Soccer star David Beckham and wife Victoria allegedly became devoted oenophiles while living in Spain from 2003 to 2007, when Beckham played for Real Madrid before signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy club. Lucky for them, wine-rich Napa Valley is just a short plane ride away from L.A., where the couple has lived since 2008. To commemorate the move, David bought his wife her very own vineyard in the region, run by a team of specialists. During a weekend trip to the winery, Becks surprised Victoria with a bottle of red with her name on the label.
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It might not be immediately obvious who owns Little Jonathan Winery—that is, until you eliminate most of the letters and arrive at "Lil Jon." The rapper and producer opted to spell things out because "this is not no ghetto Boone’s Farm; this is some real wine.” Lil Jon told the AP that he's not a wine expert, not a "'drink wine every day' kind of dude," but that might've been modesty: his 2006 Central Chardonnay snagged a silver medal at the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition. He says white and dessert wines are his favorite. We're still eagerly awaiting the first critically acclaimed wine to include the word "Crunk," preferably followed by several exclamation points.
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When world-champion racecar driver Mario Andretti retired after nearly fifty years of racing with 109 major title wins under his belt, a 1994 commemorative wine was produced to honor the Italian American. Inspired by the toast to his career, Andretti decided to top off his long list of achievements by founding his own successful vineyard. Two years later, with the help of Kmart CEO Joe Antonini, Andretti Winery was established in Napa Valley. In 2009, Andretti added to his trophy collection with four medals for prize-winning blends in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
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Renowned French actor Gerard Depardieu has made no secret of his love of wine. “When I’m stressed, I still drink five or six bottles a day,” he told the Guardian back in 2005, adding that he was content having “very little on this earth, but I do like to have a lot in my glass.” That same year, Depardieu announced he was retiring from acting to spend more time cultivating grapes. Depardieu isn’t the type to request “un peu du vin, s’il vous plait.” The larger-than-life actor is better suited to a 170-acre vineyard in the Loire Valley, which he bought in 1989. Since 2001, Depardieu has collaborated with Bourdeaux magnate Bernard Magrez on 13 different wines cultivated from vineyards in France, Spain, Argentina, and California. Today, his Loire Valley vineyard churns out 350,000 bottles a year.
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As Sandy in Grease, Olivia Newton-John couldn’t stomach her alcohol. But in real life, the Australian native has no problem enjoying a few sips – particularly if it bears her own label. She founded Koala Blue Wines in 2002 with her friend Pat Farrar. Koala Blue has a reputation for high-quality wines at reasonable prices—not to be confused with your average Australian “clonk.”
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Dave Matthews wasn’t kidding around when he sang about drinking “Too Much.” In a 1998 interview with Newsweek, he confessed to being “one of those happy alcoholics that’s doomed to a long existence as a smiley drunk.” The idea of owning his own winery certainly wasn’t too much for Matthews, who founded Bleinheim Vineyards in 2000 and even designed the winery building. Located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, Bleinheim is still thriving today.
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Unlike most celebrity winery-owners, Emilio Estevez didn’t shell out seven figures on a vineyard. He thought it would be much more fun to build one from scratch in his own backyard. Estevez and his fiancé started growing grapes in 2005 when the actor was writing and directing Bobby. “We were just a couple of Rubes,” he recently told the New York Times. “Now, I’m a zealot.” Recalling his first wine bottled under the name Casa Dumetz in 2007, Estevez compared his first years as a winemaker to his first years making movies. “I’ve gotten better and the reviews have gotten better,” he said, referring to both his wines and his films. But the reward is in the craft, not the money.
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House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi and her husband, investor Paul Pelosi, own a vineyard in St. Helena, California. Pelosi’s vineyard, named 11 Zinfandel Lane, reportedly has an estimated value of between $5 million and $25 million. While Pelosi has long been one of the richest House members, her vineyard has recently contributed to that: In 2008, 11 Zinfandel Lane brought in between $100,000 and $1 million.
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The Corleones did like their wine, so it’s only natural that Francis Ford Coppola wanted to use the proceeds from The Godfather to buy a vineyard. The director bought parts of the Inglenook vineyard in 1975, and in 1996, he bought the rest of the property from Hueblin, Inc. Renamed Rubicon Vineyards in 2006, Coppola brought in wine expert Philip Bascaules in 2011 to revamp the winery. But Coppola still wanted more grapes: In 2005, he purchased the Chateau Souverain vineyard. Renamed the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, the vineyard now offers a family-friendly resort in addition to the traditional wine tasting.
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Is wine the reason Pixar movies are so good? Pixar chief John Lasseter and his wife, Nancy, turned their amateur winemaking hobby into a reality in 2002 when they bought a historic Sonoma winery. With their five sons in tow, they teamed up with veteran winemaker Julia Iantosca to create the Lasseter Family Winery. Disney has returned the favor of all the money Lasseter has brought in: His vineyard’s three wine varieties—a Rose, a Rhone, and a blend—are all served at the Napa Rose restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Catal restaurant in Anaheim’s Downtown Disney shopping center.
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Best known as the brooding frontman of the prog-metal band Tool, Maynard James Keenan has mostly traded in his mohawked rock antics for a quieter pursuit: wine-making. Keenan, who descends from northern Italian winemakers, founded Arizona-based Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards in 2004, and he seems serious about his new craft, telling the San Francisco Chronicle that any touring, recording, or promoting will have to be scheduled around the demands of his winery. That's not to say he's abandoned his roots: the winery's website, with its gothic fonts and vaguely occult-looking symbols and self-serious font, practically reads like Tool liner notes. And the names of Keenan's properties betray his penchant for allusions, both ancient (the caduceus is the serpent-entwined staff of the Greek god Hermes) and goofily sexual (a merkin is a pubic wig.)
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While Santana guitarist Carlos Santana doesn’t own a vineyard, he does have his own vintage named after him, Santana DVX. In 2005, Santana partnered with Mumm Napa Valley to create a sparkling wine, made as a 50-50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Santana, a longtime Northern California resident, called visiting vineyards “a dreamy, romantic thing.” “When I go to wineries and see how hands-on people are, that is how they manifest their light,” Santana said.
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