Gerd Stepp
Germany
Highly regarded German winemaker, with 25 years' experience making wine all over the world
- We found Gerd by accident when we were looking for a top German Pinot Noir and a friend suggested Gerd’s. It came first in a blind tasting of 26 Pinots by Naked Archangels so we bought the lot and ever since Gerd has been making us some of the classiest German wines we’ve ever stocked.
- Naked funding now plays a huge part in his business, because his family vineyard in Pfalz is quite small, so he has to work with 20 other local growers. Being able to pay upfront gives them security, and allows Gerd to plan ahead and secure the best fruit.
- With 25 years in the wine industry, he’s travelled widely and made award-winning drops in dozens of different countries. He’s also a respected wine consultant, flying all over the world advising other wine producers. Decanter first snapped him up as a judge in 2004 and he regularly gets invited back to their Annual Wine Awards so it’s safe to say this guy really knows his stuff!
Katie Jones
France
Angels raised over £250k in under 48 hours to rescue Katie's business
74,131 Ratings
9,413 Followers
- Katie’s love of wine led her all the way from Leicestershire to the Languedoc where she bought a an idyllic vineyard perched half-way up a hill in Tuchan. In 2013 she experienced every winemaker’s worst nightmare when vandals emptied her entire year’s vintage down the drain.
- She turned to us. And 2,500 Angels helped to get her back on her feet - clubbing together to raise over £200k in just 48 hours. Our Queen of the Languedoc was able to start again and gone on to make some seriously delicious wines, with sparkly awards a plenty.
- Thanks to her beloved Angels, Katie has been able to nab more hilltop vineyards, expand her range and even move her winemaking operation into an old railway station to fit in more barrels. It’s a long way from the 600 cases of wine she made in her garage in 2009!
Virgile Joly
France
Loveable Languedoc winemaker producing some of the region's best wines
107,540 Ratings
16,727 Followers
- Virgile Joly is almost annoyingly perfect. He's ultra organic, with the certificates to prove it. Dashingly good looking, with a beautiful wife (who fell in love with him after one harvest). Stupidly talented with wine, he has glowing reviews from the doyenne of wine writing, Jancis Robinson.
- Plus he's not afraid of hard work. He bottled his first vintage himself. 3,000 bottles, Virgile and a funnel. Now that's dedication!
- 10 years later, he's producing some of the Languedoc's most sought after wines and we're using Angel funding to help him expand his winery and go on to even greater things. Plus his surname brings a smile to our face every time we see it - what's not to like!
Benjamin Darnault
France
Consultant winemaker on a mission to uncover gems for the Angels all over the Languedoc
356,486 Ratings
36,130 Followers
- When Ben left a safe winemaking job in Australia to move back to France with his young family in the noughties, at first he really struggled. The financial crash of 2007/08 clobbered the winery he was working at, so they had to let him go. He couldn’t catch a break.
- That was until Angels freed Ben from the corporate fat cats and transformed his livelihood. Thanks to Angel investment, Ben was finally able to set up on his own and realise his lifelong dream of putting his own name on the label. Even better, he had an advance on his next vintage!
- With the backing of Angel funding, Ben has been able to invest more, source even better fruit and establish strong relationships with local growers to improve the quality of his delicious wines year-on-year. With thousands of rave reviews, he’s a bonafide Naked icon.
