You’ve probably had Barefoot wine. If you’ve ordered wine on a plane or been to an art gallery reception or gone to the “wine hour” at a mid-range hotel, you’ve definitely had Barefoot wine. And it’s probably been served at a quarter of the weddings you’ve been to. And even if you haven’t had Barefoot wine, somehow, you’ve seen Barefoot wine flavors in the grocery store.
If you ask me, Barefoot wine is the epitome of grocery store wine. But is Barefoot wine good? I sat down with guest Sporked taste tester (and grocery store wine lover) Emily Fleming to find out.
We tasted 17 Barefoot wine flavors, including Barefoot sparkling wines (there’s so many more than I ever expected), Barefoot fruit wines, Barefoot sweet wines, and the rest (your basic red and white wines). We assessed them purely on flavor and enjoyment. All we were looking for were the best Barefoot wine flavors to pour into a glass and drink on their own.
Though we tried not to let any personal preferences get in the way, you may notice a distinct lack of Barefoot Fruitscato on this list. It simply doesn’t taste like wine. And, really, that was our one requirement. This is Barefoot wine. So, we judged each flavor as wine. Not spiked juice. But if that’s your thing…skip the Fruitscato and get the Sweet Red Blend instead.
Here are the six best Barefoot wines, ranked.
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- Barefoot Pinot Grigio
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If you want “white wine,” then this is the best Barefoot wine for you. It’s clean, it’s crisp, it’s balanced. It’s not interesting at all. But it is totally inoffensive, easy-to-drink white wine. Buying cases of wine for some mass market event? Barefoot Pinot Grigio is there for you!
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Barefoot Moscato Spumante
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Do not let anyone shame you for liking sweet wine. A good, sweet, honeyed Moscato can be just as delicious and worthwhile as a glass of Verminto. Barefoot makes a few different iterations of Moscato, but the Moscato Spumante (sparkling Moscato) is the best one. It’s sweet, of course, but there’s also a touch of a floral flavor and acidity that help give it dimension so you aren’t just drinking sugar. The bubbles help break up that sweetness, too. If you like it sweet, this is the best Barefoot wine for your cellar (or, more likely, the spot next to the eggs where you can fit a bottle of wine in your fridge).
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Barefoot Chardonnay
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We tasted two Barefoot Chardonnays: this one and the Buttery Chardonnay. Whether you’re partial to buttery, oaky Chardonnays or not, this is the better bottle to buy (and the Buttery Chardonnay isn’t actually particularly buttery, anyway). This is a pretty darn good classic Chardonnay. It’s not overly oaky at all. It’s fruity and bright and has just enough acidity to balance out the touch of oakiness. It even made a Chardonnay convert out of Emily, who thought she hated Chardonnays. If you, too, think you don’t like Chardonnays because you don’t like the idea of licking an oak barrel, I implore you to try this one.
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Barefoot Brut Cuvee
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Out of all the sparkling Barefoot wine flavors we tried, this is the best one. It’s tart and lemony, delightfully spritzy, and not sweet at all. It’s a good food wine with the right amount of acidity (I’d pair it with shellfish or a seafood chowder), but it’s also a perfectly acceptable toasting wine if you’re on a budget. By the time midnight rolls around on New Year’s Eve no one really cares, anyway. They just want something bubbly in their glass. And if it tastes pretty good to boot (like this wine does), well, that’s just a bonus.
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Barefoot Merlot
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I am shocked to be ranking a Merlot as one of the best Barefoot wine flavors. I, like many of you, suffer from Sideways disease, which causes me to be unfairly prejudiced against Merlot. I anticipate it being flabby and overly fruity. But, as this Barefoot Merlot proves, that’s just not the case. It’s fruity, for sure—like jammy blueberries—but it has enough of a tannic backbone to stand up to that fruitiness. It could even handle a bit of a chill if you’re into the whole chilled reds thing (I am). If you’re a red wine drinker, this is the best of all the Barefoot wine flavors for you.
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc
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It’s bright, it’s grassy, it has that touch of green pepper you look for in a Sauvignon Blanc. It’s undeniably good! It’s extremely food-friendly, thanks to the zippy acidity. But you can also pour an ice cold glass of this wine and drink it on its own, no problem. Emily and I don’t always see eye-to-eye when it comes to alcohol, but we both instantly agreed that this was the best Barefoot wine to buy. I let her take the rest of the bottle home, but only because I am so very kind.
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
Pinot Grigio
Moscato Spumante
Chardonnay
Brut Cuvee
Merlot
Sauvignon Blanc
Other Barefoot wine flavors we tried: Sweet Red Blend, Fruitscato Strawberry, Fruitscato Peach, Pink Moscato, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bubbly Pinot Grigio, Extra Dry, Pink Moscato, Moscato, Buttery Chardonnay, Riesling
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!