Superstar Vintners and Wines Under $20

Slate, which has surprisingly frequent really good articles about wine, asks why Superstar west coast wine makers don't sell wines for under $20. The short answer turns out to be, that good vineyards in California are expensive and a lot of these guys are already very wealthy anyway so they don't have to. It's good article but the premise is a tad off. It's not that these superstars don't make wine that sells for under $20, it's that these superstars don't make wine that sells for under $20 under their own label.

During our current economic unpleasantness the demand for pricey wines is low. But to lower prices would be a loss of status that the wineries simply won't tolerate. So, what happens when supply outstrips supply and prices don't compensate? Surplus. In other words; a lot of these high-end wineries are sitting on a lot of high-end wine that they can't sell for high-end prices. And then in walks Cameron Hughes.

Hughes is what is called (at least in France) a negociant, he uses his connections to buy leftover wine from these superstars and the bottles it under his own label. Most negociants buy wine on the open market to make their proprietary blends vintage after vintage, But where Hughes is different is when he buys wine from a particular winery he gives it a special lot number and it's on label. So the wine in bottle is the exact same famous wine that is being sold somewhere else for $50 to $100. Now, you may ask, what wineries does he buy from? Well, I'll tell you---I don't know. It's a secret, but the wine is great.