Celebrity golf wines
Posted on March 31st, 2009
Saved in Other sites of interest, Sour Grapes recommends, Wine
I had the pleasure of staying down in Carton House (Leixlip, Co. Kildare) a couple of weeks ago. With two golf courses on the grounds it gets plenty of golfers.
I had a meal in the clubhouse and noticed some familiar names on the wine list – Palmer (the golfer, not the Chateau) and David Frost (the golfer, not the detective).
This reminded me of an email I got from Wayne from Celebrity Wines some months ago.
Celebrity Wines have targetted a niche market with their golfer wine selection - the bars and restaurants in golf clubs or golf-obsessed wine drinkers. And the strategy seems to be paying off. With a cursory look around the clubhouse, most of the wines being served were golfer wines. Not one to miss out, I decided to give the David Frost Classic Red a shot – and not too shabby either.
Celebrity “culture”
The cynic in me recoils at our celebrity obsessed “culture”. It was only a matter of time before wines started putting celebrities on their labels and then their wines into cans. The wine gains from a celebrity’s brand equity and the celebrity has another product line. Paris Hilton’s Rich label extends to Prosecco in a can. Cliff Richard’s wine was dismissed as vinegar by Gordon Ramsey on his F Word show. The list goes on.
Golf + wine = golden brand
As a Forbes article put it:
The idea is simple enough: Golfers bring the fame, winemakers bring the expertise and together they alchemize the mix into a golden brand.
However, golfers seem to be bringing more than just their fame. Instead they have bought up wine estates and many take an active role in winemaking. David Frost is one such golfer and unlike many athletes or celebrities who lend their name to a brand, is said to have
“a true passion and respect for wine and the process of producing world class wines. He remains a very hands-on and involved wine farmer”.
CelebrityWines.ie
Because of his passion for golf, Wayne Scott of Celebrity Wines decided to start with the golfers. Names like Nick Faldo, Gary Player, Retief Goosen, Arnold Palmer, David Frost and John Daly.
Wayne has focused his marketing efforts on getting these wines onto the menus of world class hotel golf resorts and golf clubs around Ireland.
Some of his wines are already being sold at prestigious golfing establishments – globally at Augusta National, Wentworth, The Belfry, Celtic Manor and in Ireland at Carton House, K-Club, Adare Manor, Ballyliffin and Ballybunion.
While Wayne is perfectly placed to expand into the other celebs at a later date, I hope a certain birdie’s prosecco is far too below par to sit alongside some of his great golfers (feck it that sounded great when I wrote it, but below par is a good thing in golf, no?).
Great piece, being a big golf and wine fan. David Frost is an interesting guy. His family have been in the wine business in S. Africa for 60 years. Ernie Els also has a successful wine business. Lots of his wines have scored 90+ points in Wine Spectator. Wines as smooth and silky as his golf swing.
Thanks for the quick reply, Moz. I’ll have to try some of the Ernie Els wine. I’ve seen a few golfing wines for sale in the Cases Warehouse on the Naas Rd in Dublin so when I’m next passing I’ll drop in.
Paris is looking good – she’s a quality girl.
What about footballer wines though? Where is the Shearer Shiraz? And the Andy Gray Gruner Veltliner? Come on, guys, there’s more to life than TV punditry!
Thanks Lar for the comments.
We’ll be adding an Irish twist to our celebrity golfer offerings this year. Christy O’Connor Jnr is an Irish legend who has travelled the world extensively over the course of his career. He has had the opportunity of tasting a wide range of wines from all corners of the globe and wanted to share these discoveries with wine lovers in Ireland.
“Christy’s Selection”, will be launched later this month and has been produced in the Alentejo region in Portugal.
More details can be found on our website.