I discovered Nakedwines.com through a suspiciously generous $100-off voucher, and I'm glad I tried it- the wines are surprisingly good, and the company uses an interesting model to support small winemakers
- I discovered Nakedwines.com thanks to a $100-off voucher and was impressed by the quality of "easy drinking" wines, the 100% satisfaction guarantee, and the interesting way the company supports small winemakers.
- Nakedwines.com is kind of like a "Shark Tank" for the wine industry where winemakers propose a wine, and once it gets approved, Nakedwines.com gives them an advance to make it and it gets sold for an affordable price on Nakedwines.com' website.
- The way they fund the advance is through "Angel" members, aka customers who invest $40 every month into a wine bank account. This account is always available for you to spend, and you get perks including up to 60% off listed prices.
- If you don't want to "invest," you can still buy bottles of wine like you would at a regular wine store.
- Get a $100 voucher at Nakedwines.com here.
- Read more: 14 places to buy alcohol online - from general online liquor stores to monthly wine delivery services
If buying unique wines at wholesale prices and having them delivered to your doorstep sounds ideal, you should check out Nakedwines.com.
The 12-year-old company invests in over 150 indie winemakers around the world and uses a lean business model to bring unique, high-end wines to market for cheap.
For consumers, Nakedwines.com is a relatively inexpensive way to get good, unique wines sent to their door. For winemakers, it's kind of like a "Shark Tank" for their industry: They propose a wine, it gets approved, and Nakedwines.com gives them an advance to make it happen. Part of how the company has the funds to operate this way is through over 100,000 voluntary "Angel" customers who act as investors.
Once accepted into the program (and I'd wager every "applicant" is), Angel members invest $40 every month into their Naked Wine piggy bank. This pool of crowdfunded money helps Naked Wine invest in its winemakers, but it's also never lost to Angel members; the $40 in the virtual piggy bank can be used on their individual wine orders whenever they like - in other words, it's pretty much like a wine bank account.
If all goes to plan, it's good for the company, the consumers, and the winemakers - like Carmen Stevens, reportedly South Africa's first black woman to graduate in wine-making (funded by 2,000 Angel members and $200,000 in eight hours).
To be clear, what you're getting is not a wine subscription. You can just buy wine directly from the site as you would anywhere else (though you need to order six bottles to ship), but the site's Angel members get special perks. They save 40-60% on all their orders; get samples of other wines included in their deliveries; get a gift bottle of Angel-funded wine worth $20 or more each month they order a case of wine; get access to Angel-only wines; receive invites to wine tastings to meet the winemakers; and get access to an exclusive priority hotline for any needed support.
I'd wager most people wind up on the site thanks to a suspiciously generous $100 voucher for new customers (I received one inside the box of a Bloomingdale's purchase). Using the voucher, I got a Discovery Case with 12 bottles of wine across a wide spectrum of offerings from the site. With the $100 voucher - which you can also get by clicking the top right-hand button that says "voucher" and entering your email - the case was $79.99, instead of its current sale price of $179.99 (its traditional cost is listed at $264).
In person, the wines are good. I was satisfied and even a little surprised by their quality given the fact that my introduction was just $100 off lots of wine. The affordable bottles were what you'd call "easy drinking" wines - none that were bold and weird and revelatory - but perfect for casual drinking. Nakedwines.com hit the "weekday wine" niche perfectly.
Shipping is also inexpensive. For orders under $100, Nakedwines.com typically charges $10. For orders $100 and more, delivery is free - except for to New Jersey, Hawaii, and Alaska, (you can find rates for these states here). Wines will be delivered in four-to-seven business days (Monday-Friday or Tuesday-Saturday) during regular business hours, but make sure that there is someone over 21 years old who can sign for the package.
One thing I would stress is that if you have any difficulty with your shipment, or you don't like a wine, you should contact Nakedwines.com for help. My experiences with them were as a consumer rather than a reporter, and I was impressed by their easygoing willingness to make sure I had a positive experience, even when it wasn't to their immediate advantage. This means that if you really hated a wine you were sent, they'll refund you. The site has a "cast-iron, no questions asked, 100% guarantee."
But one thing that makes Nakedwines.com even more appealing is that it's also pretty social. Winemakers and members interact. Winemakers get feedback directly from customers, and customers can ask them questions. Indirectly, members can rate and recommend wines to each other.
This communication creates an optional whirlpool of discovery and self-improvement, which is baked into the business from the top down to the granular level of your account; if you don't like a wine, give it a thumbs down in your Naked Me account. From then on, they'll help steer you away from wines that taste similar to the ones you didn't enjoy. Nakedwines.com also uses this as an indirect polling system, helping them determine which winemakers are doing the best job of making wines people really love.
The bottom line:
All in all, it's good wine for an accessible price, with the opportunity to be as involved as you want to be. It's also easy to cancel right in your online account if you change your mind as opposed to calling or emailing customer service. If you use Naked as a casual wine drinker, you'll discover great and affordable wines (even if you don't take advantage of the $100 off coupon) through an interesting system that makes you feel more involved than just ordering another case of wine online.
Shop Nakedwines.com or enter your email for a coupon for $100 off your first order
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