Ridley Scott wine label to launch in UK

Skinny Champagne founder Amanda Thomson is to launch a wine from film director Ridley Scott in the UK throughGerard Basset’s Hotel TerraVina.

Ridley Scott first launched a wine under the Mas des Infermières label from the 2009 vintage

The wine comes from a domaine called Mas des Infermières within the Oppède commune in the Luberon AOP, which itself is situated in the Provence region of southeast France.

Made from Grenache and Syrah, the first bottle of wine produced under Ridley Scott’s own label was from the 2009 vintage, after the nearby winemaking facility, Caves de Lumières, agreed to vinify grapes from the film director’s domaine separately.

The full name of the wine is Mas des Infirmières “Source”, inspired by the natural springs which have been fed for centuries by the nearby Luberon mountains – and Hotel TerraVina will carry the 2011 vintage.

Thomson, who shared news of the launched with the drinks business yesterday, said that Hotel TerraVina was the perfect place to introduce the product.

The hotel, which is based in the New Forest, attracts wine lovers from around the world due to its extensive and eclectic wine list compiled by famous sommelier Gerard Basset, who holds more wine qualifications than any other figure in history, having achieved the tile of  Best Sommelier in the World, as well as gaining the Master Sommelier, Master of Wine and Wine MBA qualificaitons.

Basset, who previously co-founded the Hotel du Vin Group, also holds an OBE, having been honoured in 2011 for services to the hospitality industry

Basset’s wine team at TerraVina includes Tanguy Martin, who was appointed head sommelier in May 2013 and was named the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Young Sommelier of the Year 2014. Joining him is Ana Maria Martinez Terol from Jumilla in Spain – another skilled sommelier who recently completed her WSET Diploma.

Ridley Scott was born in 1937 in north east England and gained global recognition as a film director and producer after the success of Alien in 1979, although he is also renowned for Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and Gladiator, among other high profile films.

He is not the only celebrity to be making wine in Provence after Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt bought the €44 million Château de Miraval with 30 hectares of organically-run vineyards.

The couple’s first wine, an AOC Côte-de-Provence rosé from the 2012 vintage, sold out in just five hours.

As for Thomson, she created and launched the Skinny Champagne brand just over six months ago using a zero dosage Brut NV from Alexandre Penet – a Champagne house renowned for its low-dosage cuvées.

As previously reported by db, in March this year Thomson achieved a listing at famous Japanese restaurant chain Nobu in the UK, and is now adding a pink Champagne under the Skinny brand.