Whether it’s personal or business marketing, it appears you need to get naked to get any attention these days. Sexting, sexy wine labels and sexy names all point to the growing need to bare it all to close the deal no matter what your selling.
Sex sells, even in (or especially in) the wine industry. Just ask porn star Savanna Samson whose outrageously successful red wine Sogno Uno scored a 91 from Robert Parker and features a side view of her wearing only a see-through gown and high heels. Maybe porn star Ginger Lee can parlay her experience with Congressman Weiner into a wine label of her own. Stupid Bastard maybe (there’s a Fat Bastard already afterall), wait that’s not sexy. How about No Penetration, there’s already a Penetration Cabernet Sauvignon by (you guessed it) Naked Winery.
In the wine world “naked wines” refer to unoaked wines aged in stainless steel instead of oak barrels. This matters because many of the flavors experienced by consumers of the finished wine are created by the oak itself, not the grapes. The vanilla, toast and tannin notes imparted by the oak often overpower the fruity or citrusy elements of the grapes and make the wine more difficult to pair with food. However, oak is traditional and preferred by highly influencial wine critic Robert Parker (the establishment), making unoaked winemakers rebels of a sort.
One of the well-known labels in this fairly recent wine category is Simply Naked by Constellation Brands. The Simply Naked inaugural collection launched June 1st 2010 and included the 2010 vintages of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, all at a suggested retail price of $9.99.
The term “naked wine” may not refer to anything risque, but that did not stop them from promoting it that way in a 2011 New York City Event complete with a half dozen half-naked men (Anthony Weiner would have been right at home). They probably should have kept the oak barrels.