Grape & Grain | What Sting, the Trumps and Hong Kong stars Carina Lau and Bernice Liu all have in common
A passion for wine also links singers Lady Gaga and Pink, NBA all-star Yao Ming and Hong Kong actress Bernice Liu, all celebrities who own a vineyard or label
The Trumps own one in Virginia. Estranged Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie maintain joint custody of Miraval in France. Popstar Pink is cultivating organic vines in Santa Barbara and singer Lady Gaga is launching her own range. Owning a winery or wine label is a superstar status symbol.
Bottles of Coppola Wine. Photo: Jason Bahr
Pairing celebrities with fine wine could be dismissed a marketing stunt, but some have a genuine passion. In California’s Napa Valley, director Francis Ford Coppola is the godfather of celebrity winery owners. In 1975 Coppola acquired historic Inglenook winery, producer of Rubicon, which is ranked among America’s top wine brands. In Tuscany, Sting and wife Trudie Styler produce biodynamic wine at their estate, Tenuta Il Palagio, under the guidance of bio specialist Alan York. In March, Sting launched a three-week Il Palagio tasting tour, which featured a tour bus containing the singer’s honey, olive oil and wines, including his acclaimed Sister Moon 2014. French actor Gérard Depardieu is almost as good at making wine as he is at drinking it. Depardieu bought his first vineyard in 1979 and has owned wineries in France, Spain, Italy and Argentina. Expect a glut of Depardieu’s wine to hit the market soon as the actor goes cold turkey off his self-confessed 14 bottles a day, according to Hollywood’s grapevine.
Advertisement
Celebrities in Asia have also woken to the potential of attaching themselves to a wine label. Hong Kong movie star Carina Lau launched her online wine and champagne brand in China in 2015. The nightclub owner and cosmetics, fashion and jewellery maven now boasts Bordeaux and Moutard champagne in her range of luxury products. Lau followed in the steps of actress Vicki Zhao Wei, who purchased Château Monlot in 2011 to bring more Bordeaux to China’s burgeoning wine scene.
Advertisement
Bernice Liu attends a wine event in Causeway Bay. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Hong Kong-based actress and producer Bernice Liu, who shot to fame as Miss Chinese International 2001, turned her creative streak to winemaking in 2008. The actress, philanthropist and Wine & Spirit Education Trust alum opened the Swire Women of Wine Festival in March, celebrating powerful female leaders, winemakers and importers in Greater China. With winemaking, as with acting, Liu imbues something of herself into the character – her boutique label, Bellavizio, is quite the beauty queen, winning silver in both the red and white wine categories at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2015. “I work hard to make memorable wines – it feels great when they win medals and do well at auction.”
