The NakedWines.com Wine Tasting Tour kicked off yesterday in Sacramento. It was the first day of our first ever US tour. And boy did it feel good!
What is the tasting tour?
For the tasting tour, we bring all of our winemakers onto a big bus and drive around California doing a huge wine tasting every night. But calling it a tasting doesn’t do it justice. The vibe feels much more like a debaucherous cocktail party at your friend’s house.
Everybody is tasting wines from all over California and all around the world. There are a dozen different exotic accents floating about the room as people chatter away with winemakers who are a little jetlagged and very ready to sip alongside you.
Why does it matter?
And there’s a real engagement between winemakers, Angels, and newbies. This is a moment that makes it very real. As winemakers, we know our wines keep selling out, and we get a steady flow of reviews from the Angels who fund our wines. But it’s on a whole new level when somebody walks up to you and flips out “OOOH! O’M G! We love this one! YOU MAKE IT?” haha, it’s a bit rock n roll.
What was special about Day 1?
This is the first ever US Tour. NakedWines.com started in the UK (where it’s just called Naked Wines). Over there, the business is over 5 years old and has done 3 major tours (it’s now a 10 city tour!) where the venues fill with literally hundreds of Angels every night and some venues have several hundred attendees in a single evening. In short, it’s an established business and we know that people love us.
Now that we’ve done a day of tour out here in Sac, we know that the same is true in the USA. Angels really love the business that we’re building together. It’s very very exciting!
Here we are, with 30 winemakers wandering around California with 90+ wines that wouldn’t exist without Angel funding. Winemakers are sneaking tank samples out from under their table and pouring cheeky little tastes of their upcoming wines with a look of glee in their eyes. Angels are giddy like school children meeting their rock star winemakers. It’s all very emotional.
And I’m so proud to be here. Thank you for making my life so magical!
More tour updates to come. Still a chance to buy tickets to the other cities (except SF and LA which are sold out)
Ryan you guys deserve all the fun and good feelings. Think about it…the fruits of your labors make us feel good every time we open a bottle. Yes, it’s “just” wine, but the contents of those bottles are used for the celebrations of life…what does everyone first think to do when announcing to their spouse their new raise, promotion, or a project completed successfully? What do we reach for when there is an anniversary, birthday or engagement to celebrate? What do we bring to dinner at a friend’s or family’s home? Whenever planning a special dinner at home, what is an important consideration in the menu? Even to simply reconnect with spouse at the end of a hard work day, sharing a glass or bottle is wrought with emotion. So your being treated as rock stars should surprise not one of you.
I love the phrase towards the end of your writing… “winemakers are sneaking tank samples…pouring cheeky little tastes with a look of glee in their eyes”. It so well demonstrates pride in their craft and anticipation for the excitement with which it will be received when released in full on the site to all of us who aren’t fortunate enough to be in attendance cheering our own rockstar favorites.
Please raise a glass to all for me…and please keep your updates coming! I feel connected though half a continent away.