Jen Pfeiffer
Australia
Just sold her two millionth bottle exclusively to Naked customers, crafted at one of Victoria's most renowned family vineyards.
- With the help of funding from Naked Wines, Jen is making wines the way she wants. This is a huge win for all involved, since Jen took home the Wine Society's Young Winemaker of the Year Sommelier's Choice Award in 2009!
- One of Jen's favourite things about being a Naked winemaker is chatting with you, the people who drink her wines. So go ahead! Ask her anything.
- Before she made wines for Naked, Jen earned her family's winery a 5 Star rating from James Halliday and her meticulous approach ensures she will bring the very best out of all the grapes that she works with.
Adrian & Rebecca Santolin
Australia
A dynamic Yarra Valley duo creating stunning European-style wines
337,459 Ratings
38,895 Followers
- Adrian and Rebecca Santolin have been involved in winemaking for more than 20 years. Their dream was to one day make their own wine — but how? In a no guts, no glory move, this plucky pair used their hard-earned savings to make one barrel of Pinot Noir. The outcome was life changing...
- Their talent shone through right from the start and we snapped them up as our first Naked winemakers back in 2012. This dynamic duo are among our most popular winemakers, adored by thousands of wine-drinkers who love their European approach to the grape.
- Since those early days, the talented pair have gone from strength to strength, fuelled by their admiring Angels and a passion for crafting sensational wines. Over the first 10 years of being Naked, they scooped up 13 trophies, 55 gold medals and countless silver and bronze. And they show no signs of stopping!
Sam Plunkett
Australia
Wine is my hobby as well as my job. There is a special satisfaction working with wine - it is alive!
258,401 Ratings
34,383 Followers
- Winemaking legend Sam sources grapes from the family vineyard in the Strathbogie ranges of Central Victoria. Winemakers don't come much more in love with their job than him - he'd "happily spend everyday around tanks, barrels, stainless steel toys and wine".
He’s had a meteoric rise from self-taught winemaker to a multi award-winner and even has his own cellar door now! His winery was recently recognised as one of the Top 10 Dark Horse wineries in James Halliday's 2021 Awards.
The backing of thousands of Naked Angels has helped pave the way for Sam to continue making the great wine he loves, exclusively for you!
Adam Barton
Australia
Hugely talented winemaker from the Clare Valley
191,565 Ratings
24,476 Followers
- Adam Barton began his winemaking journey largely as a result of tasting a glass of the 1965 Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy, which he described as "magic". He was already a master craftsman when we found him, creating tiny amounts of his own premium label wines and winning big at the wine shows.
- Based in the Clare Valley, Adam has the freedom to explore different variteals and keep pushing the boundaries of experimentation to the delight of Angels' taste buds. We knew from the start he was a wine genius and Angels would love him!
- Adam's Rabbit & Spaghetti range of wines are snapped up by Angels, year in, year out. Carefully selected vineyards, passionate grower partners & lots of care and attention to the smallest detail in the winery make them an amazingly good drop.
Brian Fletcher
Australia
Veteran Australian winemaker raising the bar for Aussie wines
123,772 Ratings
17,420 Followers
- Once the chief winemaker for Evans & Tate, Brian is one of Margaret River’s greatest treasures — and ours! In 30+ years in the business, he’s collected over 50 Trophies and 100s of medals. He works with a trusted network of exceptional local growers who guarantee him the best fruit. “They're as important to the process as anything,” he says. “ It’s their grapes you are drinking and I’m the translator.”
- He’s also a wizz in European wine production, earned through back-breaking vintages in old wineries in Italy and Tunisia. In fact, it was during Brian’s 5-year stint in Italy that he truly found his wine feet and decided there was no other life for him.
- Even with a resume like his, getting Naked in 2012 was a big deal for Brian. It meant he could create his own wines in his own name and share them with big-hearted wine lovers like you. And the direct connection to chat with you is the icing on the cake!
Rob Paulazzo
Australia
Talented winemaker with a passion for NSW wine regions.
130,259 Ratings
16,881 Followers
- Having worked for McWilliams, Orlando and Giesen, Rob has bucket-loads of experience and is excited to use this knowledge to make wines under his very own label. What's more, his winery has achieved rock star status from top wine critics.
- Each drop he creates draws on incredible international experience... he's been everywhere a winemaker could want to work - Burgundy, Tuscany, Napa Valley, Niagara Peninsula and even magical Marlborough.
- Born and bred in the NSW Riverina region, and nominated for young winemaker of the year in 2008, Rob's got access to some seriously amazing fruit. And he's thrilled to be making wines exclusively for Angels!
Geoff Thompson
Australia
An award-winning master blender from South Australia
98,799 Ratings
15,496 Followers
The first winemaker in his family, Geoff got to grips with grapes in 2002 and left a promising career in photographic science to do something he was passionate about. Hard work and enviable talent saw him work his way up the wine-stained ladder to Senior Winemaker at the Tahbilk Group in Victoria, in charge of more than a million cases a year!
Building a reputation as a master blender, Geoff won a ton of gold medals and trophies for his wines - and developed an itch to branch out on his own, back in his McLaren Vale homeland. Angels helped him scratch it in 2013 when a phone call in a car park kicked off his dream to create wines under his own label for them!
With his winemaking wizardry and access to some of the best grapes in the country, Geoff has been wowing Angels with his sensational South Australian wines ever since. He’s caught the eye of the critics too. In 2022, his winery was awarded 4.5 stars in the iconic Halliday wine companion.
Ashley Horner
Australia
Naked's first fully certified organic winemaker!
93,168 Ratings
12,449 Followers
- Born and bred in the Upper Hunter Valley, Ash worked in local vineyards while helping to establish his Family Vineyard.
- He's one of the most passionate people we've ever met! When asked what he loved most about his job, his answer was "Everything! I love the action during vintage and the progression of grapes becoming a bottle to enjoy. I love the diversity and the abstract thinking you can put into creating a wine product. I also love the diversity of the people that work in the industry and how winemaking makes me feel complete in my life".
- What's the difference between Ash and the rest? His grapes are from organic vineyards and are made using fully certified organic practices!
Leighton Joy
Australia
Young chap taking over the family vineyard and turning the produce into amazing wines
47,249 Ratings
8,727 Followers
- Leighton’s eyes were opened to the idea of winemaking when he started working in his father's sultana vineyard. In 1999, his father and uncle went on to establish Pyren vineyard in the beautiful Victorian Pyrenees (now a critically acclaimed winery), and his winemaking journey began.
- Before long, Leighton had racked up crates of experience and multiple medals - including the Western Victoria Wine Challenge trophy for Best Shiraz and Best Wine. But running a small business is never plain sailing and in 2015, Pyren hit a rough spot that threatened to close its doors.
- Getting Naked changed everything for Leighton as thousands of Angels came to the rescue and tripled his wine sales overnight. Today, he continues to craft single-vineyard drops from the family’s precious vines, pouring endless amounts of honesty and integrity into each bottle. And in 2020 it earned him a spot on the Top 50 Young Guns of Wine list.
Stuart’s winemaking career is the stuff of legend. First bitten by the bug at his parents' little winery in Margaret River, he went on to make wines in the Yarra Valley, Geelong and Bordeaux, and study in Tuscany, Piedmonte, Burgundy, the Loire, Rioja and Priorat. So you could say he has a fair bit of experience!
He's been crafting wine in Margaret River for over 30 years now and helped put iconic wineries like Voyager Estate, Devils Lair, Stella Bella and Flowstone firmly on the map. There's nothing he loves more than growing grapes and making wine. And he's very good at it.
With the support of Naked Angels, Stuart has rediscovered his passion for hands-on production. His label, 'Hearts and Bones' tells a story of Margaret River and celebrates the Naked Angels that paved the way for him to make wine just the way he likes it.
