In their October 2011 issue, Consumer Reports tested a variety of celebrity products with mixed results. They did rate one wine 'excellent', however: the 2007 Greg Norman Estates Shiraz.
Greg Norman Estates announced today it will be the exclusive wine served at the 2009 prestigious Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world's top golfers, to be held at San Francisco's historic Harding Park Golf Course on October 6-11, 2009.
Greg Norman Estates is a California winemaker that is taking advantage of the fruit grown in vineyards south of the better known grape growing districts. Sourcing their grapes in Santa Barbara, Paso Robles and Lake County allows the winemaker to use fruit with very big flavors.
Celebrity-driven alcohol beverage products - those branded with the name of, or directly associated with a famous individual - are gaining popularity in the U.S. and wine is emerging as the star of the show, according to The Nielsen Company.
In 1976, a raw young Australian golfer named Greg Norman won his first golf tournament at the West Lakes Classic in Adelaide. Part of the prize was a case of Penfolds Grange Hermitage (now simply called Grange). Some thirty years later, as his distinguished golf career winds down, Norman has transformed into a business entrepreneur.
Do any of the wines carrying celebrity names on their labels live up to the star power? Surprisingly, yes. No celebrity has had more success in the vineyard than Greg Norman, who is an unquestioned champion when it comes to sales.
What do Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Mike Weir and Arnold Palmer have in common? Besides being among golf's elite group of major champions, they all market labels of wine rated above par. Ray Isle, senior editor at Food & Wine, recently tasted the best wines of the golfing world for Travel + Leisure Golf. In the end, Greg Norman Estates Reserve Shiraz 2000 came out on top, scoring a 93 on Isle's 100 point scale.
In 2004, six countries were represented in the Top 10. While France, Italy and California tend to dominate from year to year, in 2004 Chile made its second straight appearance in the Top 10 and Spain made its third, with Australia rounding out the elite group.
Wearing a business suit and tie during an interview, Greg Norman looks every bit the global businessman he has become since phasing out of the professional golf circuit. He still plays golf, but his primary income flows from lines of products that carry his name, including clothing, grass sod in his native Australia, and his own Australian wines.
Professional golfer Greg Norman -- also known as the Shark -- has a winner with his new Australian wines. The Australian wine company Mildara Blass introduced the Greg Norman Estates line of reds and whites this month exclusively in the United States, and the wines have already broken par.
