There's a new service that lets you order wine over text

Naked Wines, an online wine retailer that lets customers fund independent winemakers, just launched a new service letting people order bottles of plonk via text.

The "Text for Wine" service was suggested by employees and lets existing customers order a case of wine by texting the name to Naked. That then gets added to their order.

Naked Wines works a little like crowdfunding - users pay £20 a month subscription that then gets used by Naked to fund independent wine makers around the world.

Customers' money acts as a piggy bank, storing up for when they want to buy wine, and in return for putting the money up, they get discounts on the list price.

The "Text for Wine" service is being piloted in the UK but if successful will be rolled out across Naked's US and Australian operations.

UK MD Eamon Fitzgerald says in today's statement: "Initial uptake has been very encouraging and it's easy to see this service being particularly useful for busy customers who don't have time or access to the website."

Bulk retailer Majestic Wine bought Naked for £70 million in April and Naked founder Rowan Gormley was named the new CEO of Majestic at the time.

He says in today's statement: "Access to Naked's digital marketing skills was a clear benefit for Majestic following the acquisition, and the launch of "Text for Wine" is a fantastic demonstration of these skills in action."