Kylie Minogue has released a wine range in the UK through Benchmark Drinks, kicking off with Kylie Minogue Wines Signature Rosé.
The singer launched the wine last week in the UK to coincide with her 52nd birthday.
Benchmark has previously released wines with cricketer Ian Botham and TV celebrity Graham Norton.
Minogue is creative director for the range and played a key role in the wine’s production process, picking a “juicy and refreshing pale pink” with “notes of red berries and white blossom” during a London tasting.
“I have a great passion for rosé and have loved working for the last two years on developing Kylie Minogue Wines,” Minogue said. “Working with the brilliant team at Benchmark Drinks we have created a Rosé that I am truly enamoured by, it’s fresh, light and the perfect pink.”
Paul Schaafsma, Managing Director at Benchmark Drinks, added: “It has been a privilege collaborating with Kylie to bring her rosé vision to life.
“Kylie’s exquisite taste and refined palate made it a dream to develop this bespoke rosé blend, creating a beautifuly elegant wine which reflects the character of Kylie Minogue.”
Minogue told Drinks Business that she came up with the idea of the wine while she was recording her 14th studio album Golden in Nashville.
“It was exceptionally hot and humid that summer, and it was an exciting time, being in Nashville and writing songs with no distractions,” she said.
“While dining outdoors one night, my manager Polly and I were drinking Whispering Angel to cool down from the heat, which got me thinking how great it would be to have my own rosé. I love pale pink rosés and all the associations of the Mediterranean that go with them.”
The venture echoes Sarah Jessica Parker’s collaboration with New Zealand-based wine merchants Invivo less than a year ago to create a sauvignon blanc, also featuring an X on the label.
Also due to launch are a Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. A high-end Chardonnay from Margaret River is also in the pipeline.
Critic gives thumbs down
The rosé is being sold in British supermarket Tesco for around $AU16 a bottle, but it’s been savaged by a reviewer from The Times of London newspaper, who described it a “coarse, surly, sweet yet bitter disappointment.”
“I can confirm that the wine within this pot-bellied, clear glass bottle, looking suspiciously like Brangelina’s mouth-watering Miraval Rosé, is a coarse, surly, sweet-yet-bitter disappointment,” wine expert Jane MacQuitty wrote.
“It has 4.4g per litre of residual sugar, hence its sickly finish. Forget the “Enjoy! With love, Kylie x” marketing message. Anyone spending the best part of a tenner on this, like most of the long line of celebrity-endorsed wines, needs their head examined.”
