Celebrity power: drinks industry joint ventures fuelled by passion

What do George Clooney, Justin Timberlake, Zhao Wei, Yao Ming and Hidetoshi Nakata have in common? These celebrities have all dabbled in creating their own alcohol.

Celebrity-endorsed alcohol is not new. A handful of celebrities have gone beyond being the face of a brand, and joined forces with respected producers to craft award-winning wines and spirits.

Film star Clooney and singer Timberlake own tequila brands, former basketball star Yao has a vineyard in the Napa Valley, actress Zhao has hers in Bordeaux and former footballer Nakata has travelled across Japan to learn more about sake before creating his own.

Other celebrities have had mixed fortunes with similar ventures. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie co-owned the award-winning Miraval produced at their vineyard in France where they got married. Since the announcement of their divorce, it has been reported that they are looking to sell their vineyard. US president Donald Trump launched Trump Vodka in 2007, but falling sales forced it to cease production .

These ventures are often projects of passion. Clooney reportedly created Casamigos for his own enjoyment and consumption, determined to create the “smoothest” tequila possible.

Nakata was determined to raise awareness of Japan’s national alcohol across the world. “Sake makers are less concerned about branding and marketing. For me, it is about bringing sake outside of Japan,” he said ahead of the launch of his limited-edition sake “N” 2015. The latest edition of his sake is expected to be launched in early 2017.

This begs the question, what makes a celebrity alcohol venture successful?