Other
David Keck
Master Sommelier
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
The Climb
Wine service asks for translation as much as selection, and that is where David Keck’s early training in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, voice and opera at The Juilliard School, and music at Rice University comes into view. Those studies built habits of timing, phrasing, and interpretation that read cleanly in sommelier work at Cova in Houston, where the bottle had to be made legible at the table. In Houston, the work then moved outward from service into program-building. From 2011, David Keck worked as sales representative at Prestige Wine Cellars, and from 2012 as beverage director at Uchi in Houston. Those roles shifted the emphasis from a single dining room to the larger mechanics of wine selection, placement, and guest experience, with each step widening the scope of responsibility. The combination of cellar judgment and front-of-house management is most explicit in the title of wine director and general manager at Camerata at Paulie’s in Houston. That pairing places David Keck in the middle of both the list and the room: shaping the program while also carrying the operational weight that keeps it coherent. Hospitality can also be built outside a single venue, and that is the thread running through Goodnight Hospitality in Houston, where David Keck was founding partner in 2019–2020, and LoireFest, where he was founder. Those credits mark a move from managing wine programs to creating the platforms around them. Since 2024, David is in charge of Stella14 Wines.
Today
Wine leadership at Stella14 Wines in 2024 extends the same pattern of service, sales, direction, and management that has defined David Keck’s work in Houston. The current role sits at the point where judgment has to stay practical: knowing what belongs, how to frame it, and how to carry a wine program with clarity. After Columbia University, The Juilliard School, and Rice University, the through line is not a single discipline but a set of transferable habits: listening closely, reading context, and delivering information with precision. In David Keck’s case, those habits have been applied to wine education and hospitality across multiple roles, ending up in a position where the work is still about helping others meet what is in the glass.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of David
What is David Keck's current role?
As of 2026, David Keck is In charge of Stella14 Wines.
Where did David Keck train or study?
David Keck trained at Columbia University and The Juilliard School.
What recognition has David Keck received?
StarChefs Houston Rising Stars Award for Restaurateur (2019).
