellar & Scholar is a wine-focused lifestyle business offering a combination of retail, education, and hospitality services. The core offerings include a wine shop and lounge for in-person tastings and purchases, a customizable wine club membership for recurring allocations, wine education classes taught by certified sommeliers, and professional consulting services for restaurants and events. The shop retails physical products including gift cards (in $50, $100, and $250 denominations), wine keys, and tote bags. Events such as winemaker dinners, tasting flights, and themed brunches complement the educational and retail experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wine Shop & Lounge Wine shop and lounge in Spokane Valley, WA offering sommelier-curated wines by the glass, flight, or bottle along with chef-created plates for on-site consumption. Includes sustainable, organic, and biodynamic options.
• Cellar & Scholar Wine Club Subscription-based wine club offering monthly personalized wine allocations customized to member preferences. Members choose from red-only, white-only, or mixed allocations in three price tiers ($30, $50, $75 per bottle). Includes member discounts on events and classes, complimentary pours, and exclusive access to allocations.
• Wine Education Classes Wine education classes taught by certified sommeliers including the Wine 101 two-class series and American Wine Class. Designed for all knowledge levels with hospitality industry discounts available.
• Wine Consulting Services Professional wine consulting services for restaurants, personal dinner parties, and events including wine selection and pairing, menu building, staff training, estate and auction appraisal, cellar building, and gift curation.
• Wine Tastings and Pairing Events Recurring wine events including winemaker meet-and-greets, pairing dinners (e.g., with Figgins Family Wine), wine tastings, trivia brunches, drag brunches, and Bubble Bash sparkling wine tastings. Tickets sold via the company website.
• $50 Cellar & Scholar Gift Card Gift card redeemable at Cellar & Scholar for use at the wine shop and lounge, available in pink or green color options.
• $100 Cellar & Scholar Gift Card Gift card redeemable at Cellar & Scholar for use at the wine shop and lounge, available in pink or green color options.
• $250 Cellar & Scholar Gift Card Gift card redeemable at Cellar & Scholar for use at the wine shop and lounge.
• Cellar & Scholar Wine Keys Palm-sized, sturdy, and functional branded wine key available in four colors: pink, blue, green, and grey.
• Cellar & Scholar Wine Tote Bag Sturdy canvas wine tote bag designed to hold 6 bottles, branded with the Cellar & Scholar logo.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Just the WURST Food TruckminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal food truck partner providing hand-crafted sausages for pairing dinner events at Cellar & Scholar. Collaborates on special pairing dinner events.
• SMAK Wines (Fiona S. Mak)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerWalla Walla winery founded in 2018 by Fiona S. Mak. SMAK promotes year-round rosé lifestyle. Cellar & Scholar hosts winemaker events featuring SMAK wines.
• Dossier WinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWalla Walla winery founded by Sidney Rice and Tim Lenihan, with winemaker Billo Naravane (Certified Master of Wine). Cellar & Scholar hosts tasting events featuring Dossier wines.
• Figgins Family Wine (Leonetti | Figgins | Toil Oregon)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium Walla Walla wine family. Cellar & Scholar partners with them for exclusive multi-course pairing dinner events.
• Design for the PPLminorOthersEvent venue partner providing the Great Room at 175 South Monroe, Spokane WA for premium wine dinner events.
• Chef KammyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisiting chef who hosts intimate dining experiences at Cellar & Scholar. Creates specialized menus paired with wines for bar takeover events.
• Chef Joe MorrisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChef partner for premium wine dinner events, preparing multi-course meals paired with Cellar & Scholar wine selections.
• Chef Noah ApplegateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChef partner for The Perfect Piedmontese Pairings event, preparing Manzo Piedmontese Beef for ten-course dinner paired with sommelier-selected wines.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Winc: Direct-to-consumer wine subscription service delivering personalized bottles monthly. Closest pure-play parallel to Cellar & Scholar's preference-based wine club — represents both an alternative and a potential acquisition target.
• Firstleaf: Wine subscription service with quizzes, personalized selections, and curated tasting experiences. Comparable subscription mechanics and educational positioning to Cellar & Scholar's wine club.
• Bright Cellars: Wine subscription startup using a quiz-based matching algorithm to personalize monthly shipments. Compares to the tech-enabled personalization that Cathy Hand built into Cellar & Scholar's wine club.

Direct peers

• Wally's Wine & Spirits: Beverly Hills wine retailer combining luxury retail, on-site dining, wine classes, and curated events. Closest comparison to Cellar & Scholar's blended retail, lounge, and education model, though at much larger scale.
• Wine.com: Largest US online wine retailer offering curated selections, gift options, and subscription-style programs. Comparable to the retail and gifting components of Cellar & Scholar's business at internet scale.
• Sherry-Lehmann: Iconic New York wine retailer with longstanding wine club and curated selection. Relevant peer for Cellar & Scholar's retail-plus-club model and emphasis on premium allocations.
• Astor Wines & Spirits: New York City wine retailer offering sommelier-curated selection, in-store classes, tastings, and events. Comparable to Cellar & Scholar's combination of curated retail and educational programming.
• Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant: Berkeley-based importer and retailer specializing in small-production, sustainable, biodynamic wines. Direct parallel to Cellar & Scholar's curation of sustainable/organic producers not available in mass retail.

Broad incumbents

• Total Wine & More: Largest US specialty retailer of wine, beer, and spirits with 200+ stores nationwide. Defines the mass-retail competitive set against which Cellar & Scholar must differentiate on curation and education.
• Binny's Beverage Depot: Large Midwest wine, beer, and spirits retailer with broad selection and frequent tastings. Represents the scaled incumbent model that competes with boutique wine retailers for shopper mindshare.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cellarandscholar
• Facebookfacebook.com/cellarandscholar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cellar & Scholar