Vins de célébrité (Celebrity Wines) Update
Ξ May 9th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Uncategorized |
My most recent article on Celebrity Wines (see post below) was fun to research and I discovered a lot of new information on wines and wineries. However since posting it’s become clear my research was not as thorough as I may have hoped, and since I do strive to be accurate in all I do (another side of my borderline OCD!) then an update is required.
First it would appear I fell into the trap of believing an urban myth regarding the recently married Mariah Carey and her namesake vineyard in Mendocino. Although the offending section has been removed from the original post it would be unfair on the winery to simply have them “disappear” from a topic they are, one way or another, linked to.
The story seems to have started in early 2006 and is referenced by the Irish Examiner and quickly spread around the net. Unfortunately this was a case of Chinese Whispers based on Mariah enjoying their Zinfandel, but not enough to buy the company!
Jim Caudill, spokesman for Brown-Forman who distribute for the vineyard said “Ah, if only it were true. Mariah Carey has nothing to do with Mariah Vineyards other than enjoying the wine and often giving it as gifts.”
On doing more detailed research it would appear that the facts have been out there for almost as long but I suppose some stories just sound like they should be right!
Secondly Paul Smith, winemaker at OnTheEdge Winery in Calistoga sent me a modest e-mail “We are way under the radar so it is no surprise our partner and Head Coach of the stem box was missed as a celebrity winemaker”.
OnTheEdge produce the Frediani Vineyard Jean Louis Vermeil Cabernet Sauvignon, named in honour of NFL Head Coach Dick Vermeil’s ancestry, and on reading some related stories it became clear that this partnership is exactly what the original article was designed to catch.
I have to admit the name Dick Vermeil didn’t instantly light up in my memory (for which I blame the fact I’m British and this is an NFL sporting legend!) but then I also found Paul and Dick’s guest appearance on a May 2007 episode of Gary Vaynerchuk’s WLTV which I remember watching at the time – making my omission doubly embarrassing!
Thanks to Jim and Paul for getting in touch.
Greybeard.
Note from the Admin: I just couldn’t resist adding one other celebrity to Greybeard’s fine list: Crunk rapper Lil John. He has launched Little Jonathan Winery. Crunk Juice anyone?
