Wine.com finds heady growth

After a bumpy 10-year history highlighted by burning through $72 million in venture capital in various incarnations, Wine.com may have finally found its feet.

The San Francisco-based online wine store expects to break even this year for the first time, or possibly eke out a small profit. That’s on $45 million in estimated 2008 revenue, most of it from upscale consumers and corporate customers with lots of disposable income.

Under new leadership since mid-2006, Wine.com shed one-quarter of its workers two years ago and slashed its marketing budget, cost-cutting moves that appear to have paid off. Under CEO Rich Bergsund and founder Mike Osborn, now the company’s vice president of merchandising, Wine.com says it’s finally turned the corner.

“It’s pure retail — getting the right product on the shelf at the right price,” said Mark Vadon, a Wine.com board member and investor. “And this management team really knows what it’s doing. They’ve put themselves in a pretty positive position right now.”