We Tried All The Celebrity Red Wine—And Had One Clear Favorite
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below."
It seems like almost every celebrity has their own line of wines or spirits these days. We're hard pressed to walk into a wine shop without spotting a famous name on at least one label. With all the star power behind these wine brands, we wanted to see how they stacked up so you know what to pick the next time you're looking for a celebrity-endorsed buzz.
For this taste test, we focused on celebrity red wine. We tasted cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and various red blends from a wide range of famous faces, from Snoop Dogg to Lisa Vanderpump, and rated each one on a scale of 1 to 5. Keep reading to see whose wine earned our top spot.
GoGi 2017 Pinot Noir "Erinn" - Kurt Russell
2/5
Actor Kurt Russell fell in love with the wine regions of California, Italy, and France while on bicycle trips with his partner Goldie Hawn. After filming Death Proof in the Santa Rita Hills of California, he partnered with Ampelos Cellars to launch his own line of wines, all named after his loved ones. The wine we tried is named after his daughter-in-law, Erinn. We had high hopes for this wine, but it fell short. Our tasters compared it to "a white wine with red food coloring." The acidic and bitter flavors definitely threw us off. In the words of one our tasters: "I'm sure Kurt is a nice man, but no." (2017 GoGi Pinot Noir "Erinn," $75 at gogiwines.com)
Avaline Red Wine - Cameron Diaz & Katherine Power
2/5
Avaline's health-conscious wines claim to use alternative filtration and preservation techniques. While we love Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power's commitment to ingredient transparency, it's safe to say we strongly dislike this red wine. Our tasters described it as "astringent in a bad way" and having "a horrible aftertaste." The wine tastes boozier than most, with some saying it felt "like a shot of vodka at the end." (Avaline Red Wine, $24 at drinkavaline.com)
19 Crimes Life Sentence - Snoop Dogg
2.5/5
Snoop Dogg's 19 Crimes line has plenty of red wines to choose from. Out of the three we tasted, this cabernet sauvignon was our least favorite. Our tasters compared the flavor to "raspberry soda," but it was surprisingly "more bitter than we were expecting," almost like "milk chocolate." It wasn't our favorite, but if you're into sweet notes, it's worth a try. (19 Crimes Life Sentence Cabernet Sauvignon, $13 at 19crimes.com)
Joyful Heart Reserve - Chrissy Metz
3/5
This Is Us star Chrissy Metz launched her own line of wines with a mission to spread love and goodwill to everyone. A portion of the proceeds from each bottle goes toward the nonprofit World Central Kitchen. Her Limited Edition Reserve is a 2019 vintage that costs more than twice as much as her standard red blend. However, we didn't feel that the flavor was worth the extra $24. Our tasters found this wine to be "the most astringent out of all the other wines" and "like cold medicine." Joyful Heart claims this wine will improve significantly as it ages over the next decade, but if you're looking to drink good wine right now, skip it. (Joyful Heart Limited Edition Reserve, $40 at joyfulheartwine.com)
Three By Wade Cabernet Sauvignon - Dwayne Wade
3/5
Basketball star Dwayne Wade sells multiple varieties of wine under a few different labels. For this taste test, we tried his 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon and we were pretty underwhelmed. The wine wasn't egregiously bad, but our tasters thought it was "pleasantly bland" and tasted "dry and watery." Another taster noted "you'd be mildly disappointed if you ordered this at a bar." This wine didn't elicit any strong opinions either way, so it's sitting in the middle of our list. (2020 Three By Wade Cabernet Sauvignon, $28 at dwadecellars.com)
19 Crimes Red Blend - Snoop Dogg
3/5
Our second favorite wine by Snoop Dogg is a standard red blend that combines shiraz, merlot, and cabernet grapes. Some of our tasters found this wine to be a little too sweet, while others thought it was a "nice balance between sweet and dry." In all honesty, most of us were scarred by Snoop's Cali Rosé and were expecting this one to be similarly gross. However, we thought that "it tastes better than it seems" and that it was a "nice surprise." (19 Crimes Red Blend, $20 at 19crimes.com)
Halleck Pinot Noir - Josh Groban
3.5/5
Singer, songwriter, and actor Josh Groban partnered with Halleck Vineyard to release his this wine, and all proceeds go toward Groban's nonprofit Find Your Light, which supports youth arts education. We found that this wine is "as smooth as his voice" and "pleasantly light-bodied." Our team of tasters loved how silky this wine felt, and appreciated that the proceeds are going to a good cause. (2017 Find Your Light Pinot Noir, $55 at halleckvineyard.com)
19 Crimes Cali Red Blend - Snoop Dogg
4/5
The star power of this bottle isn't the only reason why we loved this wine. The blend of petite sirah, zinfandel, and merlot creates a flavor we can only describe as "sweet and refreshing." We immediately picked up on the "fruity flavor," but the notes of oak subtly peek through as you drink it. Our tasters agreed that this is a great bottle to bring to a party. (19 Crimes Cali Red Blend, $15 at 19crimes.com)
Vanderpump Cabernet Sauvignon - Lisa Vanderpump
4/5
If you're a reality television fan, you probably already know that Lisa Vanderpump has her own line of wine. Queen LVP is best known for her rosé, but her Cabernet Sauvignon is also a solid pick if you're looking for a classy wine. Our tasters said that this wine is "light-bodied and refreshing" with plenty of fruity flavor. It's also nicely dry. If you want a celebrity wine that'll impress your friends, pick this one up. (Vanderpump Cabernet Sauvignon, $27.99 at vanderpumpwines.com)
Joyful Heart Red Blend - Chrissy Metz
4.5/5
While we found Chrissy Metz' Limited Edition Reserve to be disappointing, her red blend knocks it out of the park. One of our tasters said: "This tastes like heaven and I'm shocked!" The fruity flavors take centerstage without being overly sweet. We could see this wine fueling a girl's night. After one sip, one of our tasters simply said, "Yummy!" And we couldn't agree more. (Joyful Heart Red Blend, $16 at joyfulheartwine.com)
You Might Also Like
