From musicians to actors to professional athletes, dozens of A-listers have dipped a toe into the wine industry, and this popular celebrity “side hustle” isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. 

“Celebrities and other well-known personalities have invested in or have been behind wine brands for years. The real difference today is that they are often stepping out more as the face of the brand in marketing versus staying behind the scenes,” says Brandy Rand, COO of the Americas at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. “This has an obvious effect on sales, as a celebrity’s social media feed is a direct line of influence, particularly as it relates to what the celebrity is wearing, eating, or drinking.”

Red wine leads overall wine share on Drizly, but when it comes to the top celebrity wine brands, the most sought-after shade is pink. Rosé drives the majority of sales for the top celebrity-owned brands, with a handful of sparkling and white SKUs on the list.

This is a major shift from overall wine sales, where rosé is less popular than the red, white, and sparkling subcategories, accounting for just eight percent of wine share on Drizly in 2021 to date. When selecting rosés to stock, retailers can benefit from choosing celebrity-backed brands. 

“Over the past five years, rosé took off as a consumer favorite, particularly with the Millennial demographic,” says Liz Paquette, Drizly’s head of consumer insights. “While many top-selling brands in other wine categories, like reds and Champagne, are long-established and well-known, the rosé category provided an opportunity for new brands to enter the wine space, with many celebrity-owned brands capitalizing on that opportunity.”

Further, Rand suggests that social media is a driving force for these wine brands, and celebrities are a perfect pairing. “Rosé wine is a category that has very much established itself as a lifestyle. It embodies a certain vibe that attracts a lot of consumers and has also been more dominant across social media with various hashtags, like #roseallday, only driving awareness and popularity,” she says. 

Therefore, it’s no surprise that the top five celebrity-owned wine brands tout huge social media followings. Both Armand De Brignac and Maison No. 9 boast over 200,000 followers on Instagram, while Avaline has amassed over 100,000 since it launched a year ago. Miraval has 70,000 followers and Hampton Water has topped 60,000.

Given social media’s important role in the marketing of celebrity-owned wine brands, it’s no surprise that they resonate most with younger consumers. Price point is another contributing factor; the average unit price for the best-selling celebrity-owned wine brands, with the exception of Armand De Brignac, is between $20 and $25. 

Millennials dominate sales, accounting for 68 percent share of sales on Drizly for the top five celebrity-owned wine brands this year; comparatively, millennials hold 49 percent share of overall wine sales in 2021 to date.

But which celebrity-owned wines pack the most star power? To help retailers navigate this growing trend, we dive into Drizly’s top five celebrity-owned wine brands in 2021 to date and their best-selling SKUs on the platform.

Miraval

This Provençal rosé-focused brand is owned by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, while the pair of high-profile celebs have tried to downplay their connection to the brand, it continues to drive sales. Case in point: their first 6,000-bottle run reportedly sold out in just five hours. 

Miraval is among the best-selling rosé brands on Drizly and the top SKUs are Château Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé, followed by the Studio Miraval Provence Rosé, and then the Miraval Côtes de Provence White, the brand’s foray into a white blend. 

Armand De Brignac

Owned by Jay Z, Armand De Brignac is an outlier in the group. Not only is it the only sparkling wine or Champagne brand to make the list, but this high-end Champagne also has an average unit price above $300 per bottle. A true luxury product, its success points to the premiumization trend that many sectors of the alcohol industry have been experiencing in recent years. In February of this year, Jay Z sold half of the brand to Moët Hennessy.

The top-selling Armand De Brignac SKUs on Drizly in 2021 to date are Ace of Spades Brut Gold Champagne, Ace of Spades Rosé Champagne, Ace of Spades Blanc de Blancs Champagne, and Green Ace Of Spades Brut (packaged in a shiny green bottle).

Hampton Water 

Hampton Water is a Provençal-style rosé brand produced by famed French vintner Gérard Bertrand and owned by Jon Bon Jovi and his son, Jesse Bongiovi. Hampton Water has just one product on Drizly, the Hampton Water Rosé.

Maison No. 9

The third rosé brand on this list, Post Malone’s Maison No. 9 has quickly acquired a loyal following since launching last summer. The brand’s sole product on Drizly is their Maison No. 9 Rosé, sold in a sleek and slender bottle that gives off an air of luxury, despite the affordable price point. 

Avaline

A new entry to the top five celebrity-owned wine brands list in 2021, Cameron Diaz’s wine brand Avaline, created in partnership with Who What Wear co-founder Katherine Power, launched in July 2020. Aveline’s quick success can partly be linked to their positioning as “clean” wine that’s vegan and made from organic grapes, which speaks to the “better for you” wine trend that many consumers, especially younger drinkers, are following. 

Avaline’s portfolio includes a wide array of styles. Their top-selling SKUs on Drizly in 2021 to date are the Avaline White Blend, Avaline Rosé, Avaline Sparkling Wine, and Avaline Red Blend.