Scouted

Love Wine? This Company Lets You Be An Investor In Up-And-Coming Vineyards

winning wining

Through monthly microfunding on this new, innovative platform, you can become an “angel” supporting the next award-winning wine.

wine_inegze
Dan Chapin

Wine clubs are subscriptions, where a monthly fee ensures regular delivery of wine. While you may receive product at a discount because of your commitment, these are usually minor. Nakedwines.com frequently gets lumped in with this crowd, but it’s something totally different.

Let’s start with the biggie: Nakedwines.com isn’t a monthly wine club. It’s a platform for investing in new and experimental winemakers. You’re not exactly purchasing their wines (although you can do that as well).  When you join Nakedwines.com as a member, or an “Angel” as they’re called, you authorize a $40 monthly deposit into your Nakedwines.com account. That’s essentially where any similarities to a wine club end.

This money, as long as you leave it in your account, is loaned directly to winemakers, allowing them to produce new and experimental vintages, and freeing them from the business demands that would keep them from hands-on production. And it is truly a loan–you can use the money to make purchases on Nakedwines.com for super reduced prices or you can withdraw it: all of it. While your contributions sit with Nakedwines.com, though, they are passed directly to winemakers.

Winemaking is a craft. As with so many creative business, however, small and independent makers have to take time away from practicing their craft to run logistics: bookkeeping, marketing, customer service. This continues until they are able to hire others, which can be years and years into their business. All of this takes time away from the thing they’re incredible at: making wine. Nakedwines.com helps jumpstart these businesses with investments from winelovers. 

A large number of these indie winemakers are the forces behind your favorite large scale, brand name wines, striking out on their own for the first time. While celebs can launch a new line of wine on the strength of their name recognition, these are the individuals with the talent to make incredible wine, but without the celebrity to attract investors. Nakedwines.com is a lifeline for these individuals.

In addition to the undying gratitude of indie winemakers, Angels are able to purchase wines at wholesale prices using the $40 they deposit every month. While all wines on Nakedwines.com are exclusive to the site, Angels also unlock access to “thank yous,” like Angel-only bottles that are reserved entirely for these members.

If you like to get a little experimental with your wines (or are looking for a better gift to give the wine lover in your life than “just” another bottle), consider becoming an Angel investor at Nakedwines.com. There are no hidden fees and you can withdraw money at any time. For a limited time, you can jump start your membership with a $100 voucher using code "AWIN100", redeemable against your first purchase of a box of red, white, or mixed wine. Hop to!

Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Sign up for our newsletter for more recommendations and deals. Curious about a specific product or brand? Let us know! If you buy something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.