There are quite a few celebrities—including a handful of “A” listers—who are making wine…or at least attaching their names to wine projects…these days, as we detailed in this recent blog.
Sadly, we’ve lost a few “celebrity winemakers” along the way, including the man who played Davy Crockett in the movies and Daniel Boone on TV.
Of course, there are far more celebrities who simply drink wine, and leave the “making” to the experts. That said, like most wine drinkers, they know what they like.
This became quite clear the other day when I ran across this article from the San Diego Reader, detailing the back-stage “wish lists” of music stars outlined in their riders—those sets of demands upon promoters that can range from fruit trays to specific beverages.
Yes, including wine.
While the article may be about six years old, it still presents an entertaining and informative look at what some musicians drink (or perhaps hoard) while they’re on tour. I’ve picked out a few of the vinous highlights (keep in mind that, in most cases, wine is just one part of an extensive beverage order)…
- Earth Wind & Fire requests a bottle of wine that’s “a thousand pointer.” It’s not clear whether that means highly rated or very expensive, but since those two categories often overlap, we can presume the guys are looking for something that’s really, really good.
- Alicia Keys requires a whole lot of beer and two bottles of red wine for her tour bus.
- Matchbox 20 also asks for two bottles of red wine, with this additional proviso: “Do not open.” (Hoarder alert!)
- You could never accuse Al Green of hoarding. He requests a bottle of white wine along with wine glasses and a corkscrew.
- Ludacris expects a bottle of White Zinfandel.
- Beer, naturally, dominates Jimmy Buffett’s list of demands, but his rider also includes three bottles of Chardonnay.
- Mariah Carey not only requires a bottle of chilled Cristal Champagne, but also four Champagne glasses and “one box of bendy straws.”
- Eric Clapton expects four bottles of wine—two red and two “medium white,” whatever that means.
- Sting is much more specific in his vinous expectations: two bottles of “good quality” Champagne, red wine (“French, Italian, Californian or Spanish”) and a bottle of white wine (“good Chardonnay or Chablis”). Then there’s this chilling admonition: “Cheap wines will not be accepted.”
- Finally, Heart requests two bottles of “quality” Cabernet Sauvignon which “must be corked.”
We presume the Wilson sisters are referring to bottles that have not yet been opened (possible hoarder alert!), and not wine that has been tainted by TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), which causes it to smell musty or like wet cardboard—a condition commonly called “corked.”
