Peel me a grape, crush me some ice
Skin me a peach, save the fuzz for my pillow
Talk to me nice, talk to me nice
You’ve got to wine and dine me
Don’t try to fool me bejewel me
Either amuse me or lose me
I’m getting hungry, peel me a grape
When Diana Krall sings those words, she knows of what she purrs. The Grammy Award-winning jazz singer is a bona fide wine connoisseur, and includes very specific vinous requests for her dressing room when on tour.
Demands on contract “riders” are the stuff of legends. Such documents typically detail what fans and media can and cannot do during a show audio-taping is always forbidden; flash photography usually is), and often list what food and beverages are expected to be available backstage.
Folk/rock singer Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat”) built a fabulous
Bordeaux collection with such riders when he was filling amphitheaters
and other large venues. These days, the “Queen of the Grape” may well
be Krall, who lists literally dozens of wine preferences on her rider.
Among the bottlings on Krall’s dressing room wish list:
Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon
Rosemount GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre)
Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon
Matanzas Creek Merlot
Chalk Hill Chardonnay
Anything from Ravenswood
Hey, this singer has good taste. Take it away, Diana…
Send out for Scotch, call me a cab
Cut me a rose, make my tea with the petals
Just hang around, pick up the tab
Never out-think me, just mink me
Polar bear rug me, don’t bug me
New Thunderbird me, you heard me
I’m getting hungry, peel me a grape
