For an independent winemaker, bottling the wine is only half the journey.
The real triumph comes when the juice is finally poured – to be enjoyed in the most special moments.
And it doesn’t get much more special than your Christmas table.
To show you what we mean, we asked our winemakers one simple question: how does it really feel to know your wines are being shared by Angels at Christmas?
For Oscar Quevedo, it’s deeply, deeply moving
"Honestly, it makes me emotional. A farmer in the Douro works all year thinking about the vineyard, the weather, the harvest, and sometimes you forget that at the end there is a family somewhere opening the bottle. To know that the Angels helped make this wine possible, and now it is on their table at Christmas, far away from our village, it is like we are part of the family. It is the best gift for a winemaker."
JP Lacaze knows you're half a world away, but it doesn’t feel like it
"Normally, as a winemaker, you make a wine, put it in a bottle, send it thousands of kilometres away and rarely know what happens next. With the Angels, there is a connection. They helped us make the wine possible, and now that same bottle will be opened at Christmas tables all over the UK. Somebody might discover it for the first time, somebody might save it for Christmas dinner, and somebody will hopefully argue over who gets the last glass."
To Adrian and Rebecca Santolin, it makes all the hard work worth it
"We spend so much time thinking about the fruit and the winery, but ultimately wine is made to be enjoyed. Knowing Angels helped make these wines possible, and seeing them opened at your Christmas tables, is incredibly rewarding. As a small family winery, that connection makes all the early mornings, long days and vintage chaos completely worthwhile!"
Adam Barton still has to pinch himself
"Honestly, this is the one thing that always blows me away. No matter what your family looks like, our Rabbit & Spaghetti wines have been shared by Angels on the big stages of their lives for over 15 years, and I still can’t quite believe it.”
Johan Kruger is sending love to your family
“It makes me the happiest man in the world. I have this motto about our Old Vines: it is like having a conversation with your grandfather, you shut up and listen to the wisdom they have accumulated over the years. In that is humility, generosity and a lot of love, as it is with Christmas! If our wine is shared amongst your loved ones, including your elders, there are few things that bring more joy to my heart.”
Kieron Atkinson sees a beautiful break from the norm
"One of the strange things about winemaking is that you can sometimes make wine in a bit of a vacuum. You put all this work into a bottle, but you don’t always get to meet the people who eventually drink it. Even if it’s just one bottle on one day, knowing that something I’ve made is helping make that moment a little more enjoyable is a lovely feeling."
While Connie and Mariane Schwaderer want you to make memories
“We put so much of ourselves into every wine we make. So knowing that a bottle we made here in Chile has travelled all that way to become part of someone’s celebration means more to us than we can say. If our wine can contribute even one small drop to a memory worth keeping, that is an incredibly special feeling.”
For Nina Stocker, it provokes physical joy
"It gives me goose bumps! I feel very lucky to think that something I made with the support of Naked Wines and Angels, finds a place on someone's table for Christmas. It makes me very happy!”"
Gerd Stepp sees empty bottles as a job well done
“The Angels have supported me and my wines for so many years, and knowing that something we've worked so hard to create in the vineyard and winery becomes part of their special moments is really quite wonderful. And hopefully, there will be a few empty STEPP bottles by the end of Christmas dinner! 😊"
Richard Kershaw genuinely glows with pride
"It's wonderful. Seeing the Kershaw Elgin Chardonnay or Syrah chosen for a family's festivities, at one of the year’s most important meals, gives you a real warm glow. I especially love the feedback afterwards on how the wine tasted and how it paired with the food.”
To Denis Crespo, your Christmas toast keeps the vines alive
"A wine only truly comes to life when someone chooses to uncork and appreciate it. It is a real source of pride to know that our wines will have a place on your tables this festive season, maybe shared with the people who matter most. Every bottle you buy helps keep our vineyards alive, supports the people who work alongside us, and allows our cellar to continue from one year to the next."
For Stephen and Jamie, the distance makes it all the sweeter
"Our wines travel a very long way from our little corner of South Africa, and there is something incredibly special about imagining bottles of Arabella being opened around tables thousands of miles away. Angels give us the opportunity to make these wines, so knowing they then choose to put them on their own Christmas tables is something we never take for granted."
And for Virgile Joly, the pleasure is all shared
"Knowing that the Angels, whose support made these wines possible, take so much pleasure in sharing them with the people they love is an enormous satisfaction and a real source of pride for me as a winemaker. I love imagining that, during those same festive days, while I'm sharing beautiful bottles of wine with my loved ones, Angels are also enjoying wonderful moments with my wines."
