A Deal We Can All Love!

October 21, 2008

Today is a huge day for us here at Cameron Hughes Wine and for you — our valued friends and dedicated customers. After months of discussions and meetings and more meetings (yes, the downside of this stuff), Bacchus, an investment fund providing growth capital specifically to the wine industry, has invested in our company. We are honored by their confidence, especially in a time when credit is hard to come by, and we appreciate that in the wine industry alternative sources of funding have now become available.

Now, let’s get to the most important part – what does this mean for you? It means more great deals — many more. It means more access to our wine. It means that we will continue to scour the planet and bring you wines that will inspire us all to believe that amazing wine does not have to blow a hole in your wallet.

It’s still hard to think that only seven years ago, Cam and I started this company out of our loft in Potrero Hill in San Francisco with Cam selling our wine out of the back of his Volvo. (He had it so loaded with wine people were constantly flashing their brights at him.)

Today, we have an office but the kids still come to work everyday and so do Lulu and Oscar. Some things will never change, and I hope that you will stay with us on this insane journey.

In celebration of this big day and why we do what we do each and every single day, I raise a glass to you with my thanks and most grateful appreciation for your support over these many years. May we have many more together enjoying the gems of Cam’s sourcing genius!

Jess, co-founder and chief wife ;-)

A message from Cam

Those of you who have been buying our wines over the last few years will know that we have been growing like a weed. What was once a husband and wife team operating out of their one bedroom apartment has grown to employ 14 fantastic people and hundreds of CHW advocates who sell wine for us across the country. To date, we have managed to fund this all internally, but as we looked at all the opportunities in front of us, something had to give.

Therefore, I am thrilled to announce our partnership with Bacchus Capital Management, a new fund for the wine industry. We are their first “deal,” which I think speaks highly of CHW’s excellent reputation amongst consumers, and its unique business model. This partnership will enable us to expand our buying power and open up new channels of distribution while forever maintaining the awesome quality to price ratios that have gotten us here.

So, what does this mean for you? Quite simply, it means more wine choices but also new places to buy those wines. Many of you have already noticed our Lot selections in Cost Plus and Sam’s Club and our Evergreen Series wines in Safeway, Vons, and now Lucky Stores. We plan to expand our selections in those accounts as well as our presence in states like Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Texas and up into Washington.

So, let me toast to you — them’s that brung us to the dance — and say how grateful I am to all of you for your support over the years. It’s been a crazy ride so far with no indication that it’s going let up so I raise a glass and say "Cheers!" Here’s to many more years of awesome wine deals!

Cheers!

Cameron Hughes

Photo credit: Keeney + Law

Cameron and Sam Bronfman II (founder of Bacchus, former President of the Seagram Chateau and Estates and former Chairman of Diageo’s Global Wine Division) talk about the wine industry and the deal.