Celebrity wines ranked from tacky to tasteful: From Meghan Markle’s £21 rosé to Lady Eliza Spencer’s new bottle, drinks expert reveals which brands are worth splurging on
Lady Eliza Spencer added another feather to her cap as she unveiled her new rosé yesterday.
With the launch of Lala V, inspired by Saint Tropez, Princess Diana‘s glamorous niece, 33, joins a select group of celebrities with their own wine brands – including the Duchess of Sussex.
Eliza, who recently celebrated her engagement to businessman Channing Millerd, is also following in the footsteps of the late Queen, who had her own range of sparkling white wine made in Windsor.
Outside the royal fold, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among the stars associated with the business of winemaking, alongside Gordon Ramsay, Kylie Minogue and Gary Barlow.
A brand and PR expert previously suggested celebrities are drawn to the wine business because it is seen as a way to ‘upscale’ their brand appeal and ‘take them to the A-list level’.
‘Lending a respected and well-known name to an existing vineyard enables mediocre or substandard wine to be sold for an inflated price, increasing the potential margin just by franchising a celebrity name,’ according to PR expert Andy Barr.
However, the premium prices are not always justified, according to drinks broadcaster and writer Helena Nicklin.
She sniffed, sipped and swirled famous wines like Meghan Markle’s £21 Napa Valley rose and Snoop Dogg’s £11 Kings of Cali red to decide which is tasteful – and which is tacky.
Lady Eliza Spencer
After months of planning, Lady Eliza Spencer niece released a ‘refreshing rose’ yesterday
After months of planning, Lady Eliza Spencer released a ‘refreshing rose’ on Thursday.
The £23 Lala V is a nod to Saint Tropez and blends Eliza’s childhood nickname ‘Lala’ with vie, the French word for life.
Verdict: Tasteful! Very classy look and feel all over. A tad overpriced at £23 for what it is though – it should be £18 tops, I think. Flavour profile is good. A bit more fruity than some but still a good example of a Cotes de Provence with a classic, saline tang.
Meghan Markle
Last July, Meghan Markle revealed a trio of new products under her lifestyle brand As Ever as she launched a Napa Valley rosé wine, an apricot spread and a new honey
The rosé was Meghan’s first foray into the wine market – with the product sourced from the famous region of California, up the west coast from her Montecito mansion
Last July, Meghan Markle revealed a trio of new products under her lifestyle brand As Ever as she launched a Napa Valley rosé wine, an apricot spread and a new honey.
The rosé, thought to be the Duchess’s tipple of choice, was Meghan’s first foray into the wine market – with the product sourced from the famous region of California, up the west coast from her Montecito mansion.
The 2023 wine was described by her brand as having notes of ‘soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality and a lasting finish’ and a ‘bespoke blend’ which is ‘launching just in time for summer entertaining’.
Meghan’s passion for wine is well documented. It is thought her now defunct lifestyle website The Tig was named after one of her favourite Italian red wines, Tignanello.
Verdict: A try-hard. Label- wise, the design on all wines is quite classy in its simplicity but the delivery with its shiny gold, tips it over into tacky. The bottle isn’t anything special either. What’s inside is quite serious: more savoury and bold than a classic Cotes de Provence but it’s from Napa, which figures. The price is in line with Napa wines, which tend to be very pricey but it still feels super expensive for what it is at $35 a bottle.
Snoop Dogg
The rapper has teamed up with 19 Crimes wine, which creates wine that serves as ‘a liquid ode to the past
Snoop Dogg’s Australian red blend was voted the UK’s favourite supermarket wine in 2020.
The rapper has teamed up with 19 Crimes wine, which creates wine that serves as ‘a liquid ode to the past.’ The brand was inspired by the British convicts who were transported to Australia for a life of hard labour from 1778 to 1868.
Black, opaque bottles feature labels equipped with augmented reality technology which brings convicts’ stories to life when viewed through a smart phone camera.
19 Crimes partnered with the rapper to create Snoop Cali Red, a blend of Petite Sirah and Zinfandel grapes grown in California.
Verdict: Tacky. Packaging, design and bottle on all wines feels very cheap, which would be fine on a £5 wine but this one is nearly three times that. Another hefty, sugary sweet red wine that’s all about caramel and vanilla spice rather than fruit freshness. Fine if you want to drink your desserts! £15 feels very expensive for how it looks and tastes.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Former spouses Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie entered the winemaking business in 2008 when they purchased their Miraval estate in Provence, France
The actors have been embroiled in a dispute over their co-ownership of the winery
They were once known as Hollywood’s most beloved couple, but now, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in a legal war over their $164million French winery, the very location where the pair tied the knot in 2008.
The actors have been embroiled in a dispute over their co-ownership of the winery, which they purchased jointly in 2008, with the Fight Club star suing his ex for selling her half without his consent for $67million in 2021.
Verdict: Miraval was an excellent wine before Brangelina got hold of it and it still is today. Bottle and label-wise, it had a big upgrade with the new ownership and they are properly classy and I’d say iconic now. Full marks. Tasteful.
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue’s £12 prosecco rose has previously received the accolade as the UK’s bestselling branded blush fizz
Launched in May 2020 and offering over nine wines, Kylie Minogue Wines has sold over 25 million bottles across 30 countries, with its 0 per cent Sparkling Rose in the top-selling brand in its category.
Kylie Minogue’s £12 prosecco rose has previously received the accolade as the UK’s bestselling branded blush fizz.
The singer’s wines are also sold in top restaurants for as much as £110 a bottle, at the Carlyle Hotel in New York and Annabel’s, the private members’ club in London.
The Loco-Motion hitmaker has previously said that although there can be a ‘stigma’ surrounding celebrity-owned wines, she believes her brand has ‘circumnavigated this through a shared quest for quality’.
Verdict: Not worth the price. Packaging wine generally, Kylie’s style is cute and girly, boarding on the tacky for some and pretty tasteful for others. The signature rosé is bang in the middle on the tackometer. Flavour-wise and price-wise, this used to be so much better and cheaper but they’ve lowered the ABV to 11% so it loses much of its complexity. Now it feels a bit expensive. You can get better wine for less.
Graham Norton
The talk show host first partnered with Invivo in 2014, selling on 12,000 bottles of wine that year. He now works with the winemaker to pick the blends for his line
Irish actor Graham Norton has his own brand of sauvignon blanc, shiraz, prosecco and rosé.
New Zealand firm Invivo Wines, which produces Graham Norton’s Own, sells 15 million bottles of the star’s wines across the world each year. Sauvignon blanc is his most popular seller.
The talk show host first partnered with Invivo in 2014, selling on 12,000 bottles of wine that year. He now works with the winemaker to pick the blends for his line.
The TV personality’s collection of wines have been awarded over 200 accolades.
Verdict: Slightly tacky. Graham’s wines all have a similar look and feel which is simplistic and slightly tacky, especially when there is colourful foiling. All his wines are generally sweeter than the norm, so don’t feel as fresh or classy as they could for real wine lovers – the Sauvignon and the Malbec particularly.
Gary Barlow launched his own wine line in 2021, simply named Gary Barlow Organic, which is complete with a fitting piano key label
Gary Barlow launched his own wine line in 2021, simply named Gary Barlow Organic, which is complete with a fitting piano key label.
The singer, who boasts of a 30-year passion for wine, hoped to appeal to the masses with his budget tipple.
Mr Barlow worked with winemaker Paul Schaafsma, of Benchmark Drinks, who also created wines with Sir Ian Botham and Kylie Minogue.
His red, made from tempranillo and syrah grapes, is described as having a ‘rich, smooth’ flavour ‘rendolent of bright, autumnal evenings with layers of damson, cocoa and rosemary’, finishing on ‘a bright note of fresh cranberries’.
Verdict: Slightly tacky. When Gary’s wines first came out, they looked and tasted super tacky. Thankfully, both the liquid and packaging have had an upgrade, though with his name plastered all over it like Gordon’s, it’s still not super classy. The Sauvignon inside is decent, well balanced and perfectly priced for the audience between £7 and £8.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Wines has previously made chardonnay, rosé and prosecco available to consumers
In February last year, Dolly Parton took to Instagram to announce a new offering from her Dolly Wines range.
In two separate video clips, she clutched a glass of red wine while clad in a cleavage-revealing, low-cut black top.
Referencing her 70s-era hit song Jolene, she said in one outtake: ‘For many years I have not liked the colour red, because it reminds me of that woman who tried to take my husband.’
‘Remember, “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene?” But my new Pinot noir has changed all that! I love red now. You should try it!’ she urged her fans.
Dolly Wines has previously made chardonnay, rosé and prosecco available to consumers.
A description for the $14.99 drink promises ‘a silky and fresh Pinot, with red fruit characters and a hint of vanilla’ that is ‘perfect for a traditional turkey holiday meal or a cheese plate shared amongst friends.’
Verdict: You wouldn’t expect a wine from Dolly to look anything other than cutesy and this is top of the tackometer for glitz! At least it stands out. What’s in the bottle is pretty basic Prosecco – sweet, frothy and a bit tinny without much else going on. Not horribly expensive but still overpriced for what it is. Tacky.
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay debuted is Italian wine collection, featuring a red, white and rosé that were all billed as ‘cross-regional blends’
Chef Gordon Ramsay partnered with International Wine Expert Nick Dumergue and Master Sommelier Chris Miller to produce his line of signature wines in early 2021.
His California-based line has three different offerings, including a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Following the success of his California launch, Gordon went on to release a trio of Italian wines, featuring a red, white and rosé that were all billed as ‘cross-regional blends.’
Mr Ramsay, around the time he unveiled his Italian collection, said he has always been ‘fascinated’ by wine-making.
Verdict: As far as label design and bottle look go, these are simple and no-nonsense so not tacky, but also, not very inspiring at all to look at. The Pinot Grigio is fine but again, it’s nothing to write home about – a bit surprising coming from a wine-loving chef. The tangy red is a very good pizza wine tasting a bit like Chianti and much better with food than without. Not bad for the price at just under £10 but forgettable.
