Going to the store to pick out the six or seven bottles of wine you need to get through the night can be a real drag. You have no frame of reference for how good the wine is other than the artwork on the label and the price. To make matters worse, there are essentially a few winemakers (we’ll call them Big Wine) that control everything you see in your typical grocery store. Well, NakedWines.com is here to help with all of these problems and more, and the best part is you can be naked for the whole process!

What Is NakedWines.com?

In an interview with TechCrunch, Naked Wines describes what they do as basically a Shark Tank for wine. This grabbed my interest because I’ve always dreamt of swimming in a giant tank of wine with a fin attached to my back. But, what they really mean is that winemakers pitch their idea for making a wine, and if Naked Wines likes it, they help fund the growth of the grapes, vinification of the grapes, bottling, marketing, and distribution. They do it all!

Founded in 2008 in the UK, Naked Wines uses their Angel program to keep a steady stream of cash coming in to fund small winemakers around the world. Naked Wines keeps emailing me to tell me I’m 9,204 in line to become an Angel. I had no clue what that meant. I took it as some sort of threat. Like, they planned to kill me and turn me into an angel. Fortunately, before I orchestrated a preemptive strike, I did some research.

To be an Angel, you essentially deposit $40 per month into your Naked Wines account. This money can be used at any time to buy wine at a discounted price. The wine on the site is approximately 50% off for Angels. Plus, each month you order a case, you get a free sample bottle. There are other perks that are less tangible, like wine tastings.

Our Naked Wines Experience

I found out about Naked Wines through some $100 voucher offer I found while entering sweepstakes on the Internet. Their cheapest case (Angelic Customer Favorites) was $169.99, and with my math abilities (($169.99-$100)/12), I discovered I’d get bottles of fine (as in “this will do”) wine you can’t find anywhere else for $5.83 each. Heck yeah! You can get the same $100 voucher by following this link. Full disclosure: If you use the link, I get a $40 credit, which allows me to keep my wife in wine and makes it easier for her to put up with me.

I ordered on a Monday, and the wine showed up on a Thursday morning. Unfortunately, I was in the shower brushing my teeth so they had to redeliver the next day. In order to take delivery of the wine, someone who is at least 21 years old must sign for it.

Here is a video of us unboxing and drinking some of the wine with my other wife, Kylie Belachaikovsky:

Our case included:

  • Sharon Weeks Cattoo California Red Blend 2016
  • Kimbao Pinot Noir Chile 2016
  • ROX Scott Peterson Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2016
  • Jacqueline Bahue Cabernet Franc Lodi 2016
  • Stephen Millier Angels Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi 2016
  • Rick Boyer Coastal White Blend 2016
  • David Akiyoshi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
  • Arabella Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
  • Stephen Millier Angels Reserve Pinot Grigio Lodi 2016
  • Montaria 2015
  • Karen Birmingham Sauvignon Blanc Lodi 2016
  • Keith Hock Exit 43 California Bollicine in Bianco 2015

We’ve probably “sampled” half of them so far, and my favorite is the Cattoo because it has wet and wild notes and makes me think of cats.

Our Official Conditional Endorsement of NakedWines.com

So, should you give NakedWines.com a try? Maybe. If you drink wine at all, I strongly encourage you to at least take advantage of the $100 voucher to get an inexpensive case of good wine that you can feel good taking to dinner parties, housewarming parties, or drunken benders.

After taking advantage of the voucher, if you prefer affordable wine, you might have trouble justifying $130+ for a case (at the Angel price). But, if you like fancy pants wine and enjoy supporting small winemakers, then Naked Wines was made for you.

Get $100 off your first case of Naked Wines (and help the Brainses’ marriage) by following this link

Have you tried Naked Wines? What did you think?