Sam Neill: Don’t call me a celebrity winemaker

(TDB) - Actor Sam Neill, who runs Two Paddocks in Central Otago, has hit out against being dubbed a “celebrity winemaker”, admitting he dislikes the tag.

peaking to the drinks business in the November issue of the magazine, Neill voiced his frustration in being associated with the likes of Sting and Brangelina in terms of his winemaking endeavours.

“I don’t like the celebrity winemaker tag because people groan if they hear a wine has been made by a celebrity and presume it must not be any good.

“I’ve been making wine for 20 years and don’t want to be lumped into that category,” he told db.

With his range having recently been taken on in Britain by Negociants UK, Neill believes his two single vineyard Pinot Noirs, of which less than 100 cases of each are made two to three times a decade, merit their £50 price tags.

“I think my two single vineyard wines are extremely reasonable for the quality you get from them. I’m confident that they merit their price tags.

“Burgundy produces some wonderful Pinots but many of them are vastly overpriced, while I think New Zealand Pinots on the whole are vastly underpriced,” he said.

While looking to Burgundy as a quality template, Neill’s ultimate goal is to make wines that bear the stamp of their Central Otago postcode rather than making juicy, fruit forward Pinots that fit the mould of what consumers believe New World Pinot Noir to be.