My favourite wines from the Naked Wines Summer Tasting Tour 2019

With some of the lovely
Angels and Archangels
on the tour - love them!

The Naked Wines Tasting Events are an amazing opportunity to try over 100 wines. You get to try new wines and meet the wine makers who tell you all about them, all for around £20. An absolute bargain in my book.

These are my favourite NEW wines that I tried this year:

The fabulous Los
Despachos from
Edgard Carter

Edgard Carter
I'd never met Chilean winemaker Edgard Carter before this year's tour. He's a lovely, polite and unassuming sort of man but who makes the most delicious wines. So great, that two of his wines have made my list:
- Sureno 2016 (£11.99) - made from a blend of Cab Sav, Carmenere, Malbec and Syrah, this smooth, silky red is full of fresh fruit with a kick of blackberry.
- Los Despachos Petit Verdot 2015 (£19.99) - Definitely not a cheap drop, but worth every penny if you want to treat yourself to a glass of blueberry and blackberry wonderfulness! 

Mauricio Lorca's Angels Selection Pedro Gimenez 2018 (£7.99)
Argentinian Mauricio is always a big hit at the Naked Wines Events. And, as always he was friendly and affable this year. I absolutely loved his Pedro Gimenez which is a completely new type of grape for me and a complete steal at £7.99. This crisp and fresh lip-smacker is like a glass of apples and citrus and perfect for a BBQ in the sunshine.

Gerd's amazing new
Pinot Noir Rose

Gerd Stepp's Pinot Noir Rose 2018 (£9.99)
Gerd really is like the professor of wine making. His Pinot Noir *8* is one of my favourite wines on the Naked Wines website and is delicious both warm and cold. So, I was fascinated to try his new rose which is made from the juice extracted from the first crush of his Pinot Noir grapes. Although this is a bit punchier than some roses (and a bit more alcoholic!) it is still light, fresh and zingy and a new firm favourite. If you're unfamiliar with German wines, try any of Gerd's range and I promise you will be impressed.

Dominic Hentall's Terra Nera 2017 (£10.99)
I love Dominic Hentall - he is always the life and soul of the party on the Naked Tour. I love his Terra Calda and his Terra Forte so I was fascinated to try his Terra Nera. I love Italian wines, but I'm more familiar with those from Northern Italy from regions such as Tuscany and Piedmont. However, this one is from Sicily so from a much warmer, sunnier region. And so the wine is big, fruity, spicy and with some vanilla from the oak barrels. This wine is great now and will probably be even better in a few months.

Sam Plunkett's Victorian Zinfandel 2018 (£10.99)

Dominic's amazing
Terra Nera

In the programme, it describes Sam as one of the nicest guy's around. And they aren't wrong. Naked Wines Australia have done this amazing podcast with him which is really worth a listen to understand his amazing journey to master wine maker. I loved his new Zinfandel which is packed with jammy fruits as well as juicy strawberries. (I also loved his Halo Effect Viognier 2016 which is a new sweet wine for me, so I thought I would give it a mention).

Ray and Eamon's picks
Every year, Naked Wine's chief taster, Ray teams up with the boss, Eamon, to champion their top picks at the "Ramon Table". All of their wines are always amazing. They had four on their table this year, some of which have been (or will be) available through the Naked Wines Fine Wine Club. I especially enjoyed the following from their top picks:
- Anna Espelt Sol i Vent 2017 (£13.99)
- Repetto Piemonte Rosso 2017 (£9.99)

Me with the lovely Mike
Paterson

I can't leave a review of my favourite wines without mentioning Mike Paterson. He didn't have any new wines on his tasting table this year, but he is such an utter legend, I couldn't miss him out. Especially as his Lay of the Land Marlborough Pinot Noir is perhaps my favourite Pinot Noir on the Website. His 2017 vintage is his best in my opinion - it's really fresh fruit forward and packed with strawberries and vanilla.

These are just a few of the wines I enjoyed this year. And, as always we were spoilt for choice. Especially as Naked Wines seems to be bringing on new wines and winemakers everyday! If you follow Eamon on Instagram, you'll see his quest to sniff out new wines from all over the globe (and be really rather jealous!).

Selecting a new rosé wine for Naked Wines

Me tasting the good stuff

As an Archangel for Naked Wines, I was recently lucky enough to be asked to to help them choose a new Provencal Rosé wine for their website.


It was pretty exciting stuff as it was the first time I'd visited the Naked Wines offices and met a lot of the people I've been chatting to online since 2012. Plus, I hadn't drank for 33 days previously. What a way to break dry January with a rosé tasting with Naked Wines?

Outside the Naked Wines
offices with Archangels
Simon and Darren

When I arrived at the offices, I did not feel let down by the Naked experience. The funky reception was dominated by a huge slide that transported staff between floors. Everything was quirky and open plan with meeting rooms named after principle Naked wine makers and wine vending machines for staff to sample latest vintages. What a fab place to work.

Archangel, Phil, 
shooting down the slide

And then the rosé wine arrived. Bottle after bottle after bottle of delicious looking wine. Some more delicate and blushy and some more red and fruity in colour. Turned out there were 37 of the stuff. It was like some sort of fantasy come true!

But when MD (and super fox) Eamon Fitzgerald kicked off the tasting, it became apparent that this was no jolly for Naked Wines. 

Wine Guru, Toby, had literally spent months talking to rosé producers in Provence to secure a selection of wines that would be, not only delicious, but exclusive to Naked. Plus, most of the wine makers were fairly small, artisan producers. And, if they were to secure distribution through Naked Wines, Eamon told us, it could be life changing.

Just a few roses to choose
from then....

On the train to Norwich, Archangels Simon and Darren had told me about a wine they selected at a previous day like this one. And, apparently the wine the Archangels chose was really unpopular with the Naked Angels. It literally "bombed". I did not want to be responsible for choosing a wine that the Angels don't like and I didn't want to let Eamon and the team down! 

We were instructed to use the spittoons and make the right decision. No pressure then.

I really hope that we made the right decision. Because the task was much more difficult than I'd anticipated!

Gorgeous Eamon laying down
the law. This was serious
business (I promise)

For starters, never before had I tried so many wines in such quick succession. Now, I'm a drinker and I've done a lot of tasting! But, we had to whittle 37 wines down to one which would go on sale on the website that evening! 

Our group initially had 12 wines to taste, then we tasted the 6 shortlisted rosés from all the groups and finally we selected one. I felt like I was literally tasting one wine after another after another! (I know, it's a hard life!)

Look how serious we were
Archangels Darren & Sarah

In addition, we had to keep in mind that we were helping to select a wine that would be popular with Naked Wines Angels. So, we had to consider the cost of the wine as well as whether it would be something that Naked customers would want to buy and would expect from a Provencal Rosé.


However, a few of the wines really stood out. And I was really pleased with the wine we chose. 

The Chateau Saint Hilaire Provence Rosé by Bruno Lapierre was mouth wateringly zingy with fresh strawberry fruit flavours, pale and blushy-pink in the glass and would be dangerously drinkable on a summer's day in the garden. 

My Archangel friend Ray
We finally met for the first
time that day!

In fact, 3,600 bottles went on sale that evening as a marketplace deal and nearly all of them had gone in just a few days, which hopefully showed we made a good choice.

I had such a great day and it was definitely worth the train fare and the total of 8 hours of travel to get there. I've also learned loads more about rosé wine (who'd have thought that a third of the wine drank in France was pink? They definitely have good taste). Thanks Naked Wines for an absolutely amazing afternoon (an AA afternoon).

A groovy wine tour at Domaine O'Vineyards

I'd heard from some of the other Naked Wines Angels and Archangels that a visit to the Domaine O'Vineyards in France is an absolutely excellent experience. So when we were in the Languedoc this summer, we decided to book a night with meal and wine tasting with Joe and Liz O'Connell.

Joe giving his
groovy wine tour

It was a really, really hot on the day we visited. Apparently it was the hottest September that the region could remember. We'd spent the day wandering around nearby Carcassonne and lying by the lovely but very breeze-less Lac de la Cavayere and we were literally expiring when we arrived.

We were over half an hour early, but Liz, Joe and Muse the dog opened the doors and welcomed us into a wonderfully cool room and opened an ice-cold bottle of delicious white wine. It was absolute bliss. And, it wasn't a thimble-full of wine either, it was a nice, big, juicy glug.

The view from our balcony

Liz and Joe were like these super cool hipsters. Not cool in a modern way. More a laid back, 70s throwback sort of way. Joe kind of shuffled around in his Hawaiian shirt, jeans and sandals, humming away to his Beatles and Elton John music with a wry, knowing smile while Liz wafted in and out in her denim shorts and huge shades. Apparently they met while she was sunbathing nude on a beach in California. Says it all really. Very cool.

My husband and I
enjoying the yummy wines

The winery and the vineyards were absolutely stunning. Joe had designed the building himself and the decor and structure were an interesting mix of modern, rustic and baroque. All peppered with art that you felt they'd collected on their journey through life. Our bedroom had a fabulous view of the vines and I joked to Liz that I would need a ladder to get onto the ginormous bed. Everything was very luxurious and felt like a proper treat. Again, probably not stylish in a modern or conventional sense, but all very cool, eclectic and distinctive.

When everyone else arrived, Joe introduced the event as "not a wine tasting, but a wine drinking". And, that really set the tone for the event. The measures were generous as were the hosts with their time and attention.

Stunning sunset over the vines

The tour itself was informal and fun. It didn't feel like a stuffy lesson on winemaking. But it had enough content to be interesting and enough interaction for us all to feel comfortable and get chatting.

Joe and Liz moved to France with their son Ryan to make the type of wine they wanted to make, the way they wanted to make it. Apparently, there have been some frustrating times along the way navigating the Languedoc Appellation rules. But he'd come out the other side and has earned a great deal of respect for his wines and methods both in France, England and across the pond in America where his son, Ryan does a great deal of work with Naked Wines USA.

Me with Joe and Liz
and the star of the show, Muse

At the tasting and meal, we were treated to glass upon glass upon glass. So much so that I think we tried everything in their range. The wines were stylish and interesting, without taking themselves too seriously. For example, all the bottle labels were designed by the family and one even had the head of a Naked Wines Archangel on it. 

My favourite wine was probably the O'Chasan 2015. I'd never tried a pure Chasan wine before, but apparently it is a popular, but underrated wine of the Languedoc region. Very light and easy drinking and perfect served crisp cold. We also loved the O'Syrah 2011. A smooth and peppery Shiraz that left my mouth warm and very happy for a long time after each sip. 

We tried pretty much the
whole range

The food was all lovingly prepared by Liz. The website promoted the meal as "home cooked food". Well, if you live in a house with about 20 chefs! I have no idea how she managed to create all that food. We enjoyed course after course of interesting and intricate Asian-French-Californian fusion food. And Liz lovingly enthused about how she made each dish and her added personal touches. 

But the real star of the show was their beautiful conker dog, Muse. He seemed to lead the wine tour, obviously knowing the route by heart. Staring lovingly up at us all with gorgeous eyes, hoping to perhaps get a few of Liz's supper treats.

What a view to have from
your dining room table!

When we finally stumbled to bed, I've never seen such a beautiful sky from our balcony overlooking the vines. Hundreds of stars and with not an artificial light or sound in sight.

The whole experience was extremely relaxing, very decadent and, well, groovy baby....

Naked Wines calls on members to pledge their pounds for the future of English Wine

At 8pm on 25th August, Naked Wines is launching a very exciting new proposition for their members (or Angels). They are asking Angels to put their money where their glass is and invest in the future of English Sparkling wine. 

Here's what they're doing...The hope is that, if enough Angels pledge their pounds, then Naked Wine Growers Charles and Ruth Simpson will have enough money to produce a new English sparkling wine exclusively for Naked. 

Not only does the Angel money fund the production of the wine. They also get to help decide the branding, blend and name for the wine. Let's hope they use their power for the good (thankfully, Winey McWineface has already been overruled)! Plus, all investors get anywhere between 2 and 6 bottles from the production of the first fizz which will be delivered by Christmas 2018.

Charles and Ruth Simpson

I've recently become a Naked Wines Archangel. Which meant the bosses ran the crowdfunding campaign past us prior to launch. And, although there was widespread excitement from the Flight, there was some concerns. Will members be willing to invest in a wine that they won't be able to sip until 2018? With the British weather so unpredictable, will this be too much of a risk?

Well, I for one hope it will be an amazing success. With English sparkling wine more popular than ever, this feels like a real opportunity to be part of something at the very beginning. And, who knows, if this is a success, maybe there will be more crowdfunding opportunities for the public to invest in English wine.

So come on Naked Angels, press that green buttonhttps://www.nakedwines.com/marketplace. We only need 1,200 of you to make history! I'm so nervous, it's enough to drive you to drink....

My first ever Naked Wines Tasting Tour

At the beginning of the tasting

Ever since I joined Naked Wines in April 2012 I've wanted to go to one of the events on their tasting tour. But for one reason or another (work, then pregnancy then babysitter) I've been unable to go.

So, I was delighted this year when I was neither pregnant nor working and the tour was coming to Southampton, on a Sunday!

The tasting programme

The pre-event marketing claimed there was going to be 30 wine makers and 139 wines to try. I literally could not have been more excited! Plus, all the Angels on the Naked Wines forums were chatting about it and I literally could not wait. I was so excited that I had three cocktails beforehand, which in hindsight was an error....

The tasting started at 2pm and all the visitors joined an orderly queue outside the Guildhall in Southampton (we are so British!). When we got in, there was a huge hall full of wines. It was just fabulous.

139 wines to try

I've been to lots of tasting events before and they have often been pretty snobby. However, it immediately became clear that this was not that sort of event. In fact, the organisers were actively encouraging us to take selfies with the winemakers (I'm yet to discover if I won the selfie competition!). 

With Serena from Cordero
wines and ArchAngel Leon

Plus, nearly all of the people working the stands were the winemakers themselves, not just some rep or agency staff. I guess some of that comes down to the whole Naked Wines ethos. The money that the Naked Wines Members (or Angels) invest into Naked Wines goes towards funding independent wine growers. So, I guess for most of the winemakers attending the event, this was an opportunity to promote their wines to their key audience.

Rocking it like a redhead with
Jen Pfeiffer.

Either way, I had an amazing time. I chatted to loads of winemakers, other Naked Angels and also some of the Archangels (Archangels are the elite members of the Naked Wines crew and their job is to help promote Naked Wines via the forums and events such as the tasting tour). Everyone was super friendly, no-one mocked my pitiful wine knowledge and most of all I tried some delicious wines!

My highlights included (and there were loads, so I'm sorry if I've missed you out):

Ian Kellet and son from
Old Winchester Hill

- Meeting Serena from Gianfranco and Serena Cordero wines. We got married in Italy and we are a bit obsessed with Italian wines. In fact, I am drinking one of their Barbarescos that we bought at the tasting as we speak! She was so friendly and I'd never tried any of their wines before and I loved them.
- Rocking it like a redhead with Jen Pfeiffer. Jen Pfeiffer is an Australian winemaker and something of a legend on the Naked Wines Forums. Again, I'd never tried any of her wines before and I especially loved her "The Rebel Bubbles", which was light, fresh and zingy and my new favourite sparkling wine.

Rod Easthope, an absolute
legend

- Trying Naked Wines' first English grown wine. For ages, Naked Wines has been promising us an English wine. And, finally we have one and it is grown just down the road from where I live. Ian Kellett was there with his son serving his new "Old Winchester Hill" sparkling wines. At the end of the tasting, we ended up stood chatting while drinking a bottle of Gerd Stepp Reisling. Absolutely delicious and what a nice man. I hope his venture is a huge success.
- Meeting one of my favourite Naked Wines growers, Rod Easthope. I love his pinot noirs, I love his Sauvignon Blancs and I got to try his Merlot Cab Franc which I'd never tasted before. The man lived up to my expectations! 

Lovely Serena from Cordera

- Finally speaking face to face with some of the Naked Wines Crew. Highlights were (very slurred) thanking the event organiser Seb for organising such an incredible event. And meeting some of the Archangels including lovely Leon who even indulged me with a selfie. 

Overall, it was a great event. The brochure encouraged us to use the spittoons. However, to my chagrin, I did not and drank far too much. I lost my brochure, I broke my selfie stick. I took photos of people and have no idea who they were. 

Who are these people? Does
Anyone know?

If you get the chance to go along to one of the events, I'd really urge you to. The tickets were only £15 and you got the price of those back if you ordered a case of wine (which we did). And, for that price you get a lot of really high quality wines, great conversation and a lot of fun. My advice though? Use the spittoons and don't have three cocktails beforehand.....