Get ready to Rioja – rock bands and their wines

Last month, legendary rock band AC/DC made a move which not many would have expected: they released their own wine range.

AC/DC’s Angus Young

It might seem a rather odd move, as fans are unlikely to start necking vast quantities of vino at their gigs as a result. Wine connoisseurs rarely select their fine vintages on how much they rock either.

So the prospects might not look good for their Back in Black Shiraz, Highway to Hell Cabernet Sauvignon and Hells Bells Sauvignon Blanc – but in fact they’re not the first to make the leap.

Kiss have released a range named ‘Kiss This’ whilst Iron Maiden offered ‘Eddie’s Evil Brew’. The Brew is supposed to go well with ‘very rare steak’.

Biting raw and bloody things can be quite rock n roll. It’s tempting to imagine Ozzy Osbourne washing down a bat’s head on stage with a sample from his own range of fruity Merlot, but it still doesn’t seem quite right somehow.

But perhaps the more interesting question is: can these wines ever be worth anything?

Certainly a rock band name isn’t likely to be a good indication of quality wine. Most quality vineyards are unlikely to take on high-octane names from rock stars – although there can’t be many sillier names than ‘Screaming Eagle’ and people fork out for that.

It’s not that unlikely collectibles for a celebrity are always worthless. For example, sketches and doodles by John Lennon can be very valuable, but these are more personal and not produced in any quantity.

Of course, rarity can change everything.

When footballing legend George Best tried to release his own wine it failed. Perhaps he drank too much of the stock, but regardless of the reason bottles of the plonk are pretty thin on the ground.

George Best wine

On British TV show Four Rooms in July, a collector offered the four dealers one of Best’s bottles. He walked away with £1,000.

By Greg

 

George Best wine image from: Channel 4