Napa ’ s Raymond Vineyards and winemaker Jean-Charles Boisset in 2015 . The business now includes a number of still and sparkling wines , including a Napa Cabernet , a Carneros Chardonnay and , new in 2019 , a French sparkling rosé .
STING – in 1997 the musician and former front man of the Police , together with his wife Trudie Styler , purchased the Il Palagio Estate in Tuscany , south of Florence . As well as producing wine , the Estate produces olive oil and honey . A blend of sangiovese , cabernet sauvignon and merlot , the estate ’ s flagship wine is ‘ Sister Moon ’ ( named after Stings song of the same name ). Another of their reds is fittingly named ‘ Message in a Bottle ’!
GREG NORMAN - the great Australian golfer founded his wine company , Greg Norman Estates , in 1996 on Australia ’ s Limestone Coast . Today the shark-emblazoned label , that will be familiar to all you golfers out there , appears on bottles of wine from California , Australia and New Zealand . The Estate has had fourteen wines with a 90 + points score , and countless wines have won awards and accolades from all over the world . His 1999 Reserve Shiraz received the distinction of being the No . 8 wine in the world in “ Top 100 Wine in the World ” List .
GRAHAM NORTON – he has a range of wines that all sell under the his own ‘ GN ’ label ’. The wines are a collaboration between the chat show host and New Zealand winery Invivo . The venture started in 2014 with a 14,000-bottle run of ‘ Norton ’ s Own ’ Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough . The freshly picked Marlborough grapes were apparently brought to London , to be crushed by the hosts feet on the set of his show , with the juice then being taken back to New Zealand and added to the wine ! So popular did his first wine prove to be , that more GN wines have followed - a ‘ Graham Norton ’ s Own Shiraz ’ from the Barossa Valley in South Australia , a ‘ Graham Norton ’ s Own Rosé ’ from New Zealand and a ‘ Graham Norton ’ s Own Prosecco ’ from Italy . There are also three gins , from the stable , to buy too .
SARAH JESSICA PARKER – in 2019 the Sex and the City star also launched her own wine label in collaboration with Invivo . The wines trade under the label ‘ Invivo X SJP – Sarah Jessica Parker ’. The first wine was the ‘ Invivo X SJP Sauvignon Blanc ’ from Marlborough in New Zealand . Sales soared and in June 2020 she launched her second wine , the ‘ Invivo X SJP Provence Rosé ’. Her wines have been enormously well received around the world and have won numerous awards . Her Sauvignon Blanc has received an incredible six gold medals in international wine competitions and three 90 + ratings . She , herself , has been involved in the wine making process , from blending the wine , to designing the label and merchandise , and even sitting on the board of the company .
CAMERON DIAZ – the actress and American entrepreneur , Katherine Power , have recently entered the fray too , by launching the ‘ clean ’ wine brand Avaline . Made from organic grapes ( vegan and free of additives ) we find a Spanish white wine ( a blend of xarello , macabeo and malvasia ), a rosé ( a blend of grenache , cinsault , caladoc , syrah and cabernet sauvignon ) and a red ( a blend of grenache and syrah ).
ANTONIO BANDERAS – in 2009 he bought a 50 % interest in a ten-year-old winery called Anta Bodegas in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain . He subsequently renamed it , for himself , as Bodegas Anta Banderas . When he made the deal , he said that he wanted to be involved first-hand in all the production processes .
I could add to the list many others : Dan Aykroyd , Nick Faldo , Mick Hucknall , Kate Hudson , Nicki Minaj , Mary J Blige , Post Malone – the list goes on and on and on ! So , what is it with the famous , the celebrities , and the wine world ? Some people suggest that , for them , it is something of a status symbol to buy a vineyard , or to launch a wine . That may , or may not , be true , I don ’ t know ( I guess we would have to ask them ). However , I doubt this , or that this is the only reason for their involvement in the wine world . Research reveals that these celebrities have a genuine love of wine , are genuinely interested in wine , possess good wine knowledge and play an active part in the venture they have become part of .
I guess it would be easy to be a little sceptical about celebrity wines ; maybe think they are just mass produced bottles of plonk that sell because of the celebrity name associated with it . Indeed , studies show that consumers show a greater affiliation to , and recall of , products that have been endorsed by celebrities , regardless of whether they are a fan or not . If a fan , they place an even higher value on a product being endorsed by that celebrity . This is clearly a factor with celebrity wines . However , to get the consumer to come back for more , the product has to be good too . Indeed Paul Schaafsma , owner of London-based drinks distributor Benchmark Drinks , has recently gone on record as stating , when commenting on Kylie Minogue ’ s new wine label : “ As much as the wine industry wants to educate , people want something fun that fits with their lifestyle , and Kylie is friendly and easy going . They buy the first bottle because of her and come back for more because of the quality of the wine – celebrity wines are bringing new consumers into the category .”
One thing that research tells us is that many of the so called celebrity wines are actually very good , are acclaimed , have won numerous awards and are loved the world over . Another incontrovertible fact is that these wines are a huge commercial success . Since launching her range of wines , earlier this year , Kylie Minogue has sold over half a million bottles of her Provence rosé . It is now the top-selling rosé over £ 7 at Tesco , with Paul Schaafsma being on record as stating that her wine range is the most successful product launch he has ever been involved in . The Ian Botham range of wines is also reported to have been a roaring success , with the brand totting up almost £ 4m of sales in 2020 alone , growing at a rate of 228 % yearon-year and is currently on sale in 14 countries , which are largely cricketing nations , including Australia , New Zealand and Sri Lanka . The sale of Graham Norton ’ s Prosecco is currently up 83 % year on year , while volume sales of his New Zealand Sauvignon are up by 200 % in the UK since 2018 . The success of the Sarah Jessica Parker and Graham Norton ranges has helped Invivo grow its exports by 62 % in 2020 alone . Since launching their white blend and their rosé , Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power , have sold over 120,000 bottles of Avaline . With its red blend added , it is reported that their wines are on sale in 2,000 stores across forty US states , with the Avaline Red selling nearly 20,000 bottles in its first week alone .
The facts speak for themselves . The pulling power of celebrity backing for a wine is huge . Sales of these wines prove it . By the same token , however , the quality seems to ensure continued sales . People return for more . Whether you like the concept or not , these wines are a huge commercial success and are here to stay . A refreshing change for the wine world – or not ? You decide . One thing , however , is that these wines are clearly creating a surge of interest in the world of wine . That cannot be a bad thing .
44 wirrallife . com