You're the wine that I want: After Grease legend Olivia Newton-John launches her own vintage, OLLY SMITH gives his verdict on the top celebrity tipples
- Olivia Newton-John announced she is to release a merlot and chardonnay
- She's among the stars securing winemakers to make their wines stand out
- Cliff Richard and Brad Bitt and Angelina Jolie also produce own vintages
Vintage notes: Olivia Newton-John with her nephew, Emerson, and a bottle of her new wine
How thrilling to taste wine made by your favourite A-lister. Not so enthralling when the flavours in your glass taste like the bitter tears of a wannabe Z-lister.
For example, I love AC/DC’s classic rocker You Shook Me All Night Long. But when I tasted their moscato wine, released under the same name, it shook me all right – but not in a good way.
Last week, singer and actress Olivia Newton-John announced she is to release a merlot and chardonnay from California’s Sonoma wine region under her ‘Pink and Blue For Two’ label, with ten per cent of the proceeds going to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer And Wellness Centre in Australia and a further ten per cent to the PB42.org campaign committed to the early detection of prostate and breast cancer.
The chardonnay is produced in Anderson Valley, northern California, and is said to have ‘huge personality’. The merlot has also received rave reviews for being ‘fruity but not bombastic’.
Newton-John is among a select band of savvy celebs who are securing top-notch winemakers to make sure their signature wines exude star quality.
For instance, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Miraval rosé from their estate in Provence is overseen by the Perrin family of famed Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Similarly, the actor Sam Neill’s wines from New Zealand’s Otago under his Two Paddocks label are, for my money, some of the finest pinots from the region.
Sam’s attention to detail is laudable. He told me when I visited him that his aim is ‘discreet winemaking respectful of vineyard’. But crucially, Sam’s winemaker Dean Shaw, again, is a real talent.
At a recent dinner with England’s Aussie-busting fast bowler Jimmy Anderson at Lord’s, Jimmy gave me the tip-off that he too is releasing a wine. For a first release, as you’ll see on this page, it’s a decent stab.
Elegant offering: Sam Neill, left, with Olly Smith at his Two Paddocks vineyard Otago, New Zealand
But he’s not the first cricketer or sportsman to do it – Ian Botham and Bob Willis teamed up with Aussie winemaking legend Geoff Merrill to release their hearty range, and golfer Ernie Els in South Africa is making wines that are genuinely outstanding.
These bottles may cost a few bob more than your average plonk, but pick the right celebrity wine and you can bask in its stellar appeal.
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