Stars and their Wines

American winemaker, Tony Ciccone would seem to be short of advantages. When we think of American wines, we usually think of California, home to 98% of all American wine production. But Mr Ciccone makes wine in his vineyard and winery in Michigan, near the Canadian border. The LeelanauPeninsula on the shores of Lake Michigan, where we can find Mr Ciccone’s vineyard, is one of America’s smaller wine producing areas, accounting for less than 2% of the country’s production.

But Mr Ciccone has one advantage no one else has. His daughter, Madonna Ciccone is one of the world’s best known entertainers. Yes. That Madonna. Mr Ciccone has been producing his wine since 1995, but it was in 2006 that, with his daughter’s blessing, he decided to market some of his wine as “Madonna Wine”. Five varieties, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay from the 2005 vintage were released in December 2006 bearing his famous daughter’s image and name.

The wine has now been sold out, but probably not all drunk. Many fans were buying complete sets at ＄40 a bottle, not for drinking but as collectibles. In fact, the wine has had very mixed reviews among those who appreciate wine for its taste rather than its marketing.

Since then, Madonna has signed a deal with Californian wine company “Celebrity Cellars” which specialises in branding wine linked to stars such as Frank Sinatra, Streisand, Neil Diamond, and the Rolling Stones, among others. There is no suggestion that these stars have anything directly to do with the wine production; they are merely lending their names (for a hefty royalty, of course).  Incidentally the Napa Valley, Madonna Estates has been in existence for over a century and has nothing to do with the singer.

Again, the point of these wines is not their quality. They have been described as being low quality and seriously overpriced.

That said, there are celebrities who do get seriously involved in wine making by buying or founding their own vineyards.

Hollywood movie director, Francis Ford Coppola, responsible for “The Godfather’ series, “The Cotton Club”, “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “Apocalypse Now “ among others is a very serious winemaker. In 1975, he and his wife purchased the Inglenook Winery, the NapaValley estate which had been founded in 1879 by Finnish fur trader and sea captain, Gustave Niebaum.

In the 1930s and 1940s the estate was regarded as the best in California, but by the 1970s had lost its reputation. When he acquired the estate, for legal reasons Coppola was not able to use the name Inglewood and so named the estate, first Niebaum-Coppola then Rubicon Estate. Recently, however, he has acquired the right to use the original name and is now determined to return it to its former glory. He is also auctioning rare bottles of the original Inglewood wine which he bought with the estate. One bottle of Inglenook 1935, estimated at US$600-800, and two bottles of the 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon, estimated at US$8-12,000. American critic James Laube described the 1941 as “one of the greatest red wines ever made”, and auctioneers Christie’s suggests it ‘can take its place’ alongside such wines as 1945 Mouton, 1982 Lafite and 1961 Latour.

Over the years, Coppola has acquired neighbouring properties and today the Inglenook Estate now has the largest acreage in the NapaValley and is already one of the top players in the region. Coppola’s preference is for Bordeaux style wines and this is reflected in his recent appointment of Philippe Bascaules who spent the last 21 years at Chateau Margaux. Coppola’s stated aim is to “to bring the quality of the wines to their fullest potential” rather than to exploit his celebrity status. His name does not appear on the wines’ labels.

Inglenook’s flagship wine, Rubicon, is made only from estate grown, organically farmed grapes, 95% of which is Cabernet Sauvignon descended from the original vines imported from France by Niebaum all those years ago. The remainder is 4% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The 2006 vintage was praised for its complexity, while being balanced and integrated. It is a wine for laying down but is good drinking already.

Another serious winemaker is French actor, Gerard Depardieu, star of French and English language movies such as  “Les Miserables”, “Green Card”, “Cyrano de Bergerac” among dozens more. Depardieu has been making wines for over thirty years. He owns or part owns vineyards in Algeria, Morocco, Argentina, Spain and Hungary, as well as Bordeaux, Languedoc and Anjou in France.

In 1989, he purchased Chateau de Tigne in Anjou, in the Loire Valley, France. Here he produces his Anjou Rouge AOC “Terres Chauds” ,  a Cabernet Franc wine as well as “Vielles Vignes” an 80% Cabernet Franc – 20% Cabernet Sauvignon wine and his top red appropriately named “Cyrano”, another Franc-Sauvignon wine which, it is recommended, should be kept in bottle at least ten years when it will be well matched  with red meats, game and strong cheeses. The 1996 vintage is excellent drinking now.

He also produces a range of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc whites and two rose wines.  All the wine labels, with the exception of the “Cyrano” bear small, discrete line drawings of Mr Depardieu and his signature.

Similarly serious is British pop singer of six decades, Sir Cliff Richard. Today, he spends much of his time on his Portuguese estate Quinta do Moinho. This estate, along with two neighbouring vineyards, supplies grapes to his state-of-the-art winery Adega do Cantor (Winery of the Singer) , in Guia, near Albufeira.

Again, his ambition is to produce quality wines rather than collectibles for his fan base. He produces a VidaNovaRange, this being wines made from various blends of grapes and the OndaNovaRange of single varietal wines. The wines are sold across Portugal and only a small amount reaches the UK where his fans are mainly based.

Legendary American songwriter and poet, Bob Dylan, still blowing in the wind and touring in his 70s, was approached by an Italian fan, Antonio Terni and presented with a $75 bottle of Rosso Conero made of 100 percent Montepulciano grapes. He had named the wine “Visions of J” after Dylan’s song “Visions of Johanna”. The veteran singer went on to cooperate with Terni in producing a “Dylan wine”, a 75 percent Montepulciano and 25 percent Merlot named “Planet Waves” after Dylan’s 1974 album of the that name.  The wine has been described as “round and fruity” but Visions of J is the more serious and complex wine.

As Mr. Terni said of the Planet Waves, ““I tried to make a wine that reflects both sides of Dylan’s character. Angular, difficult and unpredictable like Montepulciano, yet generous and friendly like Merlot.”

Several other celebrities have purchased vineyards, either for commercial planting or for their own use. British footballer, David Beckham bought his wife, Spice Girl Victoria a Napa Valley vineyard for her birthday in 2008. It was reported that the vineyard would be run by a specialist team to bottle their own wine for themselves, friends and family.

Rock star Sting has his own vineyard, the 15th-century Tenuta il Palagio estate south of Florence in Tuscany where he and his wife make wine to accompany their range of organic olive oil and honey. These have been available locally and in exclusive stores such as Harrods in London  for some time and now they are joined by the first wine vintage, the 2007 using mainly the Sangiovese grape, with a touch of Cabernet and Merlot, is now on sale.

So, when you finally hit the big time, do what the true stars do. Don’t celebrate by buying a bottle of the best wine – buy the vineyard and make it better!