IT is the latest celebrity trend that seems to be paying dividends for more and more stars - launching their own wines, with the best selling Rose brand in the UK revealed to be from the cellar of none other than a superstar from Down Under.
Kylie?
Good guess. The Australian singer, who topped the charts in 1987 with The Locomotion and has sold more than 80 million records so far, is also now topping the wine charts. New data this week revealed that since launching Kylie Minogue Wines in 2020, her Rose prosecco is the number one seller in the UK, shifting more than 3.5 million bottles.
How much money do these stars need?
Kylie said: “I am unbelievably humbled and thrilled by the global response to Kylie Minogue Wines…I have been so touched by the joy that Kylie Minogue Wines continue to bring to so many people throughout the world.” But yes, her wine venture has made her £7.7m in a year so that is also quite joyful for Ms Minogue.
And she is not alone?
TV talk show host and novelist Graham Norton also has his own 'GN Wines' brand, which he personally blends, including a rose prosecco, Italian prosecco and a South African sauvignon blanc, and now has a pink and Irish dry gin on the go too.
And?
The list is surprisingly long and diverse, from Phillip Schofield and Gordon Ramsay to Sir Ian Botham and Gary Barlow.
Take that!
And party! Singer songwriter Barlow launched his own organic brand last autumn, inspired by his time in Spain, featuring packaging with piano keys in a nod to his musical career. However, when he posted an image of himself holding a glass of red with his bottles next to him on Twitter and asked followers to ‘caption this’, he got more than he bargained for, with responses including jokes about tax avoidance and ‘Could it be Malbec?’ in a nod to the band’s ‘Could it be Magic’ cover.
Beefy?
Cricket star Sir Ian - nicknamed Beefy by peers and fans - has been involved in wine production for more than 20 years, with his own range launched at Lords in 2018.
What about Hollywood?
In 2008, Brad Pitt and then partner Angelina Jolie bought the Château Miraval estate in Provence, France. The couple split and Jolie sold her shares in 2021, but her ex is still an owner of the estate, which now produces champagne. His champagne house Fleur de Miraval produced just 20,000 bottles in its first edition in 2020 and sold it for $390 per bottle. Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker has also teamed up with the same winery as Mr Norton, Invivo, to release 'SJP's Sauvignon Blanc' which retails for £12.
Wine is booming?
Online wine sales surged 234 per cent in 2020 during lockdown life and if you look at April 2020 specifically at the peak of lockdown, the sales spiked more than 500%. Rose is one of the best sellers. Among 25 to 34-year-olds in the UK, twice as many enjoy it as 35 to 54-year-olds and four times as often as the over-55 demo.
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