The 2014 Oh! Orgasmic meritage ($60) from Naked Winery was made by blending cabernet sauvignon with merlot and petit verdot. The meritage was aged 14 months in French and American oak, producing understated flavors of black currant, berries and chocolate. (Submitted photo)

“We aim to tease!” That’s the mantra of Naked Winery.

Based in Hood River, with tasting rooms in Bend as well as McMinnville and Seaside, it does plenty of wordplay on its labels. Where else could you hope to find Booty Call blush, Hook Up muscat, Foreplay chardonnay or Penetration cabernet?

The wines, for the most part, are not top-end. “It’s all about the fun experience,” said Bend tasting room manager Mikaela Costigan. And that seems to be what draws wine samplers to the corner space in the Old Mill District. Bachelorette parties, school reunions and other visitors, including out-of-town shoppers, are drawn to the tasting room every day — but especially on weekends.

Founded in 1999 by David and Jody Barringer with David Michalec, Naked Winery has grown slowly but steadily. It now offers 45 different wines produced in all parts of the Northwest, from Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley to Eastern Washington’s Columbia Valley and Walla Walla regions.

“We’re on a mission to cut America’s divorce rate in half!” The words posted in the tasting room are repeated on the company website. How will the Barringers do that?

“By inviting couples to shut off the electronics and share a glass of wine with each other nightly,” they say. “We aim to please the palate, change the conversation and enhance the romantic experience around wine.” And they throw in labels that, they admit, “are just a bit risqué.”

I don’t find most of the low-end wines (priced $18 to $45) to be especially memorable. Wines of the Oh! Orgasmic series ($45 to $90) are superior, as indeed they should be.

And limited-production club selections, such as the Lei’d Red Blend ($45) that I tasted on a recent visit, can be downright yummy. A blend of tempranillo, cabernet and merlot, this members-only bottle had a soft, strawberry jamlike palate and a medium-dry finish.

Flight of reds

You don’t have to be a club member to enjoy a flight of eight wines for just $15. That’s what I did on the first of my recent visits to Naked’s Bend tasting room. On that occasion, I focused on reds.

The 2014 Naked pinot noir ($28), made with Rogue Valley grapes, and 2014 Naked merlot ($25), from the Columbia Valley, had the sort of dry finish I like in any red wine. The light-bodied pinot lacked a distinctive note, however, despite wild cherry on the nose. The merlot, aged in both French and American oak in the style of cabernet sauvignon, had notes of blackberries and black currant, and high tannins that left it very dry.

The 2014 Penetration cabernet sauvignon ($45), bottled in the Tri-Cities from Columbia Valley grapes, lacked depth. Despite the tasting notes that promised “cherry and black currant fruit that dance playfully on your tongue, voluptuous body with soft oak and smooth leathery notes,” I thought it forgettable. And the 2014 Role Play red blend ($45) of tempranillo and sangiovese didn’t do justice to either of those Mediterranean grapes.

My favorite reds — and, indeed, my favorite Naked wines — were the 2014 Oh! Orgasmic meritage ($60) and syrah ($90). A blend of cabernet, merlot and petit verdot, the meritage was aged 14 months in French and American oak, producing understated flavors of black currant, berries and chocolate. The syrah, meanwhile, was aged 18 months in mainly American oak; it was immediately identifiable by white pepper on the nose and ripe plum on the palate, with smooth tannins.

The 2014 Oh! Orgasmic tempranillo ($80), a Columbia Gorge wine, was light-bodied and easy-drinking, with enough smoky notes to make it a good choice for a summer barbecue. The 2014 Oh! Orgasmic barbera ($60), a medium-bodied Italian varietal from the Columbia Valley, had more fruit and floral notes than I enjoy in a red wine designed to be enjoyed with meat.

Other red wines produced by Naked include malbec, nebbiolo and zinfandel.

White flight

On a return visit, I concentrated on white varietals. I tasted six and, unfortunately, wouldn’t return for any of them.

I began my tasting with undated Pounce sparkling wine ($55), sourced from California’s North Coast — in all likelihood, the Russian River Valley. A blend of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes were complemented with a touch of pinot meunier. This was a fruit-forward bubbly, with nowhere near the level of dry effervescence I look for.

The newly released 2016 Complicated viognier ($30), from Zillah in the Columbia Valley, had the floral grassiness typical of this style of grape, but a tropical fruitiness (mango and pineapple) that seemed out of place. The 2015 Foreplay chardonnay ($30), sourced in Southern Oregon, was pleasant enough; aged in stainless steel, it still inherited a suggestion of oak from chips added during the fermenting process. I wasn’t a fan of the 2015 Escort pinot gris ($30), also from the Rogue Valley area; it was too syrupy for a wine intended to be crisp.

Again, the Oh! Orgasmic selections impressed me the most. The 2015 albariño ($50), a Spanish varietal from the Columbia Valley, was very dry but not as soft and full as what I’ve discovered in the Umpqua Valley. The 2014 pinot blanc ($45), from the Willamette Valley, was light and tart, with a citrus edge that might go well with a Caesar salad, but it tasted acerbic on its own account.

My suggestion: Go to the Naked Winery’s Bend tasting room to be teased and to save your marriage. Sample as many wines as you like, but don’t shell out the big bucks unless you’re very sure this is a bottle you like.

— John Gottberg Anderson specializes in Northwest wines. His column appears in GO! every other week. He also writes for our food section.