What if I told you that you could purchase a $25 bottle of wine for $10? How about a $75 bottle of wine for $40? You'd probably call the cops because an uninvited strange man has suddenly appeared in your home, but suppose you got past that and listened to what I was saying. You'd either say I was crazy or you would ask me where you could sign up.
(This article was written for GrapeBunch, our weekly wine periodical. Click here to read the original!)
Through 90+ Cellars these things are possible. This is what they do. That $25 bottle that you can get for $10 is their Lot 53 Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza, Argentina. This is one of the "Lots" that they've been releasing with great success for years. The $75 bottled for $40 is their Lot 150 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, which is part of their Collector Series.
Kevin Mehra was already in the wine business when the idea for 90+ Cellars hit him. As a co-founder of Latitude Beverage Company out of Boston, producing the Ku De Ta wine brand, Kevin got curious and started looking around for extra wine that he could buy. Being the recession of 2009, he found that wineries were sitting on enormous amounts of surplus wine that they just couldn't sell. LIGHT BULB! Why couldn't he make a deal with the winery and contract to take it off of their hands annually, as to always have current vintages and rebottle it under a new label? In fact, put it on the market for less cost than what it would be from that winery?
But it couldn't be just ANY wine; it had to be excellent wine. He wanted wines of high scoring and award winning pedigree. Because of this standard he had set, he found it to be harder to negotiate the purchase of this excess wine than it was to find it. Once he had a handful of interested partners, Kevin and Brett Vankoski launched 90+ Cellars. A "virtual négociant". Buy, label, sell. Things escalated quickly.
In 90+ Cellars' first five years, from 2009 to 2014, they grew 580% and became the fastest growing wine brand in the United States. In 2012, Latitude Beverage Company burst onto the Inc. 500|5000 list at #551, the highest of any company in the wine, beer or spirits industry on that list. They also landed at #13 in the Food & Beverage subcategory and #20 in Boston. Latitude Beverage and 90+ Cellars are seeing continued sky-rocketing success and growth while remaining humble, personable, and true to their promise of superior quality.
But here's what you really need to know...
Because part of the 90+ contract with wineries is that they will not expose the source label, they give their wines a "Lot" number. For example: like the previously mentioned Lot 53 Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon, there's also the Lot 2 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Lot 75 Russian River Reserve Pinot Noir. If they bring in another Russian River Pinot Noir from a different producer, it gets a different "Lot" number. If they continue with that same Russian River Pinot Noir into the next vintage, it keeps the "Lot" number and the vintage changes.
Not knowing the source label leaves a little mystery but most consumers are just happy that they're getting great wine at a great price. This is also where 90+'s demand for a history of excellence, high scores, and/or awards from prestigious publications comes in handy. You're getting much better wine than you're paying for. And, I can tell you right now, that you can trust the wine will be awesome.
In case you were wondering, the guys at Latitude take several steps to make sure what you get is what they want you to get. They only work with wineries that have a reputation of being trustworthy. They keep samples of the wines that they tasted and approved to buy. That way when they get a new shipment, they can compare and make sure it's the same product. They use laboratory equipment to check the wines for impurities. Also, just an FYI, they only buy finished products and do not "back blend" anything themselves.
► Kevin visited Luke's in 2010. Watch him on our YouTube channel!
Joey Casco
Beverage Marketer
Certified Specialist of Wine
Certified Specialist of Spirits
Visit our official website: LukesCapeCod.com
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