Once again, I'm not just profiling one wine, I'm profiling a vendor. This time it's Cameron Hughes. Cameron Hughes has styled himself as a modern day negociant. His business model is to step in and snap up ultra premium wine if there's a glut in production. Since he doesn't own a vineyard or have distributors, overhead is really low. I never realized how much distribution, marketing, etc. impacted the cost of a bottle of wine until I visited his breakdown of costs. Interesting stuff!
From the looks of things he's doing quite well for himself. His wines are regularly reviewed in the press (yep, the press, press; periodicals like Fast Company and USA Today have profiled the company). He also gets good ratings from wine magazines. His Lot 25 Sparkling (a favorite of mine) recently got 90 points from Wine Enthusiast.
So here's the deal, while you never really know which winery your wine came from, you can have a pretty good idea based on his descriptions. For example, you might buy a "Cabernet from a blue chip producer in Stag's Leap". Mr. Luce & I have purchased several bottles and been quite happy with the value. In fact, his wine was the hit of our Thanksgiving celebration last year getting more accolades than the bottles in the $50 range we brought. (Note to self for next year, bring more inexpensive wine!)
How do you get your hands on $50 wine that sells for $15, you ask? You have two options. Although he sells at Costco on the west coast, apparently the wine is available in the St. Louis area at select Sam's Clubs in Des Peres, Chesterfield, and possibly Maplewood. Not your area? Never fear. He'll ship directly to your door or any other place you have someone over 21 who can sign for a package. And, in the heat of summer, for a mere $5, he'll hold your wine for you and ship it when the weather's cooler. Don't you just love to get mail?
