NOT SO FAST!

No, the party ISN'T quite over for mail-order great wine.

A typical Bacchanalian Feast around Danny's Table whenever a new mail-order wine arrives.

Two essays ago (see THE PARTY’S OVER ) we lamented the demise of our wonderful hack for buying really good wine really cheaply. (See How to Buy $60 Wine for $20.)

Cam the Man.

However, we were wrong, for now along comes Cameron Hughes-- inveterate œnological entrepreneur and the undisputed king of sourcing ridiculously under-priced great wine-- with yet another ambitious new company...

THE NÉGOCIANT by CAMERON HUGHES

(Click for further information.)

No wines have been released as of yet, by we share here a prediction and an observation:

We predict that this new company will primarily focus on the very high end of the wine spectrum. Therefore we'll be expecting (if not actually purchasing) a plethora of $150+ (retail) ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinot Noirs and maybe some Syrahs for maybe $50/bottle or so, leaving the increasingly deep ocean of sub-$20 bottlings to Cam's two previous companies.

And the promised observation-- your Grumpy Old Mansplainer is no lawyer, but how on earth did those last two companies allow Cameron Hughes to use BOTH of their company names (more or less) on his new label?

Kinda looks like they forgot the non-compete clauses--

Cam's two previous endeavors.

Oh-- and if history counts for anything, we offer two additional predictions: one, THE NÉGOCIANT by CAMERON HUGHES will be a wildly successful venture; and two, Cameron Hughes will eventually sell it and start another company... even if he has to start using his dogs' names on the labels.

Stay tuned, Dear Readers and fellow wine lovers... we'll keep you posted.