The world of celebrity is, in the present day, inescapable. If you wish to get away from the famous names and faces that dominate the news, the Oscars, and every advertisement plastered on public transport, I regretfully have to inform you that the world of wine is not a safe space. I’m sure the experience is familiar: scouting the shelves of the local supermarket for a suitable tipple, when all of a sudden your eyes cross a name that looks a little out of place. It is not uncommon to find, among the swathes of known brands and French villages that are nigh-impossible to pronounce, the names of singers, TV personalities, and even rappers.
These bottles, perhaps aiming to give consumers a friendly face to aid in their selection of a wine, have always intrigued me. While other wine brands rely on the quality of their product, or indeed its appealing price point, to move bottles off shelves and maintain loyal customer bases, these celebrity wines come pre-packaged with an established brand, and an steadfast market of consumers willing to take a gamble on the plonk associated with their favourite celebrity. There is no denying the relative popularity of these wines (after all, who wouldn’t want to drink a Tuscan red made by Sting) yet the question that concerns me is one of quality. Put simply, are they any good?
In seeking to answer this question I have sampled five celebrity wines, all available from Tesco, in a quest to discover the general quality of these wines. To further this exercise, I have decided to rank the wines from best to worst, shining a little light on whose name can be trusted, and which star-studded plonk should be left well alone.
#1 – Gordon Ramsay Intenso Rosso – £8.75
Being a celebrity chef with highly acclaimed restaurants, and having lent his name to some of the most beloved cooking programmes of the last two decades, Gordon Ramsay’s name is arguably the least out of place when it comes to the world of wine. Moving away from his training in classical French cuisine, this red comes from Italy. Here we have a blend of regional favourite grapes of Sangiovese and Montepulciano, with an addition of some Merlot, a lesson likely learned from unconventional but wildly popular “Super Tuscan” wines. This wine stood out, as it was not only approachable and very drinkable, but its broad appeal did not come at the cost of the character of the grapes and methods used in its production. There are plenty of ripe blackberry and dark cherry flavours, with the tannins being soft enough to make drinking the wine on its own appealing, likely due to some oak ageing. This wine has a ripe, fruity character that punches above its weight in terms of the price tag, a perfect pairing to a well-earned steak at the end of the week.
#2 – Kylie Minogue Still Rosé – £9.75
Australia’s all-time highest selling female artist, a name nearly synonymous with the Land Down Under in the 2000s, it was surprising to learn that Kylie Minogue also owns a brand of wine. With Australia being home to some of the world’s most sought after producers, such renowned names as Penfolds and Yalumba, it’s no wonder that she decided to exhibit the wines of… France. Peculiar geographical choices aside, there is an honest appeal to this wine, a blend of Grenache and Cinsault – it doesn’t demand that drinking it be an academic task. The aroma of this wine is nearly all strawberries, with some other berry notes thrown in for good measure, something that works well with its slightly off-dry profile. There is a lot to be said for an accessible, enjoyable wine that is perfect for summer drinking, and if that is what your search for a bottle of wine entails, then this would be on my list of recommendations regardless of its celebrity endorsement. A near-£10 price tag may be off-putting, and there’s no doubt that this puts the bottle in the top end of supermarket wines, but the simple appeal of this wine makes it a no-brainer when buying for groups of mixed tastes.
#3 – Gary Barlow Sauvignon Blanc – £8
Another venture into wine from the world of pop music, the lead singer of Take That’s offering is one of two Sauvignon Blancs reviewed in this piece, a fact that proves just how popular the grape has become to the mass market. This example comes from South Africa, a country well established in its growing of Sauvignon Blanc and producing crisp, fresh styles that truly Shine (sorry) when it comes to warm weather drinking. Gary Barlow’s bottle captures some of these well known aspects, possessing some tropical fruit and grapefruit citrus on the nose, albeit in a rather subtle way. The nature of the grape gives this wine some bright acidity, meaning it will stand up to a variety of dishes and make a stellar dinner-time option, however the somewhat muted nature of the flavours found therein means that it may leave a little to be desired if drunk on its own. Will this wine Rule the World (last one, I promise)? Probably not, but as a mass-market Sauvignon Blanc it does its job. At £8 there are plenty of other options that perform similarly — but if you are able to find it at a reduced price, as I was, it’s certainly worth a gamble.
#4 – Graham Norton Sauvignon Blanc – £9
Pivoting now from music to television, the second Sauvignon Blanc in this list comes from a man known for his eponymous comedy chat show and being the spiritual successor to Terry Wogan in presenting the UK broadcast of Eurovision. Aside from his years of suffering through some of the worst music produced across the continent, Graham Norton is an established veteran of the celebrity wine game, having had his name on bottles since 2014. This bottle comes from New Zealand, a country now almost synonymous with the Sauvignon Blanc grape, and it is more than fair to say that Norton’s offering is a typical example of what one would expect from mass-market New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. A mess of tropical fruit on the nose, the intensity of the pineapple is nearly matched by unripe, herbaceous “green” notes. The saving grace of this wine lies in its crisp acidity, something which makes it a viable option for pairing with a range of foods. My own personal distaste for this style of wine aside, the aim here is certainly broad appeal, yet for a price of £9 it is by no means a budget option! All things considered, this wine falls short in both its taste and value for money, with the name of Graham Norton doing little to save it.
#5 – Snoop Dogg “Cali Red” – £12
When scouring the shelves for a bottle of something to relax and unwind, there are likely few faces that you’d expect to find staring back at you less than that of Snoop Dogg. I’ll confess, my initial reaction when hearing of his venture into the world of wine was a mixture of confusion and bemusement, associating the rapper far more with Gin and Juice than wine. However, going into this I was determined to give Snoop’s wine a fair shot. With a hefty price tag that puts this wine in the same league as large brands such as Famille Perrin and many retailers’ premium range, it is clear that this is by no means a budget option. The wine itself is just off-dry and not overly aromatic, with some red cherry and blackberry notes, but the fruit character of the wine is overshadowed by the vanilla notes coming from the colossal amount of oak employed in the winemaking. The image of Snoop Dogg himself aside, I frankly find it hard to see the appeal of this wine, especially given its significant price tag and the lack of any comparable level of quality compared to its cost. As a novelty for fans of his music this purchase could possibly be justified, but it is only when this is not considered as a wine, but as a piece of memorabilia, that buying it seems even close to reasonable.
Celebrity wine is, as a whole, a right mixed-bag. The reliable and comforting names of celebrities offer little guidance in terms of selecting a good wine. However, this fact is likely unsurprising to most—few of us pick a bottle from the shelf plastered with the face of a singer, rapper, or TV personality and expect a fine Burgundian Cru. Besides, celebrity wines do have a place as points of discussion and humour. One of the most enjoyable aspects of tasting these wines with friends has been remarking on who has decided to dip their toe into the world of wine and what their possible motivations could be. It is here that celebrity wines thrive; they attach a familiar name to a product that can be intimidating to consumers, lightening the mood around wine as a whole. While I would struggle to recommend many of these wines on the basis of quality, and certainly not with regards to value for money, it is not ridiculous to say that these bottles appeal to the fun, relaxed, and social aspects of drinking wine which are often overlooked by those fine wine producers concerned only with quality.