Every Barefoot Wine, Ranked Worst To Best

As the "most awarded wine in the world", Barefoot is proudly carried in shops across the world. This brand, originally from Modesto, California, only produced four wines back when it was founded in 1995. Their slogan "Get Barefoot and Have a Great Time!" speaks to their ethos and the color-coded bottles are easy to decipher. Although the brand has modest beginnings, they have expanded and become a loved wine brand. How loved are they, exactly? Well, in 2020, Barefoot wine was the number one best-selling wine brand in the world. The recognizable foot logo is a nod to how the wines should be enjoyed — barefoot and free. 

Now with a vast range of wines, from still and sparkling, from sweet whites to dry, bold reds, Barefoot is attempting to show the world that it may, in fact, be possible to produce good wines in a large quantity. Although much of wine is subjective and can vary based on factors like environment and meal, we looked at the range of barefoot wines to see which wines in their portfolio are worth grabbing on your next wine run, and which may be better off on the shelf.

You have to know what you're getting into when you open a bottle of Barefoot White Zinfandel. What you'll find once you unscrew the cap is a sweet, fruity wine. It's best to drink this wine ice cold. Heck, you can even get wild and toss an ice cube in there. Simply put, this is a textbook sweet white zinfandel, which is great if you're looking for something straightforward that doesn't require a lot of mental power to process. This is more picnic in the park or brunch with friends than it is whip out your notebook and jot down tasting notes.

But it isn't all bad news here because the fruit and intensity in Barefoot's White Zinfandel are balanced and it has a sweetness that isn't overwhelmingly luscious. There are notes of ripe strawberries but there other tropical notes here too. Juicy, ripe peaches are also very prominent.

With its perky bubbles and bright pink hue, this Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato is ready to party! But with all the sugar content in this wine, you'll be so buzzed the party might end early. Traditional versions of sparkling Moscato are known to be sweet but this really just crosses that threshold from enjoyable into overwhelming territory. It comes in near the bottom of our list because the cherry candy flavor and syrupy notes just feel too unnatural to be remotely enjoyable. 

It's not all doom and gloom with this Barefoot bubbly Moscato, though. It gets some points for being a fun wine that would possibly do in a pinch if you were looking for some bubbles and didn't have many options. But to fully enjoy this wine, we think it'd get a lot more mileage mixed with seltzer and other components for a dry cocktail, zippy punch, or zesty spritz. 

Barefoot seems to have the sweet wine category firmly in its grasp. And they've really got their finger on the pulse. Americans do have a strong preference for sweet wines, which may explain how Barefoot wine became so popular in the first place. Its signature Rosé, described on the bottle as "delightfully sweet" is luscious with intense fruity notes of strawberries, bubblegum, cherries, and watermelon. (And for what it's worth, this is a completely different wine from their White Zinfandel and it's not their Pink Moscato)

Sweet wines need acid to help make sure the wines are not too over-the-top cloying but unfortunately, this lacks exactly that. This is also slightly carbonated so it may be your ideal drink on a summer day with its refreshing fizz. It comes in at the middle of the list because you can make an easy spritz out of this to take it up a notch.

Barefoot's Red Moscato is an interesting wine concept, for sure. It's a lighter red wine that's sweet and somehow has the bright floral and subtle citrus notes of a moscato. There's also some red cherry and cranberry in this red moscato, along with some red berry notes. Some sweet wines can be pretty rich and heavy, with high alcohol content. But Barefoot's Red Moscato has 9% alcohol which is relatively low for a rich, red wine and because of that, it is not too heavy or overwhelming of a wine. So you can sip to your heart's content without getting bombarded with heavy notes. 

Now it's unclear if this red moscato is some type of red wine blended with a moscato or what, but it doesn't seem to matter much here. This red moscato is one of Barefoot's more delicious and refreshing sweet wines and would work well as a digestif-type end to a big, hearty meal.

There have been quite a lot of sweet wines on this list. It's definitely one of Barefoot's areas of expertise, but also it's what the market is asking for. So we were pleasantly surprised to discover this wine. This Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc showcases the brands versatility and range because it is actually bone dry. But because of that, it stands out amongst the other wines in their range. 

This Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc is loaded with intense fruit notes like pear, green apple, citrus, lime, lemon, and gooseberry. It is zippy and bright and just begs to be drunk while sitting poolside. Next best scenario? Paired with a fresh, green-vegetable heavy salad to bring out all of those fun vegetal notes.  We rated this high on our list because it has all of the intensity, balance and bright fruit notes that we want out of a sauvignon blanc and for only $6.

Barefoot lists their sweetness levels on sweet wines which is a wonderfully straightforward way to inform the consumer. There's a wine labeled deliciously sweet and one labeled as refreshingly sweet, for example. And it's a good idea to clear it up sweetness levels because Riesling is known for being delicious with or with sweetness. Riesling is a grape that thrives in cooler climates. It allows the grapes to slowly ripen, which manifests as great balance with sugar and acid. All that means is that the wines will taste more in sync on the palate. 

Now a California-grown Riesling alone is enough to raise some eyebrows, but Barefoot has mastered the art of making quaffable wines that appeal to a lot of palates. And that is exactly what their Barefoot Riesling accomplishes here. Notes of ripe peach, honey and green apple converge with some acidity to make a delicious rendition of this grape. 

Barefoot's Chardonnay is a delicious foray into the world of this wonderful grape, which also happens to be the most popular white variety in the world. Because there's already a creamy, butter-forward version of chardonnay from Barefoot, this one is on the dryer side (with just a hint of sweetness), with notes of fresh green apples, mega-ripe peaches, and touches of honey as well as vanilla. It's a simple wine, which isn't at all an insult here. The pared-down simplicity of this wine means it's flexible, so it can be a wine that accompanies a meal or one that's just meant to share with friends at an impromptu after-work hang out.

But this wine is more exciting than some of Barefoot's other offerings because there is enough acid to help balance the wine. Sure you can sip on this for a happy hour with friends but it would also hold up nicely to food like a succulent tuna dish or a pasta with rich white sauce.

Barefoot's Merlot is our top pick for so many reasons, but most of all, we could not resist its juicy cherry notes. (Take that, "Sideways"!) A well-made merlot is typically a tasty balance of acid and tannins, and will have pure fruit notes of red and black fruits like ripe cherries and juicy plums. And that's exactly what Barefoot's merlot brings to the table here. 

There's a lush interplay of tannins and fruit with no harshness and no green notes. Simply put, it's a delicious wine! And compared to the rest of the Barefoot range, this one seems to know itself the most. There's no awkwardness here and definitely no imbalance or confusion. The deep chocolate and jammy blackberry notes are a pleasant surprise, and they help to make this Barefoot merlot so pleasant to drink. Try this Merlot with some spicy Italian sausage and pasta to see it magically rise to the occasion.