Drink Me. I’m Famous

Admittedly I am the first one to scoff at celebrities hawking eponymous branded consumer products and venues. There is something inherently comical and narcissistic in the idea that a pending Oscar or a top charted song on iTunes is an obvious stepping stone to a fashion brand, restaurant, or beauty product. I find this career transition particularly amusing when it comes to the world of wine, given that wine making is clearly one of the most difficult crafts to master. Typically, most celebrities’ entry into the world of wine is fleeting as they engage in partnerships where they have minimal input into the actual production of the wine and instead opt to lend their name to the branding of the bottle. To me, having a quick foray into the wine industry in exchange for a licensing deal using the star’s logo and imagery simply seems like a recipe for disappointment.

Through equal parts curiosity, irony, and lack of concern for my health, I have tried several celebrity wines only to be ever more disappointed. In a moment of love at first sight which quickly turned into a bad romance, I once tried the ever-handsome Antonio Banderas’ Ribera Del Duoro, a Spanish Tempranillo which was a disaster from the first sip. The best part of the wine was the bottle, so I call this the “looks can be deceiving” wine. Never to be tried again, but at least Antonio will always have his looks. I’ll rate it 1 star. In an effort to support a music icon whose songs are featured prominently on my iPod, I have also tried Madonna’s humbly named Madonna Pinot Noir wine. This wine was marginally less dreadful. I call it the “I’ll use this to make pasta sauce but not actually when I want to enjoy drinking wine” wine. Two thumbs down and 1.5 stars. Lastly, in a moment of…I’m not entirely sure what, I tried the Real Housewives of New York cast member Ramona Singer’s “Ramona Pinot Grigio” wine. Boring and lifeless yet acceptable so I’ll refer to it as the “drink if you’re already drunk” wine. I’ll be kind and give it 2.5 stars.

After these dismal experiences, it seemed that a celebrity’s name on a wine bottle was solely for the purpose of narcissism or to diversify their personal brand into new moneyspinners. As such, I assumed that celebrity-branded wines were to be used as a source of small talk or celebrity shaming, as it never occurred to me that celebrities with no true experience of the food or wine sector were capable of providing a viable option for drinking.

Enter Brangelina.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decided that they weren’t being quite ambitious enough in their film and philanthropic endeavors and opted to buy a wine estate in Provence for $60 million. The winery was built in 1841, is situated on a 1,200-acre estate in the village of Correns, France, and has 35 rooms and 926 acres of fountains, gardens, and woodlands. The result? Miraval rosé.

In 2012, the couple decided to work with the Perrin family, their wine-producing partners, to produce a select number of rosé wines. Their 2013 vintage won critical acclaim as one of Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines of the year.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3034497/Brangelina-s-French-wine-finally-hits-High-street-Hollywood-couple-s-2014-Miraval-Rose-available-18-bottle.html

In an effort to complete truly effective research for this blog post (and in no way as an excuse to drink), I decided to seek out this wine to see just how “marvelous” it truly was. As an avid rosé drinker I was prepared to do a tasting of Chateau Miraval in the name of scientific research and to test the hypothesis that celebrity wine ≠ quality. The result? It was absolutely divine. Light, fruity, and able to transcend all seasons. A strong and surprising 4 out of five stars.

Perhaps the key is to become truly involved in all aspects of the process of wine making, so as to have a bit more ownership over the end product. Brad and Angelina have recently said that they intend to expand into a new varietal, given the suitable terrain of the Miraval valley and its similarity to the Tuscan region. http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-plan-super-provence-red-wine-with-perrin-family-30025/. Though I’ll likely be sticking to the wines I have grown to love from producers who have dedicated their lives to the wine industry, I am very happy to see that the classic trap of celebrity-turned-winemaker does not always apply. Hats off to them.