Cameron Hughes CAM X ‘Lot 31’ Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2023

For those who don’t know Cameron Hughes Wine, they’re similar to Chad. They’re a négociant that sources excess, high-quality wine from established—often premium—wineries across California. In short: Cameron Hughes delivers exceptional wine quality at incredible value by leveraging the anonymity needs of top-tier producers.

But with the 2023 vintage, Cameron saw an opportunity unlike any he’d seen before. California was reeling from a massive 2022 vintage that flooded the market with wine, leaving producers desperate to move inventory. Then 2023 arrived with near-perfect spring conditions and a summer forecast calling for far less heat than previous years. Early praise for the vintage was incredibly high, but producers were sitting on unsold 2022 wine and facing another large crop. That opened up a giant door.

Cameron started fielding calls from growers and wineries looking to unload fruit before harvest even began. He tasted through samples, identified the best sources, and when he found what he wanted, he locked it in at prices that shouldn’t exist.