Wine Review: Barefoot Pinot Noir

 Barefoot Pinot Noir

     According to a study on stastia.com , Barefoot was the top selling brand of table wine in the United States in 2021. And not by a narrow margin either, Barefoot leads the pack at 664.14 million in sales. Second place is Sutter Home trailing behind at 425.3 million.

     Barefoot Cellars is owned by parent company E&J Gallo who also own some other brands you may have heard of including, but not limited to, Arbor Mist, Ecco Domani, Carnivor, Dark Horse, Black Box, Blackstone and Boone's Farm.

     Barefoot is my go-to brand when I feel guilty about spending money on wine instead of something important, like food or the mortgage. 

     Barefoot Cellars is located in Modesto, California and was originally founded by Davis Bynum in 1965 when he created the first Barefoot Bynum Burgundy in his garage. That's nice and all but things didn't really get interesting until Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey took over in 1986. They initiated a massive PR campaign, changing the name to Barefoot Cellars and creating the footprint label and quirky persona that the brand is known for today. Personally, I try not to dwell on the idea of someone's bare feet in my drink but that's just me.

     Barefoot Pinot Noir does not disclose a vintage but I've been drinking it for years and have always found it to be pretty consistent. For a $5 wine, this Pinot Noir is very enjoyable and has subtle flavors of cherry and oak, maybe a bit of vanilla. At 12.5% Alc/Vol, I wouldn't be embarrassed to serve it to dinner guests who probably wouldn't regret drinking it as I have experienced no headache or acid reflux after two glasses.

     On a side note, Barefoot Pinot Noir can be ordered directly through their website at barefootwine.com. There is even a coupon for 20% off your first order and most of the bottles are priced at $5. However, unless you live hundreds of miles from the nearest watering hole, I don't actually recommend ordering online because the shipping is outrageous. Just for fun, I put three bottles of $5 wine in my cart and the cheapest shipping option was $35, which is more than double the cost of my order. Not for nothin' but you could take that same $35 for shipping and buy seven more bottles of Barefoot wine at WalMart. Just sayin'.