About Cellar Tours

Cellar Tours is a Luxury Travel Specialist, operating since 2003 and offering exclusive Mercedes chauffeured vacations in Chile, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal,Spain and South Africa. We specialize in luxurious custom designed vacations, events and incentives related to food and wine.

We are proud members of ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents), Slow Food, UNAV (Travel Agency Association in Spain), and the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals).

Why us

  • We are a licensed, insured and fully bonded tour operator and travel agency the benefit of which means your payment and booking is secure and you can deal directly with us, not via a third party.

  • We have personally visited and hand selected all of our suppliers including luxury hotels, wineries, private chefs, limo drivers, gourmet restaurants, etc.

  • We understand that your time is valuable, and we take care of all the detailed planning for you to ensure that your vacation is the trip of a lifetime.

  • You will receive VIP customer service during the entire tour process and the trip itself.

  • All of our staff speak English fluently, as do our guides and chauffeurs.

  • Over 20 years Experience, We have over 20 years experience designing unforgettable food and wine orientated vacations and look forward to creating the perfect tour for you.

  • Past client references are always available upon request.

  • You have 24/7 Back Office Support, during the entire tour.

In the press

Our company has been featured in various food and wine, travel and business publications including:

  • National Geographic
  • Condé Nast Traveler
  • The Boston Globe
  • Frommer's
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Time
  • Forbes Travel Guide
  • Travler+Leisure
  • Departures Magazine
  • Time Magazine (Europe)
  • The New York Times
  • The Wall Street Journal Europe
  • The Boston Globe
  • Wanderlust Magazine (UK)
  • Moon Handbook Spain
  • The Sunday Telegraph (UK)
  • The Independent on Sunday(UK)
  • The International Sommelier
  • The Observer (UK)
  • Spain Magazine (UK)
  • Food and Wine Magazine (US, Online)
  • The Cultured Traveller (US)
  • New York Weddings Magazine
  • The Vanguardia (Spain)
  • El 3 de Vuit (Spain)
  • Expansión (Spain)
  • Deia (Spain)
  • The Broadsheet (Spain)
  • Swirl Wine Magazine (US)

Executive Team

  • Genevieve Mc Carthy Managing Director

    Raised in San Diego, California, Genevieve has lived in Europe for the last 25 years, between Spain, Ireland and Italy. Genevieve worked for the top wine importer in Ireland and for a prestigious winery in Italy (Franciacorta, the best sparkling wine region) before founding Cellar Tours in Madrid, Spain in 2003. Genevieve received her wine education credentials through the WSET in London, The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (the International wine industry standard). She has an extensive network of contacts in the wine industry in Europe, which enables her to organize VIP tours to exceptional wineries, that are otherwise closed to the general public. Her love for food & wine, coupled with her passion for languages (Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Portuguese) and her degree and background in luxury travel and tourism, ultimately led her to create a boutique wine tours company.

  • Simona Piccinelli Sales Director

    Simona was born in Brescia, Italy, in the heart of Franciacorta wine country. Simona is fluent in English and French along with her native Italian. After studying “International Studies” in Trieste, she lived in Paris before returning to Italy to work in marketing for a top winery in Campania, near Naples. She went on to work in key positions in the Italian wine business, PR & communication, and wine export in Franciacorta, Tuscany, Sicily and Piedmont. She is a professional sommelier, member of the AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) and of Critical Wine (an Italian wine professionals group). Simona is our Italian sales director, and has been with Cellar Tours since 2005.