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Celebrity Wine Makers
Sir Cliff famously said "I wouldn't buy either of these" in a blind taste test between his Vida Nova wine and Bob Dylan's wine stating "both of them are pretty harsh" on Gordon Ramsey's The F Word (see below, contains strong language. Cliff appears about the 20 minute mark). Sir Cliff's winery is in the Algarve and the vines were planted in 1997.
Jarno Trulli (Formula 1 Driver)
Jarno is co-owner of the 30 hectare Podere Castorani vineyard in Abruzzo, Italy.They produce a wide range of wines including the Jarno Bianco and Jarno Rosso signature series. The vines are mainly the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo variety along with Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and Malvasia. There is also a small experimental varieties area.
Mario Andretti (Racing Driver)
The 53 acre Andretti Winery is in Oak Knoll district of Napa, California and was founded in 1996 by Andretti and ex-Kmart CEO Joe Antonioni although they no longer own the land after selling it to a local farming group and leasing the land back. The winery grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir varietals and it's best known wine is the Cabernet Sauvignon Andretti Reserve.
Jeff Gordon (NASCAR Driver)
Jeff is another celebrity with a vineyard in the Napa Valley. Jeff teamed up with the August Briggs winery to produce Jeff Gordon Wines to "produce wines of distinctive quality that appeal to those who appreciate the good things in life" such as the Jeff Gordon Joie De Vivre, a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah.
Ian Botham (England Cricketer)
Unlike Sir Cliff Richard, Ian Botham passed the celebrity wine quiz on The F Word.
Botham creates his wines with fellow cricketer Bob Willis and Australian wine maker Geoff Merrill. Their BMW wine was originally exclusive to Tesco but is now just hard to find online. In a 2006 taste test of 13 celebrity wines the Botham Merrill Willis Chardonnay was ranked last and described as "a duck... powerful and fruity but lacking finesse." Sam Neill's wine came top.
Nick Faldo (Golfer)
Nick Faldo and Katnook Estates in Australia began their wine partnership in 2000. Ironically their Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz wines are not available in Australia, on the USA and the UK.
Arnold Palmer (Golfer)
Arnold and Luna Vineyards partnered up in 2003 and released the first Arnold Palmer Wines in 2005, a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay.
Ernie Els (Golfer)
Ernie Els Wines of Stellenbosch, South Africa, have been producing wine since 1999. The winery and vineyard a wholly own by Ernie. Along with winemaker Louis Strydom they have produced 6 South African red wines to date, 3 of which have sold out.
Greg Norman (Golfer)
Greg Norman Estates owns vineyards in both Australia and California since the early 1990s and produce a range of wines in both wineries. The wine is produced in partnership with the Fosters Group.
Charles Woodson (American Footballer)
Woodson developed his love for winemaking whilst playing with the Oakland Raiders near the Napa Valley, California. His Twentyfour Winery and 7 acre vineyard in the Napa Valley produces just 2 wines and under 1000 cases a year, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet Franc and the first release was in 2005. Charles Woodson can not publicly promote his wines under NFL player regulations until he retires.
Drew Bledsoe (American Footballer)
Drew founded the Doubleback Winery in 2007 after his retirement from the NFL. The winery sources its grapes from the McQueen Vineyards and Flying B Vineyards in Walla Walla, Washington and their first run of 600 2007 vintage cases quickly sold out as did the 900 case 2008 vintage.
Wayne Gretzky (Ice Hockey)
No. 99 Estates Winery (after Waynes hockey jersey number) was founded by Wayne in 2007 in partnership with Creekside Estates. The winery is on the Niagara Peninsula and is proud to produce award winning 100% Canadian wines including a Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Marlot and a Chardonnay.
David Ginola (Footballer)
David Ginola's Coste Brulade in Côtes de Province, France is a collaboration with the local co-op at Puget-Ville who have been producing wine since 1860. In 2008 the International Wine Challenge awarded the silver medal to the 2007 Costa Brulade Rosé.
Geoff Tate (Singer in Queensrÿche)
Geoff Tate partnered with the Three Rivers Winery in 2010 to produce his "Insania" range of wines. The latest releases are a 2009 Red (Cabernat Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot mix) and a 2010 White (Semillion and Sauvigon Blanc mix) which were released in March 2011 priced $25 per bottle. These wines are produced on the Three Rivers estate in Walla Walla, Washington and were overseen by Geoff himself.
Maynard James Keenan (Singer in Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer)
MJK owns a vineyard and a winery. The winery, Caduceus Cellars, and Merkin Vineyards are in the Verde Valley of Arizona. He has produced several wines from the Merkin Vineyards including Chupacabra and Nagual del Judith, named in honour of his late mother whose ashes were scattered in the Vineyard. His wines are released in very limited quantities and sell out quickly. In March 2011 Maynard's winemaking documentary "Blood into Wine" won the Golden Drover Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2011 Trail Dance Film Festival.
Madonna (Singer)
Madonna co-owns the Ciccone Vineyard and Winery with her father, Silvio and his wife Joan. The company is based on the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan.
Olivia Newton John (Singer, Actress)
Olivia Newton John and Pat Farrar founded their Koala Blue wine range in 1983 with GS Wines and produce Australian wines, notably a Chardonnay, a Chiraz and a Cabernat Sauvignon.
Bob Dylan wines are released by Le Terrazze under the label "Planet Waves" after the Bob Dylan song. Each bottle is signed by Bob but that seems to be the only input he has on the process.
Vince Neil (Singer in Motley Crue)
Vince Neil Vineyards in Sonoma County, California released it's first two wines in 2005, a 2003 Chardonnay and a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. They were only available in four city, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and Nashville. It is believed the venture has ceased trading. In 2007 Vince started his own Tequila range, Tres Rios Tequila.
Dave Matthews (Singer)
Dave Matthews bought Blenheim Farm in Virginia in 1999 to preserve the then 269 year old farm due to it's historical significance to the area. Matthews planted the 10 acre Blenheim Vineyards on the remains of an old vineyard at the farm in 2000. The vineyards grow 5 European clones of Chardonnay, Dijon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Viognier. They also source grapes from 7 Oaks vineyard in Charlottesville. The winery currently produces 5500 cases.
Mick Hucknall (Singer in Simply Red)
Mick's Il Catante wine (The Singer) is produced at his vineyard in Sicily on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Etna. Mick started the winery in 2001 and comprises of 3 vineyards on the north and east of Etna. They produce 3 wines, Bianco, Etna Rosso and Nero d'Avola.
Lil Jon (Rapper)
Lil Jon is a partner in the Little Jonathan Winery with Alison Crowe, a Californian winemaker and author.
Jason Priestley (Actor)
Jason is co-owner of the Black Hills Estate Winery in Okanagan, British Columbia. The winery was founded in 1996 and covers 27 acres. Black Hills Estate produces 5 wines from their crop of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Semillon grapes.
Sam started Two Paddocks in New Zealand in 1993 and now produces around 3000 cases of wine a year. Originally a 5 acre site planted with Pinot Noir grapes and 2 more vineyards, the 7 acre Alex Paddocks planted with Burgundian Pinot was added in 1998 and Redbank Paddocks was added in 2000 and planted with Burgundian clones and Riesling.
Kyle MacLachlan (Actor)
Kyle MacLachlan started Pusued by Bear Wine in 2003. Working with winemaker Eric Dunham from Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington. The two met whilst MacLachlan was searching for a great Cabernet for his wedding reception and their first wine was released in 2005 and was a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet.
Gérard Depardieu (Actor)
Gérard has "vigneron" (winemaker) as his occupation on his passport, such is his love of wine making and his experience. Gérard has owned the Chateau de Tigne vineyard in the Loire Valley in France since 1989, growing Chardonnay and Chenin grape varieties. He also owns vineyards in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Algeria, Argentina, Morocco, Spain, Sicily and the United States.
Emilio Estevez (Actor)
Emilio's Casa Dumetz winery in Malibu, California has just 2 employees, Emilio and his partner Sonja Magdevski. They produce around 600 cases of wine a year from 800 Pinot Noir vines. They also buy in grapes from the Tierra Alta Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley for their Viognier, Syrah Rosé, Syrah, Grenache and Suds Sparkling Syrah Rosé wines.
Raymond Burr (Actor)
Best known for his roles as Ironside and Perry Mason, Raymond Burr bought a ranch in Dry Creek Valley, California with Robert Benevides. They planted grapevines and started making wine. After Burr's death in 1993 Benevides continued wine production under the Raymond Burr Vineyards name.
Antonio Banderas (Actor)
Antonio Banderas bought in to the 568 acre Anta Bodego vineyard and winery in Ribera del Duero, Spain in 2009 and it was renamed Anta Banderas. The winery produces 5 wines which have won a string of gold, silver and bronze awards.
Dan Aykroyd (Actor)
Dan partnered with Diamond Estates to produce a Dan Aykroyd range of Canadian wines in 2006 and they've worked together ever since. The partnership produces a wide range of wines including Canadian icewines, Reisling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Caber
Carole Bouquet (Actor, Model)
The former model, Bond girl and actress owns a vineyard in Pantellaria, Sicily and produces a white wine called Sanguo d'or.