Whether it’s 9 to 5, Jolene or Islands in the Stream, Dolly Parton fans are no stranger to belting out her hits with a glass of wine in hand, but now they can sip her vino, too, as the singer’s “down to earth” wine range goes on sale in the UK.
The brains behind Dolly Wines say they have bottled Parton’s “vivacious spirit and love for life” with the decision to branch out from selling albums to alcohol pitting the US country music star against the pop princess Kylie in the battle for the “easy drinking” top spot.
With similar pricing to Kylie’s successful wines, Parton’s £11 prosecco is “deliciously fresh and zingy” while, at £9.50, her rosé is “delicate and romantic” with “lingering white strawberry flavours”.
The range is a collaboration with Accolade Wines, the Australian group behind Hardys and Mud House. Its marketing director for Europe, Tom Smith, predicted that UK consumers – who spend more than £600m a year on prosecco and guzzle rosé in ever greater quantities each year – would “love the range”.
He said: “Dolly herself was involved in creating this delicious and down to earth range of wines, and we think they capture her captivating sense of fun and sparkle perfectly.”
Wine is the latest business venture by Parton, whose varied interests range from the Dollywood theme park to Doggy Parton, a pet clothing range. She is also said to be working on songs for a Broadway show called Hello, I’m Dolly.
Celebrity wines and spirit brands are an increasingly well-trodden path; Sir Cliff Richard, who started making wine more than 20 years ago, was an early trailblazer. These days the sheer number involved makes for an eclectic Spotify playlist: the Take That frontman, Gary Barlow, Rod Stewart, Jon Bon Jovi, Snoop Dogg and Bob Dylan, as well as Kylie are among the big names.
While Parton is entering the UK market with an exclusive deal to sell her wine in the no-frills supermarket chain Asda, other celebrities seek to appeal to fans with deeper pockets. Beyoncé recently joined forces with Moët Hennessy, part of the LVMH luxury goods empire, on the whisky SirDavis, which has a wallet-busting £80-a-bottle price tag.
Tom Priest, the buying manager for sparkling and rosé wine at Asda, said the launch of Dolly’s range “brings one of the most iconic global entertainers into the world of wine. Premium prosecco and French rosé are areas that are delivering healthy growth in the UK market, so we expect this new range to be incredibly popular.”
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Celebrity-backed brands “tend to outperform the overall market” said Emily Neill, the chief operating officer at the drinks industry data company IWSR, of the business rationale. “With celebrity involvement, a brand immediately has a personality ready-made. Non-celebrity brands, by contrast, have to work over a period of time to build their personality and positioning.”
Having a favourite celebrity affiliated with a drink also meant the consumer could “purchase with a degree of trust”, she said, adding that they also “offer consumers an affordable luxury, as well as a way of connecting with other fans”.