You may have noticed the little advertisement for $100 in free wine that’s been on the site recently—it’s right about there →.
If you click on it and make a purchase or sign up to become an Angel at NakedWines.com, I’ll make a commission.
Yep, you can click that one, too.
That’s, of course, a big reason why I agreed to host the ad, but I had more motivating factors than hopefully making a few bucks to justify my food writing to myself. And the biggest of those factors is the Angel program. As part of the crowdfunding movement, the NakedWines.com Angel program enables a small group of winemakers to fund their passion projects more easily. Angels pledge $40/month to the program, and the winemakers use those funds to make their wines. Then, when ready, those winemakers offer that wine back to NakedWines.com.
Anybody can purchase bottles from the website, but Angels get first dibs and roughly half off the price that regular users of NakedWines.com are charged. Or as NakedWines.com more eloquently explains, “NakedWines.com is here to make expensive wines accessible to normal people. We don't do that by strong-arming our suppliers, like some of the big supermarkets. We do it by funding independent winemakers to set up their own business - and we get preferential prices in return.”
And those winemakers? Ever heard of Randall Grahm? Ken Dais? Daryl Groom? These stars and many more provide wines to NakedWines.com outside of their usual labels. As more Angels sign up, NakedWines.com brings on more winemakers, thus gaining more wine so that they increase the size of the Angels program. That’s pretty exciting! And did I mention the free bottle of wine each month?
What’s better? Angels can use their monthly $40 pledge to purchase wine—that’s right! All the money they give NakedWines.com accumulates and is available for use at any time. So the money is there for the winemakers when they need it most…and for the Angels when they’re most in need of replenishing their wine supplies. As I don’t actually buy cases of wine all that often, I’m perfectly content to let my money sit there and cash it out every few months.
Or at least I will be. You see, while I am partnering with NakedWines.com through that little ad that maybe, someday, will yield a few commissions, I’m also signed up for the Angels program on my own dime. Rather, I’m signed up for the waiting list for the Angels program, because it’s so darn popular that (a) I’m not sure why they need me for advertising and (b) I was #4401 when I signed up about a month ago. The website estimated that I’d become an Angel in roughly a month, and since then, I’ve received regular emails updating me on my placement. Where am I now? #682 with 6,200 people behind me on the waitlist! So it’s taken longer than a month, but I’d say a month and a half will do the trick.
I did go ahead and use that $100 off coupon to purchase a case from NakedWines.com as a regular user and begin trying out their wares.
I figured it made sense for me to report back on the service to you all if I’m going to advertise it. Just for joining the Angel’s waiting list, I received 3 free bottles of wine as a thank you. I chose the All-American Highest-Rated Wines case, used my coupon, and ended up with 15 bottles of wine for $175. Note: that’s the price for regular users, not an Angel. If I’d waited until I got on the Angel’s list, I likely would have paid about $90 for all those beautiful bottles, counting the voucher.
I only wish I’d paid attention to just how many whites were in the case before ordering it—I usually like my 70/30 ratio to break down on the side of the reds.
For those of you that love getting to know winemakers, NakedWines.com also sent cards in the shipment that gave the backgrounds of several of their winemakers along with a welcome packet.
Are the wines any good? I’ll be putting up reviews soon to let you know! Each time I review a NakedWines.com bottle, I’ll make it clear in the post. You can expect a lot of them in the coming weeks.
Have I interested you in the Angels program or in using that $100 off voucher? Click either my trusty ad on the right, the one above, or this link to get your $100 off coupon. Receive $100 Off a $160 Order of 6 or More 750ml Bottles of Wine. First Time Customers Only.
Heck, if you’re at all interested, go ahead and join the Angel’s waiting list now. Even if you aren’t sure, you’ll have at least a month to think it over...
