Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, launches rosé wine
The Duchess of Sussex has launched a rosé from Napa Valley – her first wine – as part of her lifestyle brand, which goes on sale today.
The wine, which was first announced a year ago, is being sold from today on the Duchess’s As Ever website.
Meghan – whose previous lifestyle blog, The Tig blog, named after the famous Italian winery and another of her favourite wines, Tiganello – called the debut rosé “crisp and beautifully balanced… [and] made for summer’s best moments – from lunches that turn into dinners and sun-drenched weekends where the only thing that’s louder than the music is the laughter.”
Tasting notes talk about “soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality, and a long, crisp finish”, but there is little information about the winemaker involved. However, according to As Ever’s registration on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)’s Certificate of Label Approval, the wine was made by the Kunde Family Winery, which is based on a 1,850-acre estate in Kenwood in the Sonoma Valley – although Meghan’s wine is marketed as from neighbouring Napa Valley.
Kunde Family Wines was part of Vintage Wine Estates, one of California’s biggest wine companies, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago, with plans to subsequently delist from the stock market.
As reported by db, the family owned winery was acquired by VWE in April 2021, for US$53.1 million with the transaction funded by VWE Inc’s line of credit and delay draw term loan. VWE went on to acquire wine events business Sommelier Company, cider producer Ace Premium Craft Ciders, and Vinesse Wines later that year.
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In September, the North Bay Journal reported that VWE had received the green light to sell a number of its wine businesses, including Kunde Family Wines and its Central California Coast-oriented Qupe brand. Dallas-based Adair Winery Inc acquired Kunde, along with Sonoma’s Viansa winery, and Clos Pegase and Girard wineries in Napa Valley for $85 million. At the same time, some assets, including stored wines not in bottle were sold at auction, for around $2 million.
Reaction
The launch from the controversial Duchess has inevitably prompted a slew of unpleasant social media reactions and snide headlines, however celebrity wine is undoubtedly big business. For those sceptical about the combination of wine and celebrities, the success of Kylie Minogue’s move into the sector proves how successful that can be. Kylie’s rosé for example is the best-selling branded pink wine over £7 in the UK, and has racked up more than £30m in sales since it was launched in May 2020.
Other celebrities who either have their own wine vineyards such as Sam Neill (Two Paddocks), Brad Pitt (Miravel) and Sting, or celebrities who have their own brand include Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, Ian Botham, and Gary Barlow.
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