Roget does not have enough superlatives in his tome to describe how much fun Kathy and I are having as “Angels,” the name that Naked affixes to their $40/month devotees, who receive discounts in the 40-to-50% range off the already deep-discounted prices for the bottles.
And at this low price point, Kath and I have never had much past luck with French or South American bottlings; Naked put the boots to that. We’ve received multiple diverse cases from them, and have yet to taste a dog in the bunch. Old World, New World, with global winemakers from the U.K. to Ukiah, CA: This is an ever-changing roster of vinous talent that has made juice for the big boys and/or spent apprenticeships on the Continent, and now have the freedom to make varietal wine to their own specs.
It’s custom crush, but we’re the ones smitten.
So how cool is it that the universe unfolds as it should, with a Sonoma PBS station holding their annual on-air wine auction (featuring gift certificates to Naked Wine), and Naked’s official launch party in the Sonoma County of Kenwood to inaugurate their new tasting room and winery facility, all on the same weekend?
Kathy and I had dropped by the Naked winery a few weeks ago, on a “soft opening” weekend and were as impressed by the facility as we were the vino.
But by the time the dust cleared the other day, K and I had been successful PBS bidders on more than one Naked Wines gift cert, padding our Angel account, for a fraction of the list price, to quadruple digits! We may need a new wine cabinet.
The launch party last Saturday was a blast. We didn’t walk three steps before a generous pour of Spanish Rosé was splashing around our glass. Wending our way to the back patio, past the live band, we immediately caught the gaze of Rowan Gormley, founder and all-round honcho, who greeted us like old friends.
We got a chance to meet many of the winemakers who call Naked their new winemaking home; nice to put faces to the myriad bottles in the portfolio. It was especially cool to taste what Kath called “baby wine,” that still-unraveled blend of juice and yeast working its way toward vinous cohesion; several newbie winemakers were pouring what, when fully knitted, will eventually become Naked retail selections. It’s all stuff that’s almost as heady as the biz model.
And with our freshly minted gift certificates, Kathy couldn’t wait to put together an order. Thirty bottles later, she hit all the food groups: Chablis, Sancerre, Cali Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet, Zinfandel, with a soupçon of Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Rhône-style blends fixed into the mix.
Toss in free overnight shipping and a 40% discount, and we’ll be drinking pretty well, sampling small-production wines from the Languedoc to Lodi, and all without leaving the house. Clothing optional.
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