Carlos and Martha de Cespedes

Martha and Carlos de Cespedes
Pharmaceutical Distributors, Entrepeneurs, Philanthropists...Cellar Club Members

What prompted you to become Cellar Club Members?
We have been members for approximately three years. Many of our friends are members and after being invited to (and enjoying) some of the Club’s wonderful events we wanted to be a part of it. The Biltmore Hotel offers a lovely setting and we truly enjoy spending time sharing in the hotel's amenities while experiencing great wines.

Talk about your most memorable Cellar Club experience.
We enjoy the Saturday Interactive Luncheons. Our daughter Danielle loves to cook and she too looks forward to making it friends-and-family day. However, our most highly anticipated yearly event is still The Biltmore International Food & Wine Weekend. We often stay at the hotel and make a fun and festive mini-vacation of the event.

Do you have a favorite varietal or wine?
Cabernet Sauvignon is our favorite grape, and Silver Oak is one of our favorite wines—year in and year out.

What do you like to drink on special occasions?
Champagne!

Do you have an affinity towards a particular wine region? If yes, why?
We are partial to California's Napa Valley wines and their Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines. They are big bodied wines with wonderful aromas and lingering fruit on the palate. The wines from Spain's Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions are also favorites, for similar reasons.

Do you have an affinity toward a particular cuisine?
We grew up with Cuban and Spanish cuisine, which we love. We enjoy a healthy and not-too-manipulated style of cuisine. It’s no different than wine drinking. Letting the natural flavors of the ingredients express themselves is the ultimate challenge of both great chefs and winemakers alike.

What are some of your favorite travel destinations?
We travel a lot for business. Fortunately, Spain - where OleoMed and Oli are manufactured - is one of our primary destinations for business and pleasure. Our favorite destinations in the United States are Napa Valley and New York City. In the summer we take family vacations to Europe. In the winter, we enjoy skiing in Colorado.

Your foray into the restaurant biz with Chispa has been a massive success. What next?
We are planning the opening of another Chispa in the Doral area by December of 2005. What makes Chispa extremely successful is the dedication and talents of the extraordinary staff. The most incredible thing is that we all have become better friends and we are having a lot of fun!

We understand that you have very charitable hearts. What role does philanthropy play in your lives?
Simply stated, this community has embraced us and has given us the opportunity for a great education, hard work, and to develop a business. We have been blessed with a beautiful family and four children. We feel it is important to give back through charitable contributions to those organizations that share similar values. And we deem it important to pass on the same values to our children.