Naked Wines offers customers cut price wine by paying producers upfront

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Published on Monday, 29 March 2010 16:34

Written by Richard Siddle

Naked Wines has launched a new service that allows UK consumers to buy wines for less than they cost at the cellar door by paying for them upfront in the same way you might buy an airline ticket.The online wine retailer run by Rowan Gormley is giving UK wine drinkers the chance to source wine direct from producers and therefore cut out on supply costs.

He said: "Between 40-70% of the price customers pay for wine (exc. taxes) is dead money... the cost of selling, financing, picking it up, putting it down again, packaging, storage, risk, wastage," explained Naked Wines founder, Rowan Gormley.

"Our customers will be able to eliminate this 40-70%, by booking their wines in advance, just like an airline seat."

Naked Wines claimed the move not only offered savings to consumers, but a risk-free new route to market for producers.

Gormley explained: "If you look at Australia, for example, only a third of producers currently export their wines to the UK. The barriers to entry are formidable - with hundreds of upfront costs, and no guarantee of making any money.

"It's a gamble that most winemakers cannot afford to take - but by inviting winemakers to sell their wines before they incur any cost, Naked Wines is removing this barrier."

The new service, which includes wines from the Barossa Valley, Marlborough and South Africa, coincides with a Naked Wines' website re-launch, featuring new ratings and recommendation functionality.

To find out more about the new service, called Advance bookings, visit www.nakedwines.com/advancebooking