The Naked Grape is a new wine brand from the Grape Valley Wine Company in California, which appears to be owned by wine-giant E. & J. Gallo. The winemaker of this pinot noir, 30 year old Hillary Stevens, is also one of the two winemakers behind another new E. & J. Gallo brand, Bear Flag Wines.
Although this wine is labeled as pinot noir, that’s not the only grape you’ll find in this bottle of wine. Yes, that’s allowed as long as 75% of the wine is the variety on the label. There’s also tempranillo, grenache and alicante bouchet. Now that’s not a grape you come across every day. But I have a hunch that it’s a variety that Stevens likes to work with, as you’ll also find this variety in the two red blends she produced under the Bear Flag brand.
It’s a non-vintage wine, which means there is no year listed on the label. I always prefer to have a year on the bottle. But given that this is a new wine on the market, if you buy a bottle within the next few months you can be pretty darn sure you’re getting the same “vintage” as I’m reviewing.
This is a light, jewel red colored wine with gads of ripe red fruit on the nose. The aromas are primarily cherry and red plum, but there’s also a Diet Coke characteristic to the nose. The palate is fresh and fruity with ripe cherry and pomegranite flavors. The tannins are a little too light, in my opinion, but the acidity is good. The finish, short. Very short. But, if fresh and fruity is what you like, then you may enjoy this pinot noir. It doesn’t have the depth or elegance to make it a rock star, but for the $9.00 price it’s a tasty wine.
Wine: The Naked Grape
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 83
Price: $9.00
Find The Naked Grape Pinot Noir with Snooth
Here’s what others thought of this wine:
Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
and for $4.99 a bottle the pinot is not half bad…gallo has been around a long time and they know their fans. My little indy grocer offers it along with Barefoot and Redwood at the same price. It is comprable if not a bit better..
I picked this up out of a close out bin for about $6 – it is a tasty little pinot noir – very light for a pinot, but stil very tasty –
I tasted this wine and thought it was amazing. I also tried the Pinot Grigio, and again, I thought it was amazing. Normally I prefer Chardonnay, but this was great. It was a tad sweet with lemony tones. Almost like a Savignon Blanc. I love this wine, but a lot of places do not carry it. I’m from Babylon, Long Island, NY. Thank you
a “diet coke characteristic”
LOL we got a pro wine taster here
Actually a cola aroma is fairly common with wines. I’m not that surprised by that description.
Garbage. I hated it. Definitely would go for any 2 buck chuck instead of this (and I hate 2 buck chuck)
Tell us how you really feel, Andy 😉
I bought the boxed version of this wine for thanksgiving. Not a bad review out of anyone, and I even had a total wine snob from Sonoma there! Can’t beat the price…I’ll definitely buy this again.
Finally, I have something else to drink besides Thunderbird!
i purchased a bottle of the Pinot NOIR on oct.6,2016 and brought it to my neighbor’s home on oct.8 2016.after uncorking the bottle,we both took a small sip to see how it tasted. It tasted great. After a few minutes we tasted again-and still great. However, after a few minutes my friend said that the wine tasted sour. i then took a drink and it had a sour and bitter taste- my friend started to feel sick. i took another drink and it still had a bitter taste. Is this normal for this wine? My friend then got really sick. i then decided to throw all of the wine down the sink. i think that there was something wrong with the wine- please advise–Thank You.
Hi Joseph. I’ve never encountered anything like that, but it’s probably best that you dumped the bottle.
Drinking it now, and sure enough, it has a cola aroma to it. Would have never of picked up on it myself.
Had this wine… and I was loving yellowtail…. This is better. Mark west kicks its ass but I saved 10 bucks
Very nice wine for 6 bucks…how to complain????