The Daily Beast
Philip James
Wine expert and founder of Snooth
10:59 am, Dec 15, 2008
Wine negociants are big in Europe, but you really never see them in the US. They are basically wine “traders” - they find a winery that they like, that has excess inventory, swoop in, buy it and rebrand it under their label. The key thing is, once you find a negociant who's wine you like, every time you see their label its a seal of approval. Cameron Hughes is a man on a mission to bring negociants to the US. And because he buys wine that the wineries don't think they can sell, he's able to pick up wine that would normally cost $30 per bottle and sell it for $13. His Lot 99 Cabernet Franc, with its sweet nose of lilacs and berries, and its dusty minerality is my favorite.