We were interested to see recently that Kylie Minogue has become one of the UK’s fastest growing wine brands.
It follows something of a trend amongst celebrities to launch their own wine labels. As well as Kylie, there’s Gary Barlow who launched is organic wine line back in October last year; Brad and Angelina branched out into the wine world with their Miraval project – although that seems to be more talked about for their divorce than for their wines right now.
Then you’ve got the likes of Graham Norton with Graham Norton’s Own, Philip Schofield with his “When in Rome” collection, John Legend has his LVE brand.
We’ve nothing against celebrity wine brands. It’s true that they often get a jump start on the rest because they have a big name behind them, but ultimately, it’s the wine that counts – and that’s what interests me about the above projects. Two things particularly.
One is the abundance of Rosé wines that feature in these celebrity line ups. Kylie's recent success comes off the back of her Prosecco Rosé launch. Brad’s Miraval vineyard is largely focused on a Côtes de Provence Rose; John Legend’s LVE brand is heavily pushing their “French Rosé”. It seems like Rosé is the celebrity’s choice right now. Interesting given that Rosé wine accounts for only about 10% of wine consumption worldwide (according to a recent report from Vins de Provence).
But the other thing we find interesting is how Spanish wine features in this trend – or doesn’t to be more precise. It’s true that Spanish footballers Andrés Iñesta and David Silva have each launched Spanish vineyards - in Manchuela and Gran Canaria respectively. But the Anglo-Saxons seem to be overlooking the great wines that Spain offers.
Which is why we want to raise a glass to Gary Barlow. Despite his professed love of Italian wine, he has opted for a range of Spanish wines – and all of them organic. They only came out in October, so time will tell how they fare against the others, but it’s good to see that at last Spanish wine is getting a bit more recognition.
We don’t stock celebrity wines, but we do have two equivalents below that you can buy if you fancy sampling a bit of the celebrity lifestyle.
Grimau Brut Rosat
Kylie’s best-seller may be an Italian Prosecco, but we think Spanish Cava is much better. Cava is produced using the same method as champagne where secondary fermentation – the one that gives you the fizz, takes place in the bottle, whereas with Prosecco takes place in a large stainless-steel tank. So, Cava has much more of the subtle flavours that come with bottle fermentation. Try our Grimau Brut Rosat if you're looking for something in the Kylie line.
Viña Clavidor
Gary Barlow’s celebrity white is a 50% Verdejo 50% Viura blend, screw top wine. It just so happens our own Viña Clavidor has exactly the same profile. Which means you not only have a chance to try the Gary Barlow experience, you can also enjoy a 100% organic wine that is wonderfully refreshing in the summer heat with tastes of white fruit, mountain herbs and mineral notes.
