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De Negoce Review and De Negoce Referral Code!

This De Negoce review shares our experience with this private label from well-known negociant Cameron Hughes (Negociant? Think “negotiator,” a wine merchant/) TL;DR – so far, we’re very happy with the quality, value and customer service, if you’re willing to sacrifice the “prestige label.” (Scroll down for a De Negoce referral code for $25 off first purchase).

Why a De Negoce review?

There are many discount wine sellers (see our short summary page), but, in our experience, you’re often still “paying for the label” (i.e. paying a premium for the fame-factor of the winery).  We decided to try a private label, and ran across De Negoce, (pronounced “duh nuh gos,” roughly), a negociant label from Cameron Hughes.

What is De Negoce?

Cameron Hughes is the mastermind behind the concept. Having made a name for himself as a negociant with 20 years experience, he began a private label, Cameron Hughes wine, for unbottled, surplus wines from well-known wineries. He did have to sell the Cameron Hughes private label brand (yes, Cameron Hughes wines is no longer owned by Cameron Hughes), and he’s refined the concept at De Negoce wines.

The “tweak” he added, (which helps with the business’ cash flow) is adding a “futures” model – for new bottlings,  the customer pays for the wine before it’s bottled. Pre-subscribing the bottling allows De Negoce to offer huge discounts for those jumping in first. However,  the discount comes with  many unknowns, including:

  • purchasers are relying entirely on the credibility of the bottler (in this case, Cameron Hughes) for a fair representation of the wine’s potential and value. Because of important non-disclosure requirements from the winery, only general descriptors – year, AVA, varietal(s), sometimes vineyard – can be disclosed, along with subjective tasting notes.
  • customers only have an approximate date for the bottling and shipping, and,
  • the wines do need to be laid down for weeks or months to settle (the “bottle shock” effect).

Our De Negoce review preliminary verdict

We are still relatively new to them, so this De Negoce review will be updated periodically, but, after maybe 10 purchases, we have been impressed with the value and quality of the wine. In fact, De Negoce has become our primary and preferred wines source! (We’re not people who care about the label 😉 )

We’ve cracked open some Cabernet Sauvignon’s and Syrah’s from regions and AVA’s we know fairly well (Napa 🙂 ), and, in our estimation, we’d expect the wine to retail at 3 times the price or more.  We’ve also experimented with some Australian wines – Cabernet Sauvignon’s from Barossa and Coonawarra, and have been really blown away by the quality and price – the Coonawarra was $13 a bottle and easily rivals a $50+ Napa Cab, in our opinion, and we’re drinking these without any aging! (We have been experimenting with various overnight decanting techniques – even just opening the bottle the night before makes a surprising difference!)

If nothing else, do sign up for their email list! One of favorite ways of purchasing has been through email special offers, such as a case of Sonoma (DryCreek) Cabernet Sauvignon at $12/bottle, with free shipping.  Honestly, damn good wine, and obviously the price makes it “every day” friendly!

It’s not without “misses,” though – we did have an Australian GSM which was a little too harsh, in our opinion. To be fair, aging in the bottle would likely even it out, but, we don’t have the luxury of cellaring wines. (Note: these are wines from the “bottle shop,” – individual bottles held in inventory after the initial “futures” sale and bottling.) We have ordered some wine on the “futures” program, at serious discounts, so we’ll see how that goes.

As mentioned previously, with a private label, revealing too much information about the source of the wine can be a “sue-able” offense, so you’re basing your buying decisions entirely on the year, varietal(s), AVA, and sometimes vineyard name, along with tasting notes.  That’s not a lot of information – no independent reviews or other independent source to rely on – so there is a “leap of faith” associated with the discount. However, with our purchases to date, we have found the tasting notes have been fair and relevant (as opposed to over-hyped and tortuous), and, it’s been a fun adventure.

We’re looking forward to more experiences with them, which of course we’ll share in a De Negoce review update.

De Negoce referral code for first time purchasers

Well, they’ve been monkeying with their referral program and it doesn’t appear to be working properly at this time. However, if you go directly to their website – DeNegoce.com – you should get an offer for 15% off your first purchase, not too bad for already discounted, really good quality wine!

 

Discount Wine Sellers

Discount Wine sellers online options

Discount Wine Sellers

Although shipping can be an issue (cost, state laws, signature requirements), there’s no denying the growing popularity of buying wine online. You can of course buy wine online from all types of purveyors, from the wineries themselves to online wine stores and clubs. But, we love deals, so we’ve researched online discount wine sellers. We’ve found some fun ways online to get wine discounts and purchase wonderful wines online at close-out prices. (We’ve also included a great online wine shop for discount wine shipping – if wine gifts are a go to for you, you’ll want to read our Wine.com review!_

 

Discount wine sellers typically buy excess inventory, close outs, odd lots, sometimes collections. Here are reviews of three sites we frequent, each with a different twist (and links to free credits to get started!)

Last Bottle review

Last Bottle purchases close-out inventories, and sells them in daily “flash sales.” Often considered one of the best flash sale sites for wine discounts, we gave them a try. Bottom line, we’re pretty enthusiastic! (and if you are, too, we’ve got a referral link at the bottom of the page for $10 off your first order! Even better, once you’ve ordered, you can refer your friends – they get $10, you’ll get a $30 credit!)

De Negoce Review, De Negoce Referral Code

(See the full review here)

New on our list is De Negoce Wines. The short version of a long story – Cameron Hughes is a well-known negociant (wholesale wine buyer, basically), who made a name for himself buying surplus, unbottled wine from well-known wineries, bottling it and selling it at a discount under his private label. He had to sell that company, (still known as Cameron Hughes wine), and tweaked it by adding a “futures” point of sale – the customer pays for the wine before it’s bottled, at a significant discount, generating better-timed cash flow and hopefully a more sustainable business model. We are new customers with De Negoce, but have purchased some single bottles from their “bottle shop” (previously bottled wines being sold individually), and have been very pleased with the price and quality. We’d certainly recommend giving them a try -their referral program is glitchy, but when you go to the DeNegoce.com site, you should see a 15% off for new customers offer.

Wine.com review

Wine.com  is one of the biggest online wine sellers, period, and is a favorite for wine afficionados because of their huge selection and reasonable pricing.  What sets them apart for us is their “StewardShip” program – $59 annual fee gives you free shipping, on any size purchase, even single bottles! Perfect for gift giving or exploring new wine options on your own! Read our Wine.com review, and if you’re interested, you can use our referral link for a $30 credit on your first purchase! We also have a mini-review of their personalized wine shopping experience, Picked by Wine.com

Other discount wine sellers

WTSO.com stands for Wines Till Sold Out, one of the earliest and maybe the largest “flash sale” site.  This discount wine seller offers an extensive selection of discounted wines, again, available until their inventory is sold out. We have not purchased from them, but they do have excellent reviews, and we’ll certainly check them out sometime.

So there’s our list of favorite discount wine sellers! Again, we have more detailed reviews of  Last Bottle , De Negoce, and Wine.com on this site, and, remember to use the links for free money to apply to your first purchase if you decide to give them a try!

Underground Cellar review

UPADATE NOVEMBER 2023 – YOU MUST VISIT LASTCALLCAPITAL.SHOP AND PAY SHIPPING AND HANDLING FEES TO RECOVER YOUR WINE, BEFORE DECEMBER 8, 2023. More details on our post, but briefly it will cost an additional 21% of what you paid, plus retail shipping costs ($35/case for Napa local, $100+ to east coast) to recover.

UPDATE 5/1/23 – MAJOR BUMMER -BANKRUPTCY!

 

After ten years of operation, Underground Cellar filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  As one of many customers with significant paid for inventory being held, we can only hope the bankruptcy court does the right thing and makes sure bought and paid for merchandise is delivered to its rightful owners. Another one bites the dust…

Another way to find wine discounts, but only if you enjoy surprises! Also a purveyor of close-out inventories, Underground Cellar offers added value by randomly upgrading at least 50% of the bottles purchased in an order. There is always a chance for a super-premium upgrade worth hundreds, even thousands, in each “flash sale” collection. Read our Underground Cellar review – we also have a promo code for a $25  $50 credit on your first purchase!