Andrew Jefford
‘In the global media village, celebrities are the villagers everyone knows’
One Of the phone calls I used to dread, during the decade in which I worked as a newspaper drinks correspondent for the London Evening Standard, was the exhortation to chase after a ‘celebrity wine’ story – though I knew why the calls came. the newspaper needed to appeal to an unrivalled cross-section of readers. Most had zero interest in wholebunch fermentation, the antecedents of Carmenère or whether Alsace grands crus had been too laxly delimited. they were, though, hot to discover what francis ford Coppola, Sting, Cliff Richard, Sam neill or Phillip Schofield spent their money on. In the global media village, celebrities are the villagers (and surrogate friends) everyone knows.
there were two frustrations. Celebrity access was always difficult, and tended to be cursory when you did get it. You would then often find that the celebrity in question had so many distractions and so much money that scattering a little of it on a distant wine estate or wine purchase of some sort failed to occupy much of their attention. there were, meanwhile, many other worthy and dedicated wine producers who had far more fascinating tales to tell which I had to neglect, for no other reason than that their names weren’t already well-known to readers. the dilemma is familiar. the very word ‘news’ implies bringing what is new and unfamiliar to the readers’ attention, yet engagement is always easiest when you serve up a new helping of the familiar. Should papers lead or follow?
Perhaps, though, I was the one who was wrong – in creating an opposition where none need exist. When anybody of great wealth buys a wine estate, ‘celebrity’ or not, they rarely set about the pruning themselves. Such a purchase may still be in the interest of drinkers. those who have made copious money elsewhere shower it into wine production as a ‘legacy’ investment, usually improving wine quality as they do so. Yet they fail to recoup their investment for years and sometimes for decades, thereby voluntarily redistributing their wealth to drinkers – at least on a temporary basis. And the fact that the estate is a legacy investment means that their descendants are often highly committed stewards of such properties; wine becomes the family business.
It’s also important to distinguish between celebrities – who have no more in common with each other than do the different residents of any village. Wine may be a post-prenup, pre-divorce whim for some, but others prove deeply committed. If you note the significance of meal-time scenes in The Godfather, for example, then you probably won’t be surprised by the evident sympathy and tenacity francis ford Coppola has shown for wine investment since he and his wife eleanor first bought (using some of the Godfatherly proceeds) a slice of the original Inglenook property in napa Valley in 1995. they’ve now reconstituted the original estate and restored its name, as well as investing in other winery ventures, restaurants and resorts.
Anyone who has met Sam neill wearing his two Paddocks hat will know that there are few more committed winery owners – and few, too, who can speak more amusingly about the pleasures and pains of wine production. that easy and often self-deprecating affability conceals a keen intelligence and interest in every aspect of wine creation; neill is a celebrity you really could discuss whole-bunch fermentation with.
Cliff Richard’s Algarve winery is currently up for sale (for €6.5 million), but when I chatted on the phone with Cliff about wine production a few years ago, his sincerity in wanting to do the best job he could for the area was palpable. Charming and modest Phillip Schofield is as true a wine lover as I am; he’s just a little better funded. And I’m still in the queue for Sting.
the real message of wine, the years have taught me, is one of hospitality, openness and welcome. You’re all welcome, famous or obscure, rich or poor, whale or minnow. Let’s just all get on with making life a little less miserable for as many of our fellow earthlings as we can.