Don’t fall into the trap of celebrity endorsed wines (unless they’re really good)

As a contact sport famed for its physical hardiness, it is little surprise that rugby flourishes in the rural farming areas of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. In Europe, the feared French teams of the pre-professional era always contained a flinty spine of southern tough guys. 

What has this to do with wine? 

I was fortunate this week to have a conversation with a chap who was looking for some advice about how to enter into the UK wine market. His main occupation was as a professional rugby union coach. Through his travels he had interacted with a number of players from wine producing countries that were involved in matters of the vine. 

This Scottish coach had banded together with his sporting rivals (a Frenchman and a South African) to produce, what sounds like, an interesting wine in the Rhone Valley of France. 

In the world of wine, the celebrity sportsman’s endorsement is definitely not a new phenomenon; “names” have often been added to bottles to help sell the product. Frighteningly, this often requires limited involvement from the sports star themselves – a huge turn-off for me. 

A producer who is definitely challenging this “empty vessel” style is Beefy – the cricketing legend, Sir Ian Botham. When I say producer, I mean it. Sir Ian selects the fruit, blends and will have the conversation with agents about pricing. Unlike contemporary sports personalities who use vineyards as an investment vehicle, Beefy is as much the big hitter in the vineyard as he was on the cricket square, with demonstrable commercial success in listings with Tesco and Waitrose. This can be scoffed at by wine snobs as low rent, but his wines are also included in the portfolio of Berry Bros & Rudd, wine merchants to the Queen.

When I taste the wines of my new rugby related contact, I will assess them with as critical an eye as ever. Regardless of my passion for the game, the inclusion of Springbok internationalists on their team will not sway my opinion and I will pull no punches in the verdict I give them. That said, if I like what they have to offer, I hope they find the success Botham’s wines have enjoyed.  I will be looking forward to the first time we can share a glass together.

A glass of wine while watching a game of rugby is a great combination, so here are a few you could tackle soon:

All Black – Sacred Hill ‘Wine Thief’ Chardonnay 2018, Hawkes Bay – £34.99 from Majestic

Les Bleu – Gerard Bertrand Hampton Water Rose 2019 – £17.68 from 8wines.com

Los Pumas – Catena Malbec Mendoza, Argentina – £9.99 from Waitrose