Our Story
Our History
At Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, we’ve always marched to the beat of our own grapes.
How do you become the world’s most loved wine brand? You start with a belief that wine should never be taken too seriously and a conviction that when you follow your heart there’s no limit to how far your vine will grow.
Take our very beginnings in 1965, when California winemaker Davis Bynum first created Barefoot Bynum Burgundy in his garage. The unconventional name referred to – what else? – the free-spirited method of crushing grapes barefoot.
Fast forward to 1986. Things really kicked off when visionary entrepreneurs Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey took the helm, renaming us Barefoot Cellars and creating the footprint label we’re known for today. Barefoot Wine’s casual name and quirky persona quickly made an impression on our fans.
In everything, you gotta have sole.
As much as we love making wine, we love supporting good people and good causes even more. This tradition goes way back and really took off when Randy Arnold joined our team in 1990 as one of the original Barefoot ambassadors (AKA Barefooters).
To this day, a passionate group of Barefooters represents us worldwide, helping us give back to communities through charity events, local causes and non-profit partnerships.
No one should be judged by the colour of their favorite grape.
When winemaker Jen Wall joined our team in 1995, Barefoot offered just four wines. Today, our diverse collection totals more than 10 wines here in the UK (check out the ‘Our Wine’ section to find out more) whilst over in the US we offer more than 30 wines, each with its own colourful, foot-stamped label.
In 1998 and with the millennium celebration around the corner, we introduced Barefoot Bubbly to our fans.
We think wine tastes better in a tee than in a tux.
We achieved another milestone in 2005, when we became part of E. & J. Gallo Winery and took our Barefoot Wine & Bubbly collection to six continents around the world. This global footprint (pun intended) has helped make us one of the world’s most recognised wine brands.
Here at Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, we can hardly believe we have an incredible 50 years of fun under our belts. Rest assured: we plan to keep on believing in and supporting the causes we love and making great wine that tastes better in a tee than in a tux.
Our Values
Don’t stop believin’ the world can be a better place.
There’s nothing more fun than making the world a better place for our friends. Over 30 years ago, we kicked off a tradition of supporting the causes we love when Randy Arnold joined the Barefoot team as one of the original Barefooters. Randy has always believed in the power of Barefoot to make the world a better place, and has helped us support our passions by partnering with non-profits across the nation. He’s been following his heart since day one and doesn’t plan on stopping. Neither do we.
Loving locally makes our world go ’round.
Decades later, we’ve been part of thousands of non-profit events with the help of Barefooters around the globe.
Just who are Barefooters? They are our voices in local communities and at events, our feet on the street. They are big-hearted advocates making a difference for the causes we love, travelling far and wide to spread the word about Barefoot Wine & Bubbly.
As diverse as the wines in our collection, Barefooters all have this in common: they celebrate the fun, cherish the quirky, and love locally.
What makes our Barefoot hearts flutter? Expressing Gratitude every chance we get.
Of course, we couldn’t do any of these things without you, our Barefoot fans. Together, we’ve been able to get Barefoot and have a great time leaving our footprint in communities far and wide.
We think wine should be all-inclusive.
At Barefoot, we believe no one should be judged by the colour of their favorite grape. In fact, we pride ourselves on making wines free from the tyranny of all wine snobbery. Everyone has the right to get Barefoot and have a great time – however they choose! We extend inclusivity to wine lovers everywhere, no matter who they are or whom they love. Whether it’s toasting same-sex marriage on top of a giant wedding cake, dancing our hearts out at PRIDE festivals, or partnering with over 100 different LGBTQ groups, we proudly celebrate diversity.
At the end of day, it’s all about having fun & staying quirky.
By staying true to our Barefoot values, we solemnly swear to keep wine more fun and less serious. Because after all, who doesn’t think wine drinking is way more fun than wine tasting?
Our Winemaker
Growing the dream, one new wine at a time.
Jennifer Wall is a native Californian, mother of three and one of the world’s most-awarded winemakers. With us for over 20 years, Jen joined the Barefoot team not long after graduating from college, where she studied Biology and dreamed of being a physician. Lucky for us, a summer spent harvesting grapes changed her mind, and in 1995 this talented young woman joined us as head winemaker. She’s been making us smile ever since with her own brand of quirky fun and irrepressible good energy.
Over the years, Jen has gone from crafting just four wines to more than 30 for our growing collection. Whether she’s working on Barefoot Bubbly or Barefoot Refresh, putting the finishing touches on her latest red blend for Barefoot Cellars or coming up with ideas for new wines like Barefoot Fusion, Jen draws on her innate curiosity and creativity to help us keep things interesting.
Why do we love Jen? She always puts her best foot forward.
Jen’s dedication has not gone unnoticed. Her wines carry the honor of being the most-awarded still and sparkling wines in U.S. competitions. All said, the wines have received over 2,000 medals, countless accolades, and – best of all – the support of legions of fans around the world.
Not only does our unfailingly upbeat winemaker craft a fantastic lineup of delicious wines, she also gives back by traveling to share the Barefoot story. She is one of our most passionate voices for the charitable causes we love. Back home in Sonoma, California, Jen pays it forward by supporting other local causes she loves like Girl Scouts of America and Catwalk for a Cure.