When you really think about it, there’s not a whole lot to wine. At its simplest, it's just fermented grape juice. For thousands of years, that’s all it needed to be — and it’s still the philosophy shared by the independent winemakers we back today.
Our winemakers focus on choosing great vineyard sites, growing healthy grapes, harvesting them at the right moment, and guiding fermentation with care rather than correction.
When the fruit is great, the winemaker is just there to guide the process. I was chatting with Dan Baron during harvest and asked a question about his process. He laughed and replied, “The hard work is already done when it comes time to harvest — all we need to do now is not **** it up!”
And that’s just it. Great grapes make great wine — there’s no need to mask, tweak, or artificially enhance what nature has already worked hard to produce.
What we leave out matters as much as what we leave in
Modern industrial winemaking is all about consistency. The recipe at big-name wineries can involve a long list of additives, designed to standardize the flavor, color, aroma and texture. They utilize mass chemistry to create a recipe to produce an identical product every time. But that’s not the style of winemaking we want to highlight.
We make our wines without artificial flavorings, colors, or sweeteners. Nature can be wonderfully unpredictable, and we don’t believe wines should be engineered to taste the same year after year. That’s what makes wine so special, the result shining through no matter what the harvest brings.
Less intervention, more character
By keeping intervention low, our winemakers allow each wine to express all their naturally unique characteristics. Soil, climate, weather, and our own human decisions all leave their mark. That’s why a Pinot Noir from one hillside tastes different from the same grape grown a few miles away — and we believe that difference is worth celebrating, not diluting.
Honest wine, no shortcuts
That’s why we’re here. We wanted to work directly with independent winemakers, like Dan, who share our belief that great wine doesn’t need shortcuts or extra junk added. They’re all free to make wine their way — guided by experience, tradition, and a deep respect for the fruit — not by industrial formulas. And to me, that’s the most delicious wine can be.
Cheers to a glass filled with wine without any of the weird stuff,
Lucy
VP of Wine, Naked Wines USA
PS. Discover wines that are as thoughtful as they are delicious — shop sustainable picks here.
