Dec 08: Sarah Jessica Parker, the well-know star of ‘Sex in the City’ and currently the star and executive producer of ‘Divorce’, a TV series in HBO is the latest addition in the string of Hollywood celebrities passionate about wines and who have collaborated with producers to launch their own labels, writes Subhash Arora who laments that despite several Bollywood stars being keen wine drinkers, none have made any efforts to bring out their labels that will be remunerative and add to the cause of wine in India
She launched Invivo X, Sarah Jessica Parker Sauvignon Blanc in conjunction with a New Zealand producer Invivo on September 18. Priced at a reasonable retail price of $20 it has become an instant hit and has already sold 400,000 bottles globally, their annual allocation. Invivo X, SJP is available at major retailers like Costco, Safeway, BevMo!, Jewel Osco and Albertson’s in the US. Sarah Jessica Parker has been involved in every step from label design to the blending so the wine truly represents her taste.
“We are really proud with the work we have put into this wine and happy to see it selling so well,” says Sarah, adding “Being able to share it with consumers globally, who can take it home to enjoy with family and friends this holiday season, is very rewarding.” The wine is also available in Canada, Ireland, UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It has been selected also for Business Class on Qantas Airways.
Invivo X, SJP has already won a number of awards from a Blue Gold medal in the 40th Sydney International Wine Competition, Gold medal at the New Zealand International Wine Show and the New World Wine Awards to a Double Gold at the 2019 China Wine & Spirit Awards and other medals.
Sarah Jessica Parker has plans to expand her range. She met with Invivo Co-Founders this week in New York to blend the new Invivo X, SJP Rosé from recently harvested grapes. This Rosé from the South of France will be available in the Spring of 2020.
Hollywood vs. Bollywood
It is not a novelty anymore to have Hollywood stars with a passion for wine getting into production or branding of wines. Sir Cliff Richard created a ripple when he bought an estate over two decades ago in Portugal. Many others followed- Sting, Madonna, Gerard Depardieu, Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Dan Akroyd, and Antonio Banderas to name just a few. Paris Hilton also came out with Rich Prosecco label.
Sports personalities are also rock stars for wine. David Beckham, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, and Michael Schumacher also invested into their passion. It is noteworthy that after an Article written in 2013 by delWine, our own legendry tennis superstar Vijay Amritraj who loves drinking fine wine, launched his own Vijay Amritraj label in collaboration with Grover Vineyards. His label has won many awards but since then no wine loving celebrity has come forward from Bollywood or the sports arena.
The crown for being the top celebrity wine producer goes to the well-known filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola who bought the famous Napa Valley Inglenook winery now renamed as Francis Ford Coppola Winery.
DelWine has been a great proponent of this breed getting interest in wine production or marketing. It is a pity that no movie star from Bollywood or sports has had enough passion or commitment to plunge into the winemaking business. Today celebrity-owned wineries can be lucrative business ventures- at least from what one can see in Hollywood. Even lending a name to certain labels could do wonders for the royalties. Wineries like Sula, Grover and Fratelli with additional facilities could offer bottling, labelling or production facilities and even create special wine labels for the Bollywood celebrities and more sports stars like Vijay Amritraj. Following Articles refer to the launch of his wines in 2014 in delWine
Vijay Amritraj Charms Delhi with Wine and Persona
Grover Zampa Enters Wimbledon with Vijay Amritraj
Here are a few other earlier related Articles:
Miraval: A Tale of Brangelina and Famille Perrin of Beaucastel
Brangelina Rose-Case for 500 mL size Wine Bottles for India
AnteprimeToscana 2018: Interesting Regional Tuscan Appellations
Blog: Hollywood does it-should Bollywood stay Behind?
Subhash Arora
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