If you really wanted to keep it a secret?
In the olden days, when I was a Bulk wine/Winegrape broker.
The last stop for any bulk wine that you could not sell, was the distillery. For E&J Brandy, etc.
You were paid by the alcohol %, that’s it. Usually clandestinely….
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Ditto! 100%! Fancy booze at supermarket prices, works great for me. Whoever fermented that grape juice…seems less important than the quality presented. QPR’s are very good with X.
Should I print these and apply to my bottles?
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One new twist is that Constellation sold off the bottom tier of the Mondavi portfolio.
Maybe that’s where the non premier barrels ended up in the past
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I’m going to hand deliver a bottle of lot 80 to @J_Dornellas. Unfortunately, neither of us will drink it for 2-3 years, so come back in 2029 to see his review!!!
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So are you saying that Cam is lying to us?
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Marketing is not lying…
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Then in 2020 they used it for hand sanitizer.
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yeah man, sure
True luxury brands never put their brand equity at risk and doing this absolutely would. If there was any sense they bulked out wine it would be bad for the brand and they operate closer to Hermes than they do any wine brand. I’m just very skeptical.
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So are you saying that they would rather dump the wine?
The worst thing would be lowering the price on the main brand. That’s where second tier comes in. But second tiers are struggling even more than the luxury tier. So that’s not an option right now.
So sell it to Cam and get some money. Basically no risk but bring some cash, which is valuable in the current environment. 350 cases isn’t enough for TJ or Costco. What’s the upper bound on an NDA wine $30, 35? But for that much, you probably have to provide something in the NDA. Such a vague NDA? Hard to go much over $20.
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I’m saying it all likely goes into Overture. They don’t need the money that bad that they’d sell the fruit or finished wine for cents on the dollar. If the argument is that there is minimal left then the financial argument falls apart.
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Sounds like you are speculating just like we are.
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Except there is a limit of how much Overture they can sell. I think a fairer point is to say that #80 should be viewed as wine from a $150, rather than a $300 program. Which also makes a $20 price point more understandable.
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sure
There is a very famous Shakespeare quote t I will not assign to a recently frequently vocal poster on this thread.
Only two Napa wineries have ZERO issues selling out their release.
The Napa elite, aka the original cults, are having serious issues selling through their wines. I have had several unsolicited texts from wineries I have never purchase from offering me wines that I don’t want. The image of something special to pay for a $200 tasting experience is about to collapse.
Yeah, this could very well be Opus One Light. I hope it is. I bought two cases because I know what the land can produce.
Industry deflection is just that.
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Macdonald, Screagle, that’s pretty much it.
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Correct
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2 outta a plethora?
Opus one makes over 25,000 cases of wine per year and at least 50% owned by constellation. Constellation is all about making money so it’s absolutely conceivable that in a downturned market like we are seeing they will want to bulk out a bit of juice instead of throwing it out. They probably got more money from Cameron than they would’ve got from the distillery so it’s the more profitable margin for them.
Not saying it’s exactly Opus but that’s the most reasonable guess especially considering production numbers and ownership.
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I’ve enjoyed wine for years but paying more attention and learning a lot more the last 12 months or so. Spending 8 days in Sonoma tends to do that to people. And then I discovered Cam and I’ve kind of gone on tilt. I think I have bought about 35 cases in the last 6 months or so. I am starting to realize the need for drink now wine vs. the stuff you really need to set aside. Some day I’d love to choose between a few hundred bottles all at their peak drinking window. I grabbed 2 cases of Lot 80 for this reason and I’ll just leave in their box. I have a few cases of Lot 2, Lot 15, Lot 24 and Lot 27 for this reason as well. I am super excited for the future. Cheers.
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