What do you do with your cash and your time when you make it big in the music, sport or film world? Open a vineyard or launch another type of alcoholic beverage of course. Here is the first FoodBev list of celebrity beverages – from A through to Z.
Dan Aykroyd – The Ghostbusters and Blues Brothers writer has founded Crystal Head Vodka and Dan Aykroyd Wines.
AC/DC – Rock and Roll band AC/DC teamed up with Australian winery Warburn Estate to create their very own wine.
Mario Andretti – Motor racing legend Andretti owns a 42-acre wine estate called Andretti Winery.
Brad Pitt – Brad Pitt and his wife Angelina Jolie own Chateau Miravel in Provence, France. French classical/jazz piano player Jaques Loussier built a recording studio there, and it has since been used by Sting, The Cranberries and Pink Floyd. One of the wines is a Pink Floyd Rosé.
Andrea Bocelli – Bocelli’s family have been making wine for generations in Italy. Bocelli is now producing a prosecco with his winemaking brother Alberto.
George Clooney – The actor has the Casamigos Tequila brand with Rande Gerber, the husband of Cindy Crawford.
Gerard Depardieu – his main property is Chateau de Tigne in Anjou, in the Loire Valley. He also owns vineyards in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Algeria, Argentina, Morocco, Spain, Sicily and the US.
David Ginola – On his retirement, former Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle and France international Ginola invested in a vineyard in Provence called Coste Brulade and makes Cotes de Provence wines.
Ernie Els – Ernie Els Wines are made in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It was originally started with his friend and partner Jean Engelbrecht in 1999, with the first vintage produced in 2000.
Emilio Estevez – The former Brat-Packer and brother of Charlie Sheen has Casa Dumetz located in Malibu, California.
Fergie – Stacy Ferguson, singer with The Black Eyed Peas, owns Ferguson Crest in the Santa Inez Valley, California. The red blend is called Fergalicious.
Nick Faldo – Nick Faldo Wines from Coonawarra, Australia are produced by Katnook Estate and include Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon.
David Frost – Frost’s family had been in the wine trade for over 60 years, with their own vineyards in South Africa.
Richard Gere – He has launched a new range of wines from Tuscany produced by Tenuta San Filippo di Montalcino.
Cee Lo Green – Singer, producer and ex-Gnarls Barkley member Cee Lo has a rather surprising tie up with Ty Yu Sake in Japan. Cee Lo now owns a stake in the business and actively promotes the brand.
Mick Hucknall – The Simply Red frontman has Il Cantante, a collaboration with Italian winemaker Salvo Foti in Sicily, Italy. The property was put up for sale in 2014.
Iron Maiden – Heavy metal group Iron Maiden has released a cask ale in partnership with Cheshire brewery Robinsons. Called Trooper, after one of Iron Maiden’s most famous songs, and created by Bruce Dickinson, the label features the band’s skeletal mascot Eddie.
John Lasseter – Chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, Lasseter has the Lasseter Family Winery in Sonoma County, California.
Maynard James Keenan – The lead singer from Tool and A Perfect Circle owns Merkin Vineyards and is the winemaker at Caduceus Cellars in the Verde Valley, Arizona. Quite a serious player in the celebrity wine world.
Lionel Messi – Three-time world footballer of the year has launched a range of wine from Argentinian vineyard Bodega Valentin Bianchi – all profits go to the Lionel Messi Foundation.
Lil’ Kim – The singer has a vodka called Three Olives Vodka.
Mariah Carey – The singer launched a Champagne called Angel Hint of Pink by MC, costing $290,000 per bottle.
Madonna – Ciccone Vineyard and Winery in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan is a collaboration with her father Silvio “Tony” Ciccone.
Marilyn Manson – Mansinthe is an absinthe produced in Switzerland and lauched in 2007.
Motorhead – They have a range of wine and Bastards Lager, brewed in Sweden. There is a red wine called Sacrifice from South Eastern Australia – available as a bag in box designed to look like a guitar amp!
Willie Nelson – Old Whiskey River Bourbon: Willie helped to create this brand via a tasting session with Heaven Hill Distilleries.
Nelson Mandela – Or, rather, not the man himself, but Makaziwe Mandela and Tukwini Mandela – daughter and granddaughter, respectively, of South Africa’s former president and global icon – have launched House of Mandela Wines to promote fair trade and help more black South Africans benefit from the wine business.
Olivia Newton-John – Koala Blue Wine in South Australia was launched for the singer and Grease actress.
P Diddy – One of the most successful celebrity drinks brands is rapper P Diddy’s Ciroc Vodka; he owns 50% of the company and never misses a chance to promote it.
Paris Hilton – Who can forget Paris Hilton’s prosecco in a can?
Queen – Still going strong even after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury, Queen have launched Killer Queen Vodka and Bohemian Lager! The beer is made from water, Czech barley malt and Noble Saaz hops and is a golden, hoppy lager. The label includes a crest designed by Freddie Mercury while he was a student at Ealing Art College in London. Killer Queen Vodka is made by JSC Latvijas Balzams, the distillery that also makes Stolichnaya. The vodka is distilled seven times and filtered through quartz sand and birch charcoal.
Cliff Richard – Adegor de Cantor in the Algarve, Portugal is Richard’s vineyard, a collaboration with Quinta do Miradouro.
Carlos Santana – World-famous, Mexican-born guitarist Santana is the brand owner of Casa Noble Tequila and his album artwork features in the packaging.
Boz Scaggs – Scaggs Vineyard in Mt. Veeder, California is the American singer, songwriter and guitarist’s claim.
Sting and Trudy Styler – The ex-frontman for The Police and his wife, actress and film producer Trudy Styler, own a wine estate in Tuscany called Tenuta Il Palagio. There are some 30 acres of vines and wine made there includes Sister Moon and the Super-Tuscan Casino Delle Vie.
Justin Timberlake – His 901 Tequila is named after the area code of Memphis, Timberlake’s hometown.
Jarno Trulli – The Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli is the co-owner of a vineyard in the Abruzzo region called Castorani. There is a range of “Jarno” wines and also a couple of Grappas.
Gabrielle Union – Union has launched a rather interestingly named Vanilla Puddin Chardonnay, from the Napa Valley, in a collaboration with Jam Cellars and Brand Elite.
Vince Neil – The vocalist for metal band Mötley Crüe has launched Vince Vineyards as well as Tatuado tequila and vodka.
Whitesnake – Whitesnake lauched a Whitesnake Zinfandel via De La Montanya wines in 2008.
Xzibit – American rapper Xzibit became a partner in Chris Brown’s spirits company Bonita, after Brown sent him a bottle from the very first production run in 2010.
Yao Ming – One-time Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming has a line of wines called Yao Family Wines, which is available exclusively in the former basketball professional’s native China.
Zhao Wei – In 2011, Chinese actress Zhao Wei purchased Chateau Monlot Saint Emilion Grand Cru.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024