A wine that is truly one in a Millione

Celebrities including Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Jack Dee and Jimmy Carr head a stellar list of names to give their backing to the launch of Millione, a wine which aims to raise £1 million to help build new schools in poverty-stricken Sierra Leone.

The brainchild of Jerry Lockspeiser, Mike Paul and Cliff Roberson, £1 from every bottle of Millione sold will be put towards the project, which hopes to build 20 new schools and help to educate 10,000 children in the West African nation for years to come.

Using the slogan “One in a Millione”, the wine went on sale at Laithwaites this week, retailing at £7.99 a bottle, with major supermarkets such as Tesco, Waitrose, Morrison’s and Sainsbury’s set to roll it out in August and September.

Lockspeiser, the chairman of Off Piste Wines and founder of Bottle Green Ltd, visited the war-torn country with anti-poverty charity ActionAid earlier this year and came back determined to raise funds for primary education in Sierra Leone by doing what he does best – creating a new wine brand.

Together with Paul and Roberson, Lockspeiser created the not-for-profit Millione Foundation, working in partnership with ActionAid.

“It is a company limited by guarantee, not by shares,” said Lockspeiser. “There are no shareholders, no capital and no dividends.

“We do make a small profit on each bottle sold which allows us to give £1 towards the schools, and enough to run the administration and communications, such as our website.

“The £1 a bottle is only possible because all participating businesses are working for a lower margin than they would normally do, giving us a cheaper total cost.”

Indeed, everyone from the designers, importers, accountants and even the bank Lloyds TSB are working at reduced margins in order that the Millione project can reach its target.

The wine itself is a frizzante wine made from Chardonnay grapes with a touch of Merlot.

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, global wine director at Laithwaites, said: ‘We tasted Millione on Friday, and are happy to report that it is delicious – simple, fruity, refreshingly crisp, with a delicate touch of sweetness that makes it rounded and gluggable.’

The project has gained the support of many notable celebrities, with renowned wine-lover and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson saying: “Oh that’s lovely… full of hope and joy and that’s the best taste I’ve ever tasted in a wine.”

Stephen Fry, meanwhile, could only muster "Mmm, oh yes, oh God, oh hell yes…" when tasting the wine.

Click here to see db’s interview with Mike Paul and Jerry Lockspeiser on our YouTube channel .

For more information on the Millione Foundation visit www.oneinamillione.com.

In addition, you can follow the One in a Millione campaign on Facebook and Twitter .

Alan Lodge, 07.07.2010