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NakedWines.com Review – My Honest Take

Megan K.
ByMegan K.Nov 18, 2022 | 35 comments

naked wines review 2019

If you've heard of NakedWines.com, there's a good chance it's because you got one of their "gift cards" in another subscription box. I know I've collected many a NakedWines.com voucher from other subscriptions, but I've never actually done a NakedWines.com review! Lucky for me, NakedWines.com reached out to My Subscription Addiction to see if we'd be interested in learning more about this wine subscription box. I jumped at the chance!

Read on to learn everything you need to know about their wine "subscription" program, and we'll explain exactly how the vouchers work.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Naked Wines review March 2019 all bottles inside with box

About NakedWines.com

As this article from the wine experts at VinePair explains, a lot of the money a wine enthusiasts spends on a bottle at the liquor or grocery store goes into the fancy sticker, marketing, and distribution of the product—not the wine itself. Also, that bottle likely came from one of a small handful of big-time wine industry companies, which take up a lot of space in the market. Smaller wineries are often limited by overhead costs that stifle innovation, creativity, and the overall selection of quality wines available to consumers.

NakedWines.com set out to upend the traditional wine market. How? NakedWines.com collaborates with small winemakers, taking care of all the sales, marketing, and regulatory tasks. Their model allows smaller winemakers the freedom to focus more on wine and less on marketing and desk work. And because winemakers apply to collaborate with NakedWines.com, the company gets to pick and choose from the best of the best to work with. Currently, they partner with well over 150 independent winemakers, many with pretty impressive famous-name pedigrees.

How It Works

There are a few different ways to get your hands on NakedWines.com.

NakedWines.com Vouchers

Maybe, like me, you got a NakedWines.com voucher in a recent subscription box. The voucher directs you to a page where you can purchase a 12-pack assortment of NakedWines.com for $79.99. (That is a lot of premium wine for about $6.67 a bottle!) Don't have a voucher? No worries! Follow this link, and you'll find a quiz you can take that will grant you the same discount!

NakedWines.com Angel Program

When you make your purchase with your voucher, you'll be auto-enrolled into the NakedWines.com Angel program. This program is a unique take on a subscription model. Basically, you deposit $40 a month into your NakedWines.com "piggy bank". You can use this money at any time to buy bottles from talented winemakers at a special cost (usually 40-60% off retail). The pool of money goes towards the support of these growing vineyards, so it's sort of like crowdfunding. You can also withdraw your funds at any time, and if you happen to hate a bottle of wine, they'll refund your money.

From NakedWines.com:

By funding winemakers upfront, we're able to remove a huge chunk of costs that in a traditional wine business would be passed on to you, the customer. Costs like sales and marketing.

It also means the winemaker can spend more time in the vineyard and less in the office. Which means the wines taste better. It's a win, win.

Another really cool feature is that on each wine's page, Angels and customers can rate and review the wines. More than once, I noticed that winemakers themselves had responded to customer reviews, adding in details and sharing knowledge. For someone like myself who loves unique wine but truly doesn't know that much about it, this is a fountain of information!

The Angel program itself can seem a little confusing because there isn't another membership service quite like it, so if you have additional questions leave them in the comments, or check out the handy FAQ.

Not into memberships? No problem. You can buy these amazing wines at the regular retail price in their shop.

My Review

This is the part where I tell you that I am not a wine expert:

I am not a wine expert.

But I do know what I like. I also want to get more into wine. (I have a friend who lives near a ton of wineries, and I want to look like I know what I am talking about when I visit her and hang out with her fancy friends.) I also enjoy killing a bottle all by myself over the weekend while enjoying a Bob Ross marathon. I have just recently begun to branch out into red wines instead of my preferred sweet whites. When our friends at NakedWines.com reached out to see if I had wine preferences, I told them I loved Rieslings and other semi-sweet options, as well as Cabernet. They were kind enough to send me a 6 pack of 5 Cabs and a lone Riesling. I was admittedly a little nervous since that was a lot of red wine to try and sound knowledgable about.

Naked Wines review March 2019 open box with bottles

Hello ladies.

Let's drink some wine!

Naked Wines review March 2019 ken deis cab Naked Wines review March 2019 ken deis cab back labelnaked wines review poured ken deis 2019

Ken Deis Reserve Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Retail Value $69.99 for non-members, $32.99 for Angels

Rutherford, Napa Valley, USA

Alcohol: 13.5%

This wine didn't have much of a bouquet when I first poured it, which surprised me because the color is so rich and deep. I let it breathe for a little while in my glass before I tasted it, and the notes of flowers and berries exploded to life! This wine was incredibly smooth but did have a little bit of a tannin bite at the end, something I personally enjoy and have read is common with younger reds.

Ken Deis is one of those winemakers that leaves a ton of responses to the comments on his wine pages. I feel like I learned so much about this wine just from reading his replies to reviews! It honestly makes me want to try others from his brand, since he is obviously so passionate about his craft. This is a bottle I would absolutely drink again, and even my husband who doesn't like wine thought it was great. 

Naked Wines March 2019 cab sav Naked Wines review March 2019 cab sav backnaked wines review 2019 poured cabernet

Miriam Alexandra Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 20162017 Pregame Red Blend — Retail Value $54.99 for non-members, $19.99 for Angels

Napa Valley, USA

Alcohol: 14.0%

This bottle has such a pretty label. I know that isn't everything, but hey, I appreciate it. This cab was much more tart than the others sent in the box and had notes of pears, berries, and something sharp. It was also drier than the others and was refreshingly acidic. This was one of those wines that didn't linger in my mouth and felt much lighter than I am used to with a Cab. Because it was a little unusual, I rather liked it! I feel like you could absolutely enjoy this lighter red with a fresh dinner of veggies and salmon, whereas I know a ton of other reds are generally paired with red meats/heavier fare. I enjoyed it with a cheese plate and berries.

Naked Wines review March 2019 camille cab Naked Wines review March 2019 camille cab backnaked wines review 2019 poured camille red

Camille Benitah Terre de Feu Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 — Retail Value $29.99 for non-members, $14.99 for Angels

Lake County, USA

Alcohol: 14.5%

This is one of those wines that very much reminds me of perfumes I enjoy wearing. Notes of leather, smoke, and woods mingle with the dark berries and plums. It felt like a very cold weather wine, if that makes any sense. (Sorry, I got way into seasonal craft beers before wine!) This one was not what I would consider smooth, and the tannins are prominent. It benefitted greatly from sitting in my glass for a little while, which let those masculine notes mellow into something a little more smooth but still with a big mouth-coating taste. 

Naked Wines review March 2019 lorca cab Naked Wines review March 2019 lorca cab backnaked wines review 2019 poured mauricio cabernet

Mauricio Lorca Reserve Uco Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 — Retail Value $21.99 for non-members, $12.99 for Angels

Uco Valley, Argentina

Alcohol: 14.0%

The wine was medium-bodied and very smooth! There is a little bit of woody barrel taste in there that I adore with the dark berry notes. Not a ton of tannin action here, but it does have some sort of special spice that worked really well with a red-sauced pasta. I am always so impatient when it comes to decanting reds, but this is another one that would likely have become even more complex and interesting if I had given it a little more time. Even straight out of the bottle, I really enjoyed it though, so no worries if you are impatient like me!

Naked Wines review March 2019 michaud cab Naked Wines review March 2019 michaud cab backnaked wines review 2019 poured michaud cabernet

Michaud Quintessence Washington Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 — Retail Value $47.99 for non-members, $16.99 for Angels

Red Mountain, USA

Alcohol: 14.8%

This was the first bottle I opened from the box and is also my favorite! I would buy this again and again. I couldn't get enough of this lively red, with its aromas of cherries, juicy berries, and something peppery. It got better and better the more time I gave it time to breathe, but the bottle really didn't last too long. It has a pretty high alcohol content, but you wouldn't know it based on how smooth it was. This is either a good thing or a bad thing! My husband and I enjoyed this wine while sitting on our porch, watching the sunset.

Naked Wines review March 2019 michaud reisling Naked Wines review March 2019 michaud reisling backnaked wines review 2019 poured michaud riesling

Michaud Columbia Valley Riesling 2017 — Retail Value $18.99, $10.99 for Angels

Columbia Valley, USA

Alcohol: 12.0%

This was the lone white wine in a box full of big reds. I love Riesling, especially in the summertime (anytime!) or with fish. This one was a little thin, IMO, but still really crisp and bright. It is off-dry, but if you don't like sweet wines, I could see you thinking it was very sweet indeed! It has flavors of citrus and apples and would honestly make a great white sangria! I tried some straight out of the bottle, but it really shined when chilled. The twist-off cap means it is good to go whenever and a perfect picnic choice.

My Verdict

I am seriously considering joining the Angel's Wait List. It is a great way to support smaller wineries, learn a ton about quality wine in general, and also snag yourself a really generous discount on high-quality bottles of wine. The site itself is a treasure trove of information, and for a newbie like myself, this is pretty valuable!

Also, the wine itself was legitimately GOOD. I would take any of these bottles to a party or give one as a hostess gift with zero hesitation. There were absolutely amazing wines that I preferred in this batch, but I would gladly drink any of them again. Although I was worried about describing 5 different bottles of red wine well, this was actually a blessing—I feel like I learned a ton about the subtle differences between them. If you are new to wines or a veteran, you would be hard-pressed to not find a few bottles on this site that tickled your fancy. And as someone who really values supporting smaller businesses, I think this is a fantastic model to show those smaller winemakers a little love while still stocking up your wine cellar (or tiny pantry shelf) with delicious, quality wines.

Any questions? Leave me a comment!

To Wrap Up

Can you still get these different wines if you sign up today? Some of the wines in this box are now out of stock, but there are tons of other wines to try. See for yourself here!

Value Breakdown: The 6 wines in my order retail for $173.95, but Angels can get them for just $108.94. That's a savings of about 37% for Angels.

Check out the best wine club subscription boxes of 2022 and our list of the best alcohol delivery services & subscriptions!

What's your favorite NakedWines.com wine? Does this new wine membership model intrigue you?

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"Welcome to a better way to buy wine. Nakedwines.com is a customer-funded wine business. Our Angels (customers) invest $40 a month into their nakedwines.com piggy bank, which we use to invest in talented, independent winemakers. In return for exclusive wines at insider prices (up to 60% off retai... read more.

Megan K.
Megan K.
I love natural/vegan beauty products, Korean skincare, unique jewelry, and weird candies from far away places. When I am not waiting for my next exciting box you can find me painting or taking photographs of interesting people. I never leave home without pug hair somewhere on my shirt and a bold lipstick on my smile.

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35 comments

Paul

Generally I’ve had a good experience with NW. One time I was seriously overstocked with wine and chose to end my membership. They came back to me asking why I was canceling? When I told them, they said perhaps I’d like a payment break for three months, or reduce my contribution to $20 per month. I went with the former.

There are some webaite issues, such as saying that a “customer happiness” (urgh) rep was available over the weekend (I’m chasing an order that’s been out for delivery for four days). When I called this weekend the automated response said come back Monday. Not helpful

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Jeff

I wish I could rewind time and reread what they said when I used my voucher to buy my first case, because I swear they never mentioned a single time that I would be auto-enrolled in the Angel club and charged $40/mo. I certainly know I never actively clicked anything to approve this. So this whole tactic seems pretty sneaky. At least they e-mailed me before they charged me the first time, allowing me to cancel, and the cancellation process was easy. But when a company does this, it automatically puts them on my “no” list.

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Michael

I have been a Nakedwines wine club member for about a year and a half, and originally, I had nothing but rave reviews for them. Even at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, their delivery was superb, usually, I was notified within 24 hours that my order was being prepared, and I received it within two business days. Even on rare occasions when a bottle was broken, they immediately responded and sent a new order with a couple of extra bottles for the disturbance.
My last few orders have not gone so well. Not only do they never respond to an email about the missing order, the last two times I had nothing nearly two weeks after placing the order. I would love to know what the issue is because otherwise, I feel I have no choice but to cancel my membership.

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Ashley Livesey

We’re in the UK and have been members for about 4 years, in all that time have had one bottle that was clearly off, absolutely no quibble about a refund. Enjoy it enough that we committed to the Christmas package without even knowing what we’ll get. I know experiences aren’t the same for everyone, but for us, it’s been very positive.

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Marianne

Add me on facebook
Marianne bjargrim

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Lynn

Hi, I’ve been an Angel member for about 2 years, and I’ve had a very positive experience with the wines and customer service! I’m on my phone at the moment and was just trying to get to their site when I stumbled upon this article. I liked the article, too, btw. I wanted to balance out any negative reviews. I love everything about this membership.

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m belanger

very poor customer service. have been trying to distance myself from this company and the amount of emails i recieve daily keeps going up. maybe someone will actually read this and stop the harassment

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Emil Apilado

Yes, of my introductory box of 6 wines, 5 of 6 we’re pretty good. Trying to pick your next box of 12 from unknown wineries is really a crap shoot! Only 4 of the 12 were worth buying to me.
Plus their prices appeared to be inflated to show a larger savings at the membership price.
They have their reccomdations and they try to match your personal tastes.
I felt it would take me around 4 to 5 orders to pick out the good wines.
I feel that just going to BevMo, Nugget Market and Trader Joe’s I can do just as good or better especially when you buy their sales prices!

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Leandro

Hi! I still dont understand how NK and their crowfunding works. Suppose im an Angel, paying my $40/month. If i want to buy wines, lets say after two months (then i have $80 in my account), can i do it? And if i can, if i use my money, what happens with de winemakers? In this situation, they dont receive the funds to start producing their wines? Im thinking if others Angels do the same, the crowfunding wont be enought for the winemakers. Am i thinking right?

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Tim

The amount they collect monthly guarantees they have money to fund winemakers, but ultimately those winemakers are being funded to make wine. When you buy the wine, you are just getting some of the product back in return from that collective initial investment. Or rather, investments that were made a couple years ago when the wines were being produced. But you get the idea.

The only scenario where it wouldn’t work out would be if someone produced wine with money invested by NW, but none of the members wanted to buy/drink the finished product. In that case, it would have been a failed/wasted investment.

So yes, if you wait 2 months, you’ll have $80 in your account, and can buy $80 worth of wine at the “angel” price before you would be out of pocket anything additional on the order.

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George B

I have no idea why anyone is giving Naked Wines a bad review. They have always had exceptional customer service; any wine with which I am not satisfied receives an immediate and simple refund to my account, no questions asked. I have developed a liking for several specific wines and growers. Have i gotten some duds? Sure, but again, no questions asked i get a refund — even if it had a 98% approval rating from everyone else. I pay $40/month which I get to spend on wine, free shipping to my door in about 3-5 days; every month or so, i get a free bottle from a showcased producer. I’ve been very happy with them.

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Shelley

I am really surprised by some of these negative comments. I joined based on my sister in law’s recommendation and I love it. I’ve ordered several cases over the last few months and have found so many wines that I LOVE. There were a few duds along the way, but even those were drinkable. I have recommended this to many of my friends.

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Christina

This company is a fraud. Be very careful. I purchased a case back in 2016 and then chose not to do more business with them at the time and wasn’t enticed to do so since. All of a sudden, 4 years later I am getting $40 charges on my card every week. EVERY WEEK! It has been 4 years, I never opted into anything like this and they are just taking advantage that I won’t see this. Do not work with this company. They won’t write me back to my emails asking why this is happening. I can’t get in touch with anyone, the chat on their website “doesn’t work”. Shocker. I’m going to credit cards next and will apply this business as a fraud if they do not respond AGAIN to my latest email.

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John Doe

If you get a broken bottle in your shipment you are 100% out of luck. You eat the cost of the broken bottle. Lousy customer service.

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DON'T ORDER HERE

They automatically sign you up for a monthly subscription without customer approval.

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annoyed in nj

After reading the person above from PA getting a delivery I’m even more disgusted by this company.

Apparently NJ isn’t good enough to ship to. They send these $100 vouchers to the state and then when you log on they say sorry we won’t ship to NJ but we will ship to pretty much any other state including Alaska and Hawaii.

What a pathetic thing to do market in a state you won’t ship to. I’d stay far away from this company since they obviously have awful marketing and ownership running this monkey stand.

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Rafael

Sounds like you have a problem with Trenton (where the state law that does not permit out of state wine shipments comes from). Call your state senator/representative if you want to see a change.

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Greg @ nakedwines.com

Annoyed in NJ – we hear you and would love to ship to NJ! Unfortunately The State of New Jersey prohibits direct shipments of wine from out-of-state. See https://freethegrapes.org/ to read more,

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Jennifer MALONE

is this a new rule/law? Because we’ve gotten shipments from nakedwines multiple times in the past. I was also disappointed I wasn’t able to do my yearly re-order. 😔 Sincerly, sad new jersey wine lover.

Barbara

I am sorry, but I do not think this is true. I have gotten wine shipments from two other companies.

Cynthia Newton

I joined with a voucher because PA shut all of its wine stores due to COVID and I was not disappointed! Quick service, got their “Winemaker’s Choice” 6 pack of red — free shipping and despite the shipping delays the box came more quickly than I had expected. The company sent several apologetic e-mails about the delay, though I never complained. Love the concept and will continue supporting them.

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Pennie Mead

I recently received my second case and I’m impressed. I think Naked Wines has some amazing wines at very good prices. You will find of course, as with any wines you are unfamiliar with, that some you will love and some you don’t care for. It doesn’t take long to find the niche that works for you and their recommendations based on my ratings have been pretty good. It’s already apparent the more you order, the better you are at selecting wines you’ll love. The wines I love, I simply re-order. Easy. I like the fact that we’re helping family’s with a passion for growing great grapes and making great wines. They also have already gifted me two truly great wines! I’ll still buy other wines but will order a case from Naked Wines every couple of months. I’m hooked!

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Ed

They have the worst customer service and very disorganized shipping logistics

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Mary R Smith

I totally disagree. I received excellent customer service and have had no problems whatsoever with my shipments.

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Gregg

How was the wine? I’d value a critical review. Thanks!

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Talmadge Steele

I have consumed and collected copious quantities of wine for over 50 years, and at one time, embarrassingly, had enough wine stored to last a lifetime. That said a couple of months ago I saw this interesting program that allows independent winemakers to craft wines that they have long dreamed of making for themselves. After a couple of cases, I can’t say I have found a killer wine, but I also have not found any wines that were not soundly made and fairly priced. I love the business model and the way Naked Wines hands the keys of the vehicle to the winemaker to drive, as he or she pleases. I’m sure with a bit more money, some of these winemakers would improve the wood selected, or leave the wines a bit longer in different steps of production, but those days will come for some of these folks. The nice thing is that there are so many acres planted to grapes world wide, that very good to great grapes are available for those winemakers that search. The other benefit to this type of program is that with the exception of cult type offerings, typical wines will remain well within the budget of most oenophiles. One thing that I would enjoy seeing would be to give six different winemakers grapes from the exact same row in a selected vineyard and then allow them to craft their rendition of those grapes. Paradigm Vineyard in the CA central coast did this in the past and it was unbelievable how different each winemakers offering presented. This would make a nice tasting case to allow those interested an example of just how much impact a winemaker has on a wine produced from the same grapes others have placed their touch upon. In vino veritas.

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Debbie

So interesting! Love it

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MinnePuffin

Does anyone know how easy it is to cancel? I’m decently picky about wine. So if I got the starter box and didn’t like it, how much work would it be to get out of the Angel thing?

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nicole

You can cancel by replying to any of their emails. They’ll even refund you for any bottle you don’t like!

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Ragan

I have started getting those vouchers in online orders that have nothing to do with subscription boxes. (I don’t drink.) Like I mean, when I order beads and craft supplies.

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jbird

Mine came with a wetsuit I ordered online. Just a huge marketing campaign, totally bogus.

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Gregg

No, they are legit. My voucher came with an oven ignitor and I gave them a try. I’ve not regretted it.

Megan K.

They are quite prolific!

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anita

I am not a wine expert myself, but I do enjoy drinking wine. I did join Naked Wines a few years ago and while I think the Wall Street Journal Wine Club has better quality wine and for a decent price, I stuck with Naked Wines because it allowed me to put aside cash every month until I was ready to order. The variety is pretty good and so is the selection. Plus every so often, Naked Wines gifts me with exclusive bottles when I order, so can’t beat that!

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Megan K.

I really like the format because you can actually pick what you want instead of it being a gamble. Thanks for reading Anita!

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