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Is Taylor Swift the world’s greatest wine influencer?

13 December 2023 By James Evison

Today is the biggest pop star in the world Taylor Swift’s birthday. Time’s Person of the Year is a keen wine drinker, so db decided to celebrate the event by matching wines to her albums.

“August slipped away like a bottle of wine”, sings Swift on ‘August’ from her album Folklore and on ‘Champagne Problems’ on Evermore she sings ‘Dom Pérignon, you brought it’. She may have most recently been photographed drinking a bottle of canned Tequila RTD, but wine is definitely Swift’s first love, if her songs, comments, social media posts and films are anything to go by.

Indeed, it’s arguable that she is the world’s biggest wine influencer, boosting sales on any bottle she is pictured drinking, as a recent Instagram post outlined below has shown.

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A post shared by Taylor Scenes (@taylorscenes)

She may drop ice cubes into her wine, as she did in her Miss Americana documentary, but less controversially she has also highlighted her love of a good Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

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A post shared by Gem -fan account (@gemmyswift_)

Below we have outlined an album-by-album breakdown of the wines to pair with her entire collection, including ‘Taylor’s Versions’ of all the available albums that she has re-recorded so far — as Swifties would demand, of course.

Taylor Swift – Prosecco

Her country debut deserves a fruity, sparkling wine. Simple, direct fizzy pop-country tunes straight from Nashville.

Try a bright, clean example from our Prosecco Masters.

Fearless – Pinot Grigio

Another clean and bright record as Taylor begins to develop her individual voice.

A fresh and crisp Pinot Grigio will go nicely with this album, one of her favourite varieties.

Have a look at the Global Pinot Gris Masters,

Speak Now – Chardonnay

The apple and pineapple flavours of a cool Chardonnay is a great combination with this album.

Sparks will fly.

Red – Pinot Noir

Here comes the big tunes and Swift’s songwriting deepens into the enormously popular anthems we all know so well, developing her style like a good, delicately produced Pinot.

I knew you were trouble.

1989 – Sancerre/Sauvignon Blanc

Apparently Taylor’s favourite wine is a Sancerre — Celestin Blondeau Cuvée Des Moulins Balès Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc 2014 — and considering this was her most popular album, it feels an appropriate match.

And like this Sauvignon Blanc wine, at first the album appears to be a quite straightforward and direct pop record, the layers come and come, without any blank spaces, as you realise this is a pop record of real depth and complexity.

We never go out of style.

Reputation – Champagne

Swifties love this album for its outright self-confidence and sense of female empowerment, as represented in its fast-paced, powerful opening track …Ready For It.

Only top-end fizz will do for hitting the dancefloor to this fist-pumping album, perhaps one of the prestige cuvées from our Masters.

Let the games begin.

Lover – Chenin Blanc

After a couple of big years and multiple Grammy Awards, Taylor begins to enter her slightly more chilled middle-career stage, and Lover feels very much like a Chenin Blanc album.

Maybe a bottle of Mhudi from the Global Chenin Blanc Masters would be the perfect match for this record of maturity.

A cruel but beautifully Chenin-drenched summer.

Folklore – Cabernet Sauvignon

Swift moves into the woods with this autumnal folk-pop album with the assistance of The National’s Aaron Dessner. The big, bold flavours of a Cab Sav are perfect for this album, full of maturity and depth.

Try a big cult Napa wine with this album, late at night, with some moody lighting and candles.

Evermore – Syrah

Taken from the same sessions as Folklore, Evermore is an album that deserves the distinctive attributes of black and red fruits and black pepper of this magnificent grape variety.

Despite the album featuring a tune called ‘Champagne Problems’, Syrah is an ideal partner for Evermore. It also has Pinot Noir as an ancestor, and is therefore a fitting wine to have with this album, where Swift showcases the full range and depth of her musical ambitions and accomplishments to date.

Midnights – Gaslighter Rosé

Swift was seen drinking a bottle of Gaslighter Rosé from fellow musicians The Chicks in a recently published post by her producer and collaborator Jack Antonoff to celebrate the release of her latest tune ‘You’re Losing Me’. Released in 2022, Gaslighter rosé is produced by Sonoma’s Gundlach Bundschu, using Pinot Noir grapes.

Swifties were quick to point out that the image, taken from 2021 recording sessions for Midnights, could be a reference to her relationship with Joe Alwyn, which ended earlier this year.

But it could be she just likes the wine. Always the anti-hero.