Naked Fund Wine's BIG Names... to Make the Next BIG Thing
After leading Kendall-Jackson in its definitive years to develop the rich, buttery, barrel-aged California Chardonnay that's now world-famous, independent winemaker Scott Peterson launched his own tasting room in Sonoma, landing big contracts that own lines of wines in national wine shops.
But wine retailers refused to make him promises. Getting salesmen to re-up their commitments to his wines meant he spent 70% of his time on the road — wining and dining the complexities of the three-tier system. He rarely saw his winery, sacrificed a salary to pay suppliers, and felt most disconnected to the things that inspired him in the first place — community and wine.
Scott made a tough choice. He closed his wine business, looking for a better way.
He found Naked Wines. That's when everything changed.
Scott became the online wine brand's independent winemaker in 2014. The only contract he signed was a promise to make Cabernet, Pinot and Chardonnay as "retro, obsessive, and extractive" as possible. ROX is the acronym he uses on his most popular wines with the company, which have helped this Triple Decanter Gold medalist earn over 289,000 wine ratings with the shop. He used his up-front funding to commit to local vineyards and his grape grower friends. He waved middlemen and commissions goodbye.
Scott had the support that all independent winemakers dream about — real, passionate investors. His trusted bank was a collective of wine drinkers — a 300,000-member community that backs all 100+ independent winemakers at Naked Wines. That's why the wines he shares exclusively with Naked are served with the best savings possible. It's his lasting thanks.
At Naked, the business of great wine is simple. Winemakers like Scott can focus on what's inside the bottle... never the three tiers around it. Join Naked now to drink in the rewards.
"Naked make my wines possible, but it's more than that," said Scott. "They've always made sure I could stay true to myself as a winemaker, no matter what the circumstance. It's incredible what this community does for me."
In today's world, the story of an independent winemaker is rare. That's because the wine industry isn't built to support or benefit small producers. It's tangled — expensive, risky and full of hurdles. To succeed, winemakers like Scott are asked to follow profits and trends — not passion. They work from a board room, not a cellar. They spend years negotiating contracts and deals with distributors, importers and retailers just to get their wine in the market... and lose out to those middlemen (aka, the three-tier system) who all get a say and a cut.
No one wins in that scenario — not the wine, not the winemaker, and especially not wine drinkers. The wines that play by the system's rules might end up on a shelf, but they end up nameless — slapped with markups for stuff you can't taste. That's such a waste.
Naked is the place you shop to put things right — it's busy making the wine industry a fair place for everyone.
How Naked Wines Helps You (And the Winemaker)
Discover independent winemakers like Scott — get $100 off your first order (we recommend this 12-pack — yours for $99.99 with a voucher!)