Barefoot into the NFL
A wine brand's foray into the biggest league in the world
This week, we’re exploring how an unexpected brand is leveraging a new demographic of NFL fans.
This week, while chatting with an old friend — Drew, whose wife KG runs the supremely goofy “i have great taste’ newsletter — the topic of this week’s newsletter came up: Barefoot Wine’s dive into a partnership with the NFL.
He was amazed at the idea, and honestly, that’s what made me bite on the PR pitch as well. In the zeitgeist, Barefoot has firmly established itself as an affordable wine targeted toward a female clientele.
Well, that’s precisely why Barefoot Wine is entering its fourth year as the Official Wine Sponsor of the NFL.
How a wine brand is diving into the NFL
For most brands, if they can afford it, partnering with the NFL seems like a pretty good idea.
It’s a brand almost too big to fail. The NFL has the largest fanbase in the US, with 218 million fans. And with a recent surge in women joining that base, Gallo’s Barefoot Wine believed it was an ideal partnership to help boost its status in the eyes of consumers, hoping to cement its place alongside beer in the cooler.
“One of our core goals at Gallo is to make wine more approachable and relevant— finding new ways for people to enjoy it more often,” said Beth Orozco, Gallo vice president of marketing. “The NFL’s massive fan base is a perfect match for that because it blends pop culture, entertainment, and sports in a way that really resonates with the consumer. We saw an opportunity to bring wine into the game day experience in a fun, unexpected way.”
The recent explosion of the Kelces, between the media emergence of former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie, and Travis Kelce’s very public relationship with global superstar Taylor Swift, has also helped grow attention to the sport.
Barefoot said the “Swift Lift” brought an 11% surge in female viewership as broadcasters incessantly showed Swift’s box when she was at a game.
An astute brand, Barefoot decided to capitalize on the Kelce boom, with a partnership with Donna Kelce.
They created the Barefoot Bandwagon Box contest, which allowed fans to learn about football and wine with Donna and Barefoot winemaker Jen Wall. They then Donna provided game-day tips to help host Super Bowl parties.
“With pop stars and cultural icons boosting NFL viewership to record levels, we saw an opportunity to connect with this new wave of fans,” Orozco said. “We wanted to make wine feel like a natural part of that NFL excitement.”
Realizing “WAGs” (wives and girlfriends of athletes) are more significant than ever, Barefoot took that cue last year, grabbing partnerships with Olympic gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles and podcaster Allison Kuch.
With Biles, wife of Chicago Bear Jonathan Owens, Barefoot offered the “BandWAGon” a behind-the-scenes peek of VIP access to games. With Kuch, wife of retired NFLer Isaac Rochell, they provided behind-the-scenes content from Super Bowl LIX.
“When the 2024–25 season kicked off, NFL WAGs were really shaping the culture,” Orozco said. “Each of these partners bring their own personality to football culture, which helps us meet fans right where they are, in the heart of the action.”
This month, the NFL Draft will take up a considerable portion of the sports bandwidth. Orozco said Barefoot is always looking for ways to bring wine to new occasions but played coy about any plans around the draft or the upcoming NFL season.
“Right now, we’re focused on deepening our partnership with the NFL and strengthening our connection with NFL fans,” Orozco said. “it’s the perfect platform for Barefoot to connect with new consumers who might not usually reach for wine. Football is all about bringing people together, and more than ever, we’re seeing new fans join the conversation. Wine has traditionally been tied to mealtime, but this partnership is helping shift that perception by bringing wine into new social moments and making it more relevant in culture.
“Plus, with more women joining the fan base and the exposure to such a large male audience, the partnership is broadening who thinks about wine. As America’s favorite wine and the brand that brings in the most new wine buyers, Barefoot is the ideal brand to introduce football fans to wine in a fun, approachable way.”
Fun reads of the week
The only Hooters experience I have is when I was stuck in Phoenix while covering the Michigan State basketball team back in 2012. They had lost in the Sweet 16. With the trip booked assuming they’d make it to the Elite 8, my photographer, Matt, and I had three extra days. Hooters in Scottsdale was the only restaurant open after we hiked Camelback Mountain, and we needed a beer.
Well, now Hooters has filed for bankruptcy and will undergo a “re-Hooterization” to become more family-friendly. It’s a wild ride for a company that’s had an airline, a Las Vegas casino-hotel, and a weird partnership with golfer John Daly.
Meanwhile, The Atlantic dove into the chain’s struggles, while another “breastaurant,” Twin Peaks, is growing like crazy.
The 2000s were a wild time, particularly for a weird category of alcohol: alcoholic energy drinks. VinePair dives into the strange trend.
Old can be cool. My face lit up like a lamp when Punch included Sierra Nevada, founded in 1980, in its “The Who’s Who of Beer Cool in 2025.”
What we’re drinking
I whipped up Drew, in town from NYC, an Old Fashioned featuring the fantastic everyday, affordable bourbon, Four Roses. I also introduced him to Long Drink.
A few weeks ago, Deep Eddy sent me some Pineapple Vodka. Mix that with some pineapple juice, and it’s one of the most dangerous things around. Well, more recently, they sent some warm weather flavored vodka do’s and don’ts:
“Keep it in the fridge” — Freezing is a no-no, but refrigeration does not noticeably alter flavored vodka’s chemistry (Think: where you would typically store any fruit). Unflavored vodka can live in the freezer just fine, owing to its neutral composition.
“Don’t keep on the bar cart forever” — Deep Eddy Vodka doesn’t let its product sit on any shelf – in any store – for more than two years, even in its sealed container, because fresh fruit can only stay fresh for so long. That same protocol applies to bottles at home, and even more so because those bottles typically will have been opened.
“Not all water mixes the same.” — Mixing flavored vodka with mineral or sparkling mineral water elongates vodkas’ flavors (especially when those flavors are from natural fruit) while club soda brings out a bold *pop* of citrus instantaneously.
Didn't know about the Barefoot partnership, that's smart. Or a Hooters airplane, not as smart. But I need pineapple vodka for summer!