Celebrity wine projects are extremely common these days and range from a celebrity simply lending their name or face to a project, to celebs who get hands on with the wine and are involved in the winemaking process. A new report from Neilsen reports that the celebrity projects are as Wine Spirits Daily terms it "the new hotness," replacing brands with animals on their labels as the wines that are most appealing to consumers. Celebrity wines are up nearly 19% in grocery store sales since last year. They are less than one percent of total wine but that adds up to $41.8 million. Consumers seems to be willing to pay more for the celeb wines, an average of $8.50 versus $5.75 per bottle of regular table wine (celeb wines are generally in th $12 to $15 range). As you might guess, the West Coast is more interested in celebrity brands; Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego all had above average sales.

Following in the footsteps of Martha Stewart, Paul Newman becomes the latest celeb with a wine label. Newman's Own 2006 California Chardonnay and 2006 California Cabernet Sauvignon will be released next March. In the press release, Paul Newman notes that he originally bottles his first product, his salad dressing in old wine bottles with parchment labels, so the brand is coming full circle. Since that beginning 25 years ago Newman's Own has grown into a major brand offering pasta sauce, lemonade, salsa and more. Money generated from the products has allowed the Newman's Own Foundation to donate more than 200 million dollars to thousands of charities.

Newman worked with Rebel Wine Company, which also makes True Earth organic wine which we have previously profiled. The Newman wines are made from grapes sourced from coastal vineyards and are expected to sell for $16. An article in AdAge mirrors a question I had which is whether $16 is too high a price for wine's that have a celebrity name but not a lot of celebrity input. The True Earth wines sells for around $13 and Martha Stewart's wine is expected to sell for around $15. Newman's products generally seem to be a little pricer than others and consumers have been willing to pay a little more knowing that it goes to a good cause. Wine lovers, however, tend to purchase based on a complex variety of factors (including terroir and the recommendations of wine bloggers and critics) and might be a tougher nut to crack as they expect a lot from a bottle that veers toward the $20 bottle range.

For certain winemakers, what is on the label rather than what is inside is the main selling feature. We've seen it recently with the wines that put Jesus and infamous dictators on the bottles and we are seeing it again in the new 2005 Mamietage wine which features images of aging bombshell Mamie Van Doren. Like the Marilyn Monroe wines we have seen before, this wine features nude pictures that are covered by peel-away stickers. The are three 1.5 liter bottles, two images of Mamie today (heavily Photoshopped, we hope, although for someone born in 1931 according to IMDB she looks fabulous) and one of Mamie at age 21. Should you choose to partake of the wine you will find a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Syrah and Malbec from the Alexander Valley bottled by the Armida winery which is located in Healdsburg, CA. A set of all three bottles sells for $300.

[via Wine Spectator]

My favorite golfer, John Daly, is launching a wine label. Now, I love wine and I love Daly but the two together don't make a lot of sense. After all, Daly has famously had a problem with alcohol and his aesthetic has never seemed to be that of the oenophile. Daly's wines were launched on May 25 in Memphis, Tennessee. There are three ranges thus far in the series, the Fairway Range, the Lion's Range and the Perfect Round. The Fairway Range and Lion's Range includes lighter wines such Chardonnay and Shiraz while the Perfect Round is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The wines are made from South African grapes. Daly's name might induce me to buy golf balls or perhaps hamburgers but not wine.

[via The Star-Ledger]

The lead singer of the band Tool is serious about his burgeoning wine business.  Maynard James Keenan has planned his touring schedule around his vineyard's harvesting and bottling schedule. He launched Merkin Vineyards in Sedona, Arizona last year and his first wine the Primer Paso has been a sell out. The rocker plans to release a 2004 Nagual de la Naga and a 2004 Nagual del Sensei and a new Primer Paso under his Caduceus Cellars label this year.  Thus far the wines are only available at the tasting room in Page Springs, Arizona.

If you are more interested in what is on the bottle than what is in the bottle then Celebrity Cellars is for you. They specialize in collectible “star tribute” bottles that feature unique artwork. They have done a whole series of Rolling Stones related artwork and recently announced their new Madonna wines that show pictures from her latest album. The bottles are sold in four varieties from an “UnWine” (non-alcoholic) for $25 to a Cabernet Sauvignon for $40. The Madonnalicious bottles will be shipped in January.

[via Perez Hilton]