List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards
The trend of celebrities owning wineries and vineyards is not a recent phenomenon, though it has certainly garnered more attention in today's Information Age. In ancient Greek and Roman times, the leading philosophers, playwrights, politicians and generals of the day often owned vineyards for personal use. Usually celebrities have a large amount of wealth accumulated, which makes the significant investment of opening a winery or vineyard negligible.
There are many reasons that celebrities gravitate to the world of wine. Starting a winery or vineyard, as with nearly any business, can offer some tax benefits. Some celebrities, such as the Italian-American director Francis Ford Coppola, come from a family with a long history of winemaking. Some, such as the British singer Cliff Richard, have been lifelong wine enthusiasts and enter the wine industry in order to do something that they enjoy. Others like the challenge of a new enterprise. Some celebrities enter the wine industry simply because they can.
While some celebrities, such as the American actors Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, British association football star David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham, own vineyards and wine estates solely for personal use, some celebrities leverage their name recognition as a selling tool in the wine industry. Today celebrity-owned wineries can be lucrative business endeavors. In 2007, Nielsen research of supermarket wine purchases showed that sales of celebrity wines were up 19% over previous years.
Types of celebrity involvement
Celebrities have different degrees of involvement in their wineries and vineyards. Nearly all of them partner, in some form of collaboration, with a winery or winemaker who is already established in the industry. An example of this is retired American football player Joe Montana, who partnered with longtime Beringer winemaker Ed Sbragia to make their joint venture wine Montagia. While Sbragia oversees most of the viticultural and winemaking tasks, Montana is involved in deciding on the overall "vision" of the wine and participates in tasting and blending trials.Similarly, the celebrity may own their own "wine brand" which is produced with their collaborating winery instead of owning a physical winery or wine estate itself. An example of this is the brand Mike Ditka Wines, owned by former American football coach Mike Ditka. The wine is produced in partnership at the physical winemaking facilities of the Mendocino Wine Company. While it could be described as a "winery", technically Mike Ditka Wines is a "wine brand" owned by Ditka, who participates in blending and tasting trials. Other celebrities, such as French actor Gérard Depardieu, are very active in both the production and business dealings of the winery. Depardieu, who owns wineries in several countries across the globe, even has his passport listing his occupation as vigneron.
Nancy Pelosi owns two vineyards that sell grapes to California producers.
Some celebrities may only have "legacy" attachments to the wines that bear their names. One example is the Gallo wine brand MacMurray Ranch, which uses some grapes grown on a California ranch that was once owned by the American actor Fred MacMurray. Under his ownership, the ranch was dedicated mostly to raising horses. After MacMurray died, his family sold most of the land to the Gallo family, but are still involved with the winery.
Another "legacy" celebrity who was more intimately connected with the winery that now carries his name was the American actor Raymond Burr. Burr bought the ranch with his domestic partner and planted grapevines for wine production before he died in 1993. His partner, Robert Benevides, renamed the estate after Burr and continued making wines featuring his name.
Some celebrities lend their names to a winery for a special one-time wine production. Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana partnered with the Champagne house G.H. Mumm to create a sparkling wine in 2005 titled Santana DVX. While Santana helped select the final blend and received royalties for the use of his name and image, he doesn't particularly "own" the brand nor does he continue to be involved in the wine industry.
American musician Bob Dylan participated in a similar arrangement with the Italian winery Fattoria Le Terrazze. Dylan gave permission for the winery to use his name, likeness and album art to create a wine that pays tribute to his 1974 album Planet Waves. In 2007, American entrepreneur Martha Stewart announced a collaboration with the American winery Gallo to produce value-marketed wines to be sold at Kmart, which also featured her Martha Stewart Living line of housewares. In 2009, British chef Gordon Ramsay allowed a Bordeaux winery to use his name, without royalties, to celebrate the release of their 10th vintage.
List of celebrities
Below is a partial listing of celebrities who own commercial wineries, wine brands or vineyards. This is not a listing of a celebrities who only own vineyards for private use.| Celebrity | Winery/vineyard | Location | Notes | Reference |
| Stephen Amell | Nocking Point Wines | Walla Walla, Washington | Columbia Valley wines; co-owned with Walla Walla natives Kevin Zinter and Andrew Harding | |
| Mario Andretti | Andretti Winery | Napa Valley, California | Founded winery with Joe Antonini, CEO of sponsor Kmart during final eight years of CART career | |
| Frank Arciero | Arciero Family Vineyards | Paso Robles, California | Also owns EOS Estate Winery in Paso Robles. Owned racing teams that featured Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney and Michael Andretti | |
| Francisco J. Ayala | Central Valley, California | The renown biology professor grows Perot Lego, Petite Sirah, Touriga Nacional, Pinot Noir and other varieties for local wineries. | ||
| Dan Aykroyd | Dan Aykroyd Wines | Niagara Peninsula, Canada | Collaboration with Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits in Autumn 2008 | |
| Antonio Banderas | Anta Banderas | Ribera del Duero, Spain | ||
| Drew Barrymore | Carmel Road | Monterey County, California | In partnership with Carmel Road Winery | |
| Lidia Bastianich | Bastianich Winery | Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy | Collaboration with son and Italian restaurateur and author Joe Bastianich | |
| Mario Batali | La Mozza | Magliano in Toscana, Italy | Collaboration with Italian winemaker and author Joe Bastianich | |
| Drew Bledsoe | Doubleback Wine | Walla Walla Valley, Washington | Originally collaborated with Washington winemaker Chris Figgins of Leonetti Cellars. Since the 2015 vintage, Bledsoe has collaborated with Figgins' protege Josh McDaniels. | |
| Carole Bouquet | Sangue d'oro | Sicily, Italy | ||
| Lorraine Bracco | Bracco Wines | Tuscany, Italy | Produces wines from several Italian wine regions | |
| Kevin Buckler | Adobe Road Wines | Sonoma County, California | ||
| Bob Smith | "It's a Pleasure to Be Here" Vineyards | Waialae, Hawaii | Golf commentating legend has been stuck in Waialae for over 20 years now calling the same tournament over and over again so decided to harvest wine and drink himself to death. | |
| Valeri Bure | Chateau Boswell Winery | Napa Valley, California | In partnership with his wife, actress Candace Cameron | |
| Raymond Burr | Raymond Burr Vineyards | Dry Creek Valley, California | Established by the late actor in 1986 and left to his partner, Robert Benevides. The vineyard was closed and sold in 2018. | |
| Jonathan Cain | Finale Wines | Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley and Napa Valley, California | Collaboration with California winemaker Dennis De La Montanya. Cain family has a winemaking history as his grandfather made wine after arriving in Arkansas from Czechoslovakia in 1920. | |
| Al Bano Carrisi | Al Bano Carrisi Winery | Cellino San Marco, Puglia, Italy | ||
| Gerald Casale | The 50 by 50 | Napa Valley, California | Centerpiece of the estate is both eight acres of the Bordeaux grapes, and the meticulous resurrection of 20th Century Modernist architect, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe's 50 by 50 House designed over 60 years ago. | |
| Richard Childress | Childress Vineyards | Lexington, North Carolina | ||
| Les Claypool | Claypool Cellars | Russian River Valley, California | ||
| Bruce Cohn | B.R. Cohn Winery | Glen Ellen, California | Cohn was manager of The Doobie Brothers. | |
| Francis Ford Coppola | Rubicon Estate Winery | Napa Valley, California | Renamed Inglenook in 2011 | |
| Gérard Depardieu | Chateau de Tigne | Anjou, Loire Valley, France | Also owns vineyards in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Algeria, Argentina, Morocco, Spain, Sicily and the United States | |
| Ron W. and Diane Miller | Silverado Vineyards Winery | Napa Valley, California | Owned by Ron Miller, who was married to Walt Disney's daughter until her death in 2013, and their children. | |
| Mike Ditka | Mike Ditka Wines | Mendocino County, California | Collaboration with the Mendocino Wine Company | |
| Dave Del Dotto | Del Dotto Vineyards | Napa Valley, California | In 2007, experimented with fermenting wine in amphorae | |
| E-40 | Earl Stevens Selections | Central Valley, California | ||
| Ernie Els | Ernie Els Wines | Stellenbosch, South Africa | Collaboration with award-winning winemaker Louis Strydom. | |
| Emilio Estevez | Casa Dumetz | Santa Ynez Valley, California | ||
| Nick Faldo | Nick Faldo Wines | Coonawarra, Australia | Collaboration with Katnook Estate | |
| Guy Fieri | Hunt & Ryde Winery | Sonoma County, California | Named after sons, Hunter and Ryder. Partnership with winemaker Guy Davis | |
| Elías Figueroa | Vinos Don Elías | Maipo Valley, Chile | First celebrity-owned winery in Chile & South America, established 1999 | |
| Mick Fleetwood | Mick Fleetwood Private Cellar | Lake County, California | Collaboration with Langtry Estate and Vineyards | |
| Peggy Fleming | Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery | Santa Cruz Mountains, California | Founded with her husband, Greg Jenkins. The winery ceased production in January 2012 and the business closed. | |
| Fergie Ferguson | Ferguson Crest | Santa Ynez Valley, California | Founded with her father in 2006. | |
| David Ginola | Coste Brulade | Côtes de Provence, France | In partnership with the Coste Brulade co-op at Puget-Ville | |
| Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon Wines | Napa Valley, California | Collaboration with August Briggs Wines | |
| Wayne Gretzky | Wayne Gretzky Estates | Niagara Peninsula, Okanagan Valley, Canada | Collaboration with Peller Estates Winery | |
| Terry Hoage | TH Estate Wines | Paso Robles, California | University of Georgia and former NFL player, winemaker, viticulturist and winery proprietor. | |
| Mick Hucknall | Il Cantante | Sicily, Italy | Collaboration with Italian winemaker Salvo Foti | |
| Andrés Iniesta | Bodega Iniesta | Fuentealbilla, Spain | ||
| Günther Jauch | Weingut von Othegraven | Kanzem, Germany | Vineyard a listed cultural heritage site | |
| Maynard James Keenan | Caduceus Cellars | Verde Valley, Arizona | Also owns Merkin Vineyards in Arizona | |
| John Lasseter | Lasseter Family Winery | Sonoma County, California | ||
| Randy Lewis | Lewis Cellars | Napa Valley, California | Famiily winery established in 1992. | |
| Lil Jon | Little Jonathan Winery | Paso Robles, California | Collaboration with California winemaker Alison Crowe | |
| Jack London, Estate of | Jack London Winery | Glen Ellen, California | Shepard family, descendants of London's sister Eliza Shepard. Since 1976, Kenwood Vineyards has been the exclusive producer of wines from the historic single vineyards of the famous Jack London Ranch. | |
| Nigel Lythgoe | Villa San-Juliette | Paso Robles, California | Co-owner with Ken Warwick | |
| Luis Miguel | Viña Ventisquero - Unico | Maipo Valley, Chile | Collaboration with Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes Del Campo | |
| Kyle MacLachlan | Pursued by Bear Wine | Columbia Valley, Washington | Collaboration with Washington winemaker Eric Dunham | |
| Fred MacMurray | MacMurray Estate Vineyards | Russian River Valley and Central Valley, California | An E & J Gallo property, but maintained by daughter Kate MacMurray with winemaker Boyd Morrison | |
| Madonna | Ciccone Vineyard and Winery | Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan | Collaboration with her father Silvio "Tony" Ciccone | |
| Dan Marino | Vintage 13 Marino Estates | Sonoma County, California | ||
| Dave Matthews | Blenheim Vineyards | Charlottesville, Virginia | ||
| Rick Mirer | Mirror Napa Valley | Napa Valley, California | Kirk Venge winemaker | - |
| Joe Montana | Montagia Wines | Napa Valley, California | Collaboration with Ed Sbragia, former winemaker of Beringer Wines | |
| Mickey Morandini | Second Base Wines | Cooperstown, New York | Collaboratrion with Pat Burrell | |
| Dave Mustaine | Mustaine Vineyards | Temecula Valley, California | ||
| Jim Nantz | The Calling | Sonoma County, California | Collaboration with winemaker Peter Deutsch, CEO of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits | |
| Vince Neil | Vince Neil Vineyards | Sonoma County, California | ||
| Sam Neill | Two Paddocks | Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand | ||
| Olivia Newton-John | Koala Blue Wines | Melbourne, Australia | Founded in 1983 with business partner Pat Farrar | |
| Greg Norman | Greg Norman Estates | South Australia, New Zealand, Napa Valley, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, California | Collaboration with Beringer Blass | |
| Graham Norton | Invivo Wines | Marlborough and Central Otago, New Zealand | Graham Norton's Own Sauvignon Blanc, collaboration with Invivo Wines in 2014 and 2015 | |
| Arnold Palmer | Arnold Palmer Wines | Napa Valley, California | Collaboration with Luna Vineyards | |
| Jacques Parizeau | Coteau de l'Élisette | Languedoc, France | ||
| Fess Parker | Fess Parker Winery | Santa Ynez Valley, California | Was featured in the movie Sideways | |
| Robert M. Parker, Jr. | Beaux Frères Vineyards & Winery | Willamette Valley, Oregon | Co-owns winery with brother in law. To avoid a conflict of interest with his wine rating publication The Wine Advocate, Parker delegates the task of rating Oregon wines to another associate. | |
| Nancy Pelosi | Zinfandel Lane Vineyard | St. Helena, California | Also owns Skellenger Lane Vineyard in Napa Valley. Pelosi sells her grapes to other California winemakers instead of producing her own wine. | |
| Andrea Pirlo | Pratum Coller Vineyard | Brescia, Italy | Vineyard purchased in 2007 in his father's hometown. Produces Merlot amongst others. Family historically owned vineyards in the same area. | |
| Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie | Chateau Miraval | Provence, France | Bought winemaking estate in 2012. Consult with Marc Perrin. | |
| Carmen Policy | Casa Piena | Yountville, California | ||
| Jason Priestley | Black Hills Estate Winery | Okanagan, British Columbia | The British Columbia born actor is a co-owner in the estate | |
| Cliff Richard | Adega do Cantor | Algarve, Portugal | Collaboration with Quinta do Miradouro | |
| Savanna Samson | Savanna Samson Wines | Tuscany and Lazio, Italy | Her first wine Sogno Uno is a red blend consisting mainly of the obscure Italian grape variety Cesanese. | |
| Boz Scaggs | Scaggs Vineyard | Napa Valley, California | ||
| Cathy Schembechler | Bo Schembechler Wines | Monterey County, California | Named after her late husband, former University of Michigan American football coach Bo Schembechler | |
| Brian Schmidt | Maipenrai Vineyard and Winery | Canberra District, New South Wales, Australia | Owns and operates the winery with his wife. Nobel prize winner and vice-chancellor of the Australian National University. | |
| Tom Seaver | Seaver Vineyards | Napa Valley, California | ||
| Michael Seresin | Seresin Estate | Marlborough New Zealand | ||
| Ramona Singer | Ramona Singer | Veneto, Italy | Pinot Grigio | |
| Tommy Smothers | Remick Ridge Vineyards | Sonoma Mountain, California | ||
| Alex Spanos | Bell Wine Cellars | Napa Valley, California | Bought Bell Wine Cellars in Yountville to form Spanos Berberian Winery LLC and partnership with winemaker Anthony Bell. | |
| Sting | Tenuta il Palagio | Tuscany, Italy | ||
| Train | Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. | Livermore Valley, California | Collaboration with Concannon Vineyard. Named after the band's fifth album. | |
| Jarno Trulli | Podere Castorani | Abruzzo, Italy | ||
| Donald and Eric Trump | Trump Winery | Charlottesville, Virginia | Owned by Donald Trump.. Run by his son Eric, Kerry Woolard as G.M., and Jonathan Wheeler, winemaker | |
| Dick Vermeil | Vermeil Wines | Napa Valley, California | Collaboration with Paul Smith of OnThEdge Winery. | |
| Eric Wareheim | Las Jaras Wines | Mendocino and Sonoma Mountain, California | Collaboration with winemaker Joel Burt. | |
| Mark Warner | Ingleside Vineyards | Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace, Virginia | Grows grapes and makes privates label with Ingleside's owners and winemaker | |
| Mike Weir | Mike Weir Wine | Niagara Peninsula, Canada | Collaboration with broadcaster Bob McCown. Winery was closed in 2019 and placed into receivership due to court battle between Weir and McCown. | |
| Sigurd Wongraven | Luca Roagna | Piemonte, Italy | The front figure of black-metal band Satyricon has also launched other brands including an organic Champagne cuvée produced by Baron-Fuenté. | |
| Charles Woodson | Charles Woodson and Intercept Wines | Calistoga, Paso Robles and Monterey Valley, California | ||
| Yao Ming | Yao Family Wines | Napa Valley, California | Established on November 2011 with industry leader Tim Hinde. |