Introducing
FINE Wine Society
The Fine Wine Society is a very exclusive private wine club, hosting the finest wine events in the world (See Events). Membership in Fine Wine Society includes invitations to our events and exclusive offers directly from Private Client Advisors of the world's most prestigious wine and spirits brands. These offers are for members only (See Exclusive Offers). Fine Wine Society is not in the business of selling wine or spirits.
Over the years we have enjoyed many wonderful relationships in the world of wine. We have hosted extraordinary wine events at Ocean Reef and Napa Valley with Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Dana, Scarecrow, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Gargiulo, Seven Stones, Constant, Marciano, Colgin, and Schramsberg. We have made introductions and helped with reservations for The French Laundry and The Napa Reserve. And, we have enjoyed inspiring, wine travel adventures to Paris, Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux. The Fine Wine Society provides the perfect opportunity to continue this great tradition and curate new, world-class culinary and fine wine experiences for our members.
THE GENESIS
By, Juha Lihtonen
Co-founder of Fine Wine Society
It gives me great pleasure to join together with Pekka Nuikki and John Lee in co-founding the Fine Wine Society, a very exclusive private wine club, hosting the finest wine events in the world. As patrons of Fine Wine Society, we are also proud to welcome Gilles de Chambure, the world’s 42nd Master Sommelier and Rich Rosendale, the 67th Master Chef in the United States – as part of our Fine Wine Society team.
Meeting John and Mary Lee through our mutual friends in Napa Valley has led to one of the richest and most multi-dimensional friendships, to put it in wine terms. Our travels and adventures together have lead from experiencing the most unique wine tastings from the Century Tasting in Helsinki to hosting a remarkable FINE Wine Dinner at Ocean Reef Club.
The Century Tasting included all the finest bottles of wine on the face of the earth beginning from 1900 Château d´Yquem and proceeding with fine wines from every vintage from 1900 to 1999. All of the greatest fine wines from the century were represented, such as 1929 Pétrus, 1947 Cheval Blanc, 1955 Romanée-Conti, 1961 Château Latour, 1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, 1989 Château Haut-Brion, 1994 Harlan Estate and 1997 Screaming Eagle. Learn more about the Century Tasting
The FINE Wine Dinner that we donated at Ocean Reef Club with John & Mary is one of my warmest tasting memories, especially the moment when we opened over 100-year-old shipwreck champagne – 1907 Heidsieck & Co Goût Américain. Learn more about the FINE Wine Dinner.
Along with these highlights, there have been so many great memories with fine and rare wines that we shared together with John & Mary from which I have to list Pekka Nuikki’s “The 100-tastings”, which have taken place annually. During these 3-day events, we have tasted well over 100 wines related to the theme.
Over the past years, we have covered vintages and decades such as 1961, the 1940s, and 1970s, plus best champagnes of the 1990s and 2000s. Along our paths with John and Mary, we have also shared our annual Napa blind tasting events featuring the top Napa Cabernets, marvelous dinners in Napa Valley at The French Laundry, and the legendary golf event, Legends Invitational at Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay, and Spy Glass Hill.
These unique moments have inspired us to establish an exclusive club dedicated to create and cherish the great moments around the finest and rarest wines in the world along with exquisite cuisine. This is the genesis of The FINE Wine Society.
ABOUT THE CO-FOUNDERS OF FINE WINE SOCIETY
Juha Lihtonen
Juha Lihtonen is the co-founder and editor of the FINE Magazines – world’s leading fine wine magazines. He is a former sommelier who has succeeded well in the international sommelier competitions, being among the top ten in the world in Montreal 2000 and also winning the best Nordic sommelier title in 2003. He has written several food and wine books and has run the sommelier training program in his home country, Finland. In 2003, the UK based Wine and Spirit Education Trust program authorized Juha as a WSET Certified Educator. After studying the Masters of Wine program in London, he worked for the world’s largest cruise ferry operator as a wine buyer and restaurant concept developer before founding the FINE Magazines with his business partner, Pekka Nuikki. Since 2007 he has worked as the editor of FINE Magazines and has organized several exclusive wine trips around the world for selected guests.
Pekka Nuikki
Pekka Nuikki is a well-known figure in the wine world. As a writer, photographer, author, investor, lecturer, and consultant, he is the founder of Fine Wine magazines, including the world’s only Champagne magazine. He is also the founder of the world ́s largest wine information platform, Tastingbook.com, and the world’s biggest wine competition – BWW-Best Wine of the World competition. He is not only a respected expert of fine wines, but one of the most important personalities when it comes to the future of the Wine media.
Pekka is also one of the most productive wine authors in Europe; several wine-themed books of his have been published in recent years, the most recently publications in English and German: Drinking History – Stories from Wines and Vintages 1870-1970, Mouton-Rothschild Art and Wine and, “Michelin Guide” of the Wine World – 1000 Finest Wines Ever Made, The 100 Best Champagnes, The Wines of the Decade and Drinking History, Part II. He has published over 30 books altogether.
Pekka is also the president and founder of the most exclusive wine club in Europe called The Vine Club (established 1989 in London). He is the creator of 100-Events and The Wine of the Decade competition. Pekka has arranged and conducted over 500 wine events all around the world.
Pekka is also a decent tennis player (has played his country’s national team), a keen golfer with a handicap of 1, and seven hole-in-ones, and he also has a black belt in Kendo. He lives in Helsinki with his wife and four children.
John Lee
John Lee owns the Legends Invitational Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach that benefits the Navy SEAL community. He serves on the board of the National UDT Navy SEAL Museum and Taste of the NFL. As the co-founder of FINE Wine Society, John has hosted many of the greatest wine events in the world including Century Tasting, Barrel Tasting at Romanée Conti, Dom Pérignon / Ferran Adrià dinner at Ocean Reef and the annual White Truffle dinner reserving the entire French Laundry.
Previously, he owned Creative Corporate Business Services, which represented Morgan Guaranty Trust, Mellon Bank, and Bank of New York in the corporate trust areas. John represented Morgan Guaranty Trust with the Equitable Life Insurance demutualization and also Chase Mellon Shareholder Services in the Met Life demutualization.
As a partner in Fine Champagne Magazine, John was instrumental in creating the Fine Champagne Magazine – Residence Club Edition as a marketing strategy for this $100M+ condominium development currently under construction. He is developing, with Dom Perignon, their first Dom Pérignon Golf Tournament to be played at Card Sound Golf Club at Ocean Reef for the benefit of the Ocean Reef Community Foundation.
John is a member of the Ocean Reef Yacht Club and the New York Athletic Club (both have reciprocal relationships with the finest yacht clubs in the world, and also Napa Valley Reserve. He served on the board of the Hole In the Wall Gang, Legatus, Friars Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the Ocean Reef Community Foundation.
FINE WINE SOCIETY PARTNERS
Ron & Alexandra Seigel
Ron & Alexandra Seigel are the managing partners of Napa Consultants, International, a strategic marketing, media, and business development firm located in Santa Barbara, CA. Their primary focus is helping their clients accelerate sales by developing the right brand strategy.
As luxury real estate’s leading brand strategists, the Seigels worked closely with John and Mary for over 10 years. They recently helped to develop the branding and marketing strategy for the Residence Club at Ocean Reef, a $100M+ condominium development now under construction. They also created the Fine Champagne Magazine – Residence Club Edition.
With a 20-year prior background as broker-owners of a commercial real estate firm in Beverly Hills, the Seigels were known as the leading experts in high-end retail investment and development properties and specialized in representing high-profile entertainment businesses. Among their clients were the families of two Los Angeles mayors and the president of the Grammy Awards.
Targeting frequent, international travelers the Seigels also patented a digital advertising and travel e-commerce technology that makes purchasing and sending travel gifts to cross-border destinations as easy as ordering products online, within one’s own home country.
