1 Million Cups: Week 5

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After a restful and filling Thanksgiving holiday, 1 Million Cups was back at it again this morning at the Waco Hippodrome. Today's presenter was Gregory Leman of d'Vine Destinations, a specialty travel company focused on taking seasoned travelers to new depths of food and culture.

Leman is a businessman whose work recently has focused on making Waco a "tech city." But this d'Vine Destinations, he is focused on a different goal: building Waco's foodie following. Informed by working in Germany and hosting gatherings highlighting its cuisine and history, Leman saw the opportunity for crafting excursions for locals looking to sample the best food and drink around the globe.

After meeting David Mayfield of the Wine Shoppe, a local store that carries over 100 different wines, including many European varietals, Leman knew his idea could become a reality. Not only do d'Vine Destinations customers travel and become a part of locals-only, insider culture, but they also bring home souvenirs from their travels - specialty wines and delicacies that simply can't be found in Waco.

Utilizing a travel agent savvy enough to survive online booking sites, Sylvie Di Cristo, Leman was able to find personalized tours and find ways to offer spectacular trips for an affordable price--around $4800, while customers told him they would be glad to pay as much as $7000 for a ten-day wine and cuisine tour. Their first tour will be through southeastern France in early June of next year. 

While this does not bring tourism to Waco--quite the opposite, in fact--d'Vine Destinations presence in Waco helps the city access the finest food and drink from across the world while staying smack dab in
the middle of Texas. Leman is dedicated to remaining in Waco and increasing its footprint in the wino world while remaining open to other tours such as coffee farms, distilleries or beer gardens.

From Waco, Leman asks that we help spread the word about the business.

Watch the entire live feed of this morning’s event here. 1MC Waco's next event will be on December 7th at 9AM in the Hippodrome with Out There Productions out of New York and Guerilla Signs out of Kansas City.