If you’re on the hunt for some super wines under $25, there’s a California wine company that has hacked the code on sourcing expensive wines on the cheap.

In Europe, it is common practice for a so-called “négociant” to buy grapes or wine from an estate — and then private-label with an attractive price point. This model has now been adopted in California, where some high-price tag bottles are being offered at exceptional prices.

Meet Cameron Hughes Wine, a wine company with a simple mission: offer great wines at budget-friendly prices. 

As a wine trader, Cameron Hughes Wine doesn’t own vineyards or a winery — their focus is on purely sourcing the best wines and negotiating the best price. They look in every cellar and barrel room, and peek behind every door marked “Employees Only.” Sometimes they buy wine still in the barrel, and other times they buy “shiners” (wine already in a bottle with no label). Deals are made discreetly, and typically protected by an agreement to keep the source winery undisclosed to protect their brand. The result? CHW is able to offer a $60 bottle of Pinot for under $20. Currently on offer the Lot 947, an absolute gem of a Russia River Valley 2018 Pinot Noir from a top Sonoma estate that discontinued its Pinot program, and one of the year’s best acquisitions. The Lot 947 is now available for $19.

We recently tasted the 2021 Cameron Hughes Lot 887, North Coast, Petite Syrah, an exceptional wine at an extraordinary value, around $16 a bottle. This is a concentrated wine, inky, dense red with intense fruit flavor, vivacious acidity, dark color, and big, smooth tannins. Lot 887 pours deep, dark purple in the glass with huge wafting notes of fresh-picked blueberries, bramble fruit, moist earth, and a kiss of leather. On the palate, intense dark fruit notes of blackberry and black raspberry are powerfully, but elegantly backed by rich, meaty tannins, leading into a long, mouth-staining finish with a beautiful acidity. Lot 887 will pair fantastically with any barbequed or smoked dishes or anything with those delicious umami qualities. Visit https://chwine.com/