The wineries of American film and rock stars in the south of France
Quite a few stars from film, television and music are lovers of good wines. Some celebrities have even made a business out of their passion for noble drops. In my research, I came across so many names from the entertainment industry that I will take up the topic a few times. In this first episode, however, I only devote myself to Hollywood greats and an American rock star who all produce wine in southern France.
Ridley Scott: Le Mas des Infermières
The 88-year-old British director has landed so many world successes that it is impossible to list them all: Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, The Martian, House of Gucci, Napoleon … one of his less well-known films, a good year with Gladiator Star Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard, was created almost exclusively in Provence. Ridley Scott made the film very close to his own MAS des Infermières in Oppède in the Lubéron. There he had taken a vacation for years before he bought the eleven hectare estate southeast of Avignon in 1992.
The British director Ridley Scott fell in love with a property in the Lubéron at the end of the 1980s, which he bought in the early 1990s. Photo: Variety via Getty Images
In the meantime it has become a pilgrimage site for Scott fans. You can visit the winery, taste the wines and also discover the director’s “film world”. In addition, three luxurious villas are rented out at corresponding prices: the Villa Mas des Chênes Verts, for example, now costs 3,200 euros for three nights, up to nine people, with five bathrooms and a swimming pool.
All bottles have a label designed by Ridley Scott as well as the labels « HVE – Haute Valeur Environnemental » and « Bee Friendly ». A total of eight wines are produced: a white, red and rosé wine in the series Sources (approx. 14 to 20 euros) and Chevalier (approx. 22 to 28 euros), the entry-level red wine jojo (approx. Ten euros) and the rare special cuvé ombre de Lune, a Syrah from old vines (130 euros the magnum bottle). The wines are available on site and on the Internet (e.g. Provence-wein.com).
John Malkovich: Les Quelles de la Coste
The Weingut Les Quelles de la Coste is almost ten kilometers from Lacoste, where the ruins of the Castle of Marquis de Sade are located. The American film star John Malkovich and his wife, the director Nicole Peyran, moved to the Lubéron like her neighbor from Oppède more than 30 years ago and bought this property to enable her children to live in the country.
But it was only in 2008 that they planted vines on the loamy, rocky-mineral soil. However, not the classic varieties Grenache or Syrah, but Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, i.e. the typical varieties from Burgundy and the Médoc!
The actor John Malkovich bought an estate in Lacoste in the early 1990s, southeast of Avignon, to enable his children to live in the country. Only since 2011 he has been producing his own, quite idiosyncratic wines, Les Quelles de la Coste. Photo: Les Quelles de la Coste / Ralf Hoegger
As Malkovich reported in 2020, however, he and his wife had forgotten to officially register their production structure so that they were not allowed to sell the first harvest in 2011. In the meantime, Ralf Hoegger has joined the LQLC team after the Swiss worked for the Tuscan winery Tenuta Il Palagio of the singer Sting.
The winery offers a number of red wines, including a very idiosyncratic blend from Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir (Les 7 Sources), a new, already award -winning Carmenère, a white wine and a rosé … from Cabernet! The prices are between 15 and 25 euros. Available on site and online (e.g. B.B.Betraenkewelt-weiser.de).
Racy Rieslings from Luxembourg top layers
George Lucas: Château Margüi
The creator of Star Wars saga George Lucas is like his colleague Ridley Scott author of numerous world successes. And a real gourmet and wine lover. Lucas has created some worlds not only on the screen, but also in real life. For example, he operates some exclusive estates designed by himself under the Skywalker Retreats & Vineyards brand: in Northern California, in Umbria and in Var near Châteauvert.
The Château Margüi, built in 1784, was carefully renovated in 2022. It was particularly paid to maintaining the authentic Provencal charm of the various villas on the 3,500 m² property. Up to 36 people can be accommodated in the 11 suites and 7 rooms. And as with Ridley Scott, you have to dig deep into your pocket to settle here for a few days.
The most important grape varieties are Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Rolle. The wine range comprises a rosé, white and red wine of the Château series (18 to 24 euros) and La Bastide (29 to 42 euros) as well as the exclusive red cuvée collection privée (84.50 euros). Available on site and on the Internet at Meilleur-vin-provence.com.
Brad Pitt: Château Miraval
In 2012 Brad Pitt and his then wife Angelina Jolie bought the 1,800 hectare Miraval winery in a private valley in the old village of Correns, the first organic village of France. The winery is famous, not least because of the recording studio on the site, in which the album The Wall of Pink Floyd was recorded, among other things.
Pitt met the Perrin family from the Rhône area (Château de Beaucastel) and together they developed a concept to produce the « best rosé of Provence », at least the actor’s wish. In 2013 the first Rosé from Miraval came onto the market and immediately became a world success. Since the Separation from « Brangelina » Brad Pitt is the sole face of Miraval and he markets its products with passion.
The rather tasty rosé of Miraval (currently 16.90 to 19.90 euros) is now available in other variants. The lighter variant studio Miraval costs around twelve euros, and the specialcuvée muse de Miraval is only available as a magnum (currently 234 euros). In the meantime there is also a white Miraval (just over 20 euros) and the white studio version. Brad Pitt is now also making a super neuer to produce rosé champagne, the Fleur de Miraval (340 euros the bottle), of which there is also a “beginner” variant, the Petite Fleur (79 euros).
You can’t visit Château Miraval as a tourist, but the Pitt products are all available in stores in Luxembourg.
This is how the wooden barrel changes the character of Luxembourg wines
Jon Bon Jovi: Hampton Water Rosé
Rock meets Rugby: US rock star Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse Bongiovi-who a co-founder of the American Football League, the other former American football player-found the ideal partner in the southern French wine-growing entrepreneur Gérard Bertrand to implement their idea of producing a very good rosé. Bertrand was not only an ideal partner because of the sheer size of his company, but also because he himself was a very successful rugby player!
Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi (with Haley Anderson and Charlotte Jones Anderson, from left to 2019) in 2019 at a tasting event for their « Hampton Water Rosé » in Dallas, Texas. Photo: Getty Images
That just had to go together. And this is how the Hampton Water Rosé, a quiet wine that is intended for the American market but is also available from us. The tasty, refreshing blend from Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Syrah was recently awarded Global Winemasters (USA) as the best rosé. It is currently available for almost twelve euros; The new sparkling wine Hampton Water Bubbly is not yet available in this country.
