Stellar Cellars has a mandate to promote wines from small producers who would otherwise be unrepresented or unable to exist in the Chicago/Illinois market.  There are many consolidations occurring constantly in the wine world; as a result, family owned wineries are forced out of the scene, making way for larger wine producers to capture a greater share of the market.  We aim to maintain diversity of choice in the wine marketplace by ensuring that the small production, high quality producer remains represented in local restaurants, dinner clubs and wine bar establishments. Our producers offer unique terroir, winemakers and outstanding hand crafted small production wines, most of which come from all estate grown, single vineyard fruit.

 Our business model allows for our producers to ship direct to us from their facilities, thus removing traditional fulfillment costs associated with traditional distribution structures. We therefore create value by bringing small quality producers together with quality wines lists in the Chicago/Illinois area that would otherwise not be represented here. The wines are available on a finite basis and as such will create excitement and demand to any wine list they are included on!

 We also hold ourselves to a standard of representing a portfolio that we will give the utmost personal attention and value added service to. For producer and vineyard; this means possessing deep knowledge of your brand, your varietals, your terroir, your winery team and winemaking philosophy which we then transfer into the minds and palates of our customers and their service staff. By doing so, we create a “top of mind” comfort and confidence for service staff to promote and sell our portfolio labels before recommending others. For customer; we bring a personal value added approach to the insight and story behind every brand and the proprietor’s/winemakers philosophy and crafting style. We do this through focused tastings, server education and highlighting the special attributes that each portfolio winery and their varietals possess. This versus large regional or national distribution which is based on a price book, volume incentives and very little personal focus and knowledge of the producers and what makes them unique and special.

Cheers!

Brian Tite is the founder and proprietor of Stellar Cellars.

Brian is a born and raised Chicagoan and has deep knowledge of the restaurant, wine bar and private club arena in Chicago. Brian has a financial and business background and has been CFO for a number of mid size domestic and large international companies over the first 20 years of his career.

And while food and wine have been a long time personal passion, Brian has had formal continuing education at the Culinary Institute of America-Napa, Kendall College in Illinois, The Ritz Carlton and Wine Spectator award restaurants in and around Chicago

His wine knowledge is rooted in 15+ years of travel, exposure and education in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California. He has developed his palate and Napa appellation knowledge base being schooled by some of Napa’s premier proprietors, winemakers and vineyard managers. His formal wine education has also included numerous classes at the Chicago Wine School. As a result, Brian is bringing both strengths together in the launching of Stellar Cellars.