Good memory/good memories.
How about, Cary Gott, “Gott the Liter”. 1000ml bottles. Ha!
Hmmm…how did Cary fit into Corbett? The 1L was the Wine Group’s original play with Corbett Canyon IIRC…they bought the brand and introduced 1L bottles at same price point as competition but better quality. Then they rolled out the square-shouldered 1.5L’s and that’s when it blew up into a multi-million case brand.
EDIT: Just googled him…I had completely forgotten that Cary founded Corbett! And Montevina too…impressive!
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Before it was Corbett Canyon Vineyard, it was Lawrence Winery.
As I recall? Jim Lawrence & family grew wine grapes around Bakersfield They brought them to SLO County, for processing and blending at Lawrence Winery.
Thinking Freddy Franzia and Napa Cellars?
(Kinda in Edna Valley when the Appellation was first established)?
Later, The Wine Group bought Lawrence and rebranded it CCV, hence, “Gott the liter.”
This misdirection has been repeated before and since, by many others….
Lawrence Winery, San Luis Obispo (later became Corbett Canyon): opened in 1979 with a large production of 250,000 cases annually and a large bulk wine business. Partners Herman Dryer, Don Burns and winemaker Jim Lawrence purchase grapes grown on the Central Coast and produced over 20 wines from their first vintage. The winery was designed in the California mission style to honor the history of the Corbett Canyon property which was part of the original Pedro de Coralles* land grant.
At tiny Chamisal our second Estate label was: Corral de Piedra*.
History lesson, over. Phew 
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One of the reasons I bought as much Denegoce wine as I did during the Cam era was the storage option he offered.
It was just such a great deal, the fact it was based on order and not cases. I often bought a 2nd case of the wine because of that and participated in more offers than I would have otherwise. The cost to allow the wines to age in an optimal location was nominal. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about where I was going to put all the wine I was buying. It was almost why wouldn’t I take advantage of this service.
I was naive at the time and didn’t appreciate the associated risks of remote storage such as lost cases, phantom inventory or bankruptcy. None of which I experienced . Or that it would all get released at once with little notice and no regard to shipping temperatures which I did experience
As I plan for my 2023 acquisitions , I am now looking at local offsite options. I still believe though that offering to store wine at a competitive, commercially viable, price will result in much higher sales.
I would love to see that option included as part of the new venture. Still I’m working on my contingency plan in case it’s not.
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I just had a long conversation with Phil Coturri (probably the preeminent viticulturist in CA) at a wine tasting here in Atlanta. He said that the 2023 wines could certainly rival, and exceed 2018 wines. He also said that 2024 was great as well.
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Excellent, now that the big 2018 dNs are ready to go they can defend the 2023 TNs!
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Love Phil and Sam and that team. I hold he and his Son’s opinion in very high regard (we are wine club members of Sixteen600 as well). So the fact that he said that is really exciting! Thanks for sharing this.
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#69! Can’t wait.
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For someone who has no previous experience with dN (or any Cameron Hughes venture) - How does this work? Email is sent, first come first serve? How fast do things sell out, what is the usual price range, etc
Ways of getting notified:
- Text
- Refreshing website like a monkey on crack
Ordering is first come first served. Sometimes there are case limits, but in my experience that has been rare.
Lots sell out in hours, days, weeks, or months … depends on how big the lot is, and the hype machine
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Decanted it for 18 hours was fine. Going to take time to tun around.
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There are limited amounts per release. I have seen stuff disappear in 6 hours, some take longer large production will end up in bottle shop. Price ranges I try and get Napa for under 30$. Sonoma and elsewhere under 20$ Do your research figure out roughly where he’s sourcing from, if that region pleases you then go for it. On unknowns I usually do a 6. Areas I am sure of a case. I am in the industry in Napa so have a fairly good idea what is being sold.
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You guys are like dealers !!
I caved in and bought a founding membership as well - #71 !
I confess that you have all taught me so much about wine, and I failed to really appreciate those early dN wines but quickly changed once my inventory built up !
I recall the day that UPS delivered the first 26 cases that I ordered - to be split among others - and my garage looked like a warehouse. I felt the need to explain to the driver that the wines were not all for me.
Here’s hoping that this new venture provides the same quality and fun that the original dN provided to us al those years ago !!
Cheers !
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Marjie_K,
Was the story to the UPS driver convincing enough? LOL.
Cheers, Tim
@Timothy_B_a_l_l_a_r_d - well… he said he didn’t judge… But I gave him wine on a go forward basis for the deliveries !
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Yeah, I caved too and am #72…
Long time lurker here and first time poster. My caving is not just FOMO, it is also a triumph of optimism over realism. My cellar (a REAL cellar I built under the house when we moved here 30 years ago in retirement) is packed with about 1100 bottles, now mostly deN wines. The ‘problem’ is I am 83 and drink 2/3 of a bottle daily. A little math tells you that’s almost five years of drinking with no buying. And of course buying is almost as much fun as drinking. I came to terms with this some time ago by telling myself that my son loves good Napa cabs, so it won’t go to waste.
I have been a fan of Cameron since I discovered his wines at Costco many years ago. Really loved the wines, but since it was a two hour round trip to Costco, I missed out on many: buy one to try and then sold out by the time I could get back. Cam 2.0 (deNegoce) was even better, and I had no problem trusting Cam with a case purchase. I am optimistic that Cam 3.0 (The Negociant) will be another improvement; just hope I can drink some/most/all of the new wines.l
I will therefore second the comments above requesting equal treatment for six packs (although my son may not agree).
Cheers. DaveN
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Followed all you cool kids over here for the new adventure… In Cam we trust!
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oh man. This is like deja vu. I was one of the top buyers (according to some website someone setup back in the original dN heydey) buying hundreds of cases of the original OG wines the first year and splitting with 15+ people in the Bay Area. Not much remains of my dN stock, and I had more hits than misses (but there were a decent number of misses to be fair).
Is this going to draw me back in? Do I really want to jump back into the fray as a founding member? Will I go through my phone list and text all the original dN split-case buyer people around here that joined in the mayhem the last go-around???
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It only took 5 years but I think this is going to turn into the cult I always dreamed of!
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