Kylie Minogue Wines

Kylie Minogue Wines is an Australian celebrity-led wine brand created by singer and performer Kylie Minogue in partnership with Benchmark Drinks, an English beverages distributor. The brand was launched on 28 May 2020, deliberately timed to coincide with Minogue’s 52nd birthday. Rather than being centered on a single vineyard or estate, the business operates as an international branded-wine range, sourcing and producing wines from several established wine regions across Europe and Australia. The brand’s development grew out of Minogue’s long-standing personal interest in wine. She has said that her appreciation of wine began after traveling in France at the age of 21. The idea of creating a commercial wine range was considered more seriously in 2017, while she was recording her fourteenth studio album, Golden, in Nashville, Tennessee. Minogue subsequently worked with Australian businessman Paul Schaafsma, the chief executive of Benchmark Drinks. Schaafsma had previously been involved in developing celebrity-associated wine projects, including ranges connected with musician Gary Barlow and chef Gordon Ramsay. Kylie Minogue Wines covers a broad selection of styles and origins. Its range has included Prosecco rosé from Gambellara in Italy; rosé and other still wines from French regions including Provence, Gascony, and Languedoc-Roussillon; Cava from Penedès in Spain; and Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Margaret River and the Yarra Valley in Australia. The portfolio therefore combines accessible, retail-oriented wines with more region-specific and premium offerings, including Côtes de Provence rosé and Côtes de Provence cru classé rosé. The brand’s strongest reported commercial performance has been associated with its Prosecco rosé. In the United Kingdom, the product was reported as the leading branded Prosecco rosé in 2021 and, according to Nielsen data cited in press coverage, had become the number-one branded Prosecco in the country by September of that year. Its retail positioning, recognizable celebrity identity, and emphasis on rosé helped it participate in the growth of sparkling rosé and lifestyle-oriented wine consumption. The United States became an important expansion market in June 2022. To mark the American introduction, Minogue performed an intimate jazz set at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City, whose restaurants and bars serve the brand’s wines. This launch illustrated the brand’s broader marketing model: combining conventional wine distribution with entertainment, hospitality, personal endorsement, and curated lifestyle experiences. Kylie Minogue Wines has received external recognition for elements of its portfolio and launch activity. Its Margaret River Chardonnay won a gold medal at the 2020 Global Chardonnay Masters, while the brand received a special commendation for Best Launch of the Year at the 2021 Drinks Business Awards. The available reference material identifies the brand as active and selling a range of nine wines, although individual availability may vary by market and over time.

Kylie Minogue Wines emerged from Kylie Minogue’s interest in wine and her desire to create a branded range connected to her public identity. Minogue has associated the beginning of her appreciation for wine with a trip to France when she was 21. The commercial concept was considered in 2017, during the period in which she was recording her album Golden in Nashville, Tennessee. The project was developed with Paul Schaafsma, an Australian businessman who was serving as chief executive of Benchmark Drinks, an English beverages distributor. Benchmark Drinks had experience in developing and distributing celebrity-linked wine projects. This partnership gave the brand access to beverage-industry expertise while allowing Minogue to participate in the product concept, branding, and public presentation. The brand officially launched on 28 May 2020, the date of Minogue’s 52nd birthday. Its model was not based on a single winery. Instead, the company assembled a portfolio from multiple producers and wine regions, allowing it to offer different styles at different price and consumption occasions. The initial and continuing range has included Italian Prosecco rosé, French rosé and still wines, Spanish Cava, and Australian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Prosecco Rosé became the brand’s most prominent commercial product in the United Kingdom. Trade and press reporting described it as the country’s leading branded Prosecco rosé in 2021, and Nielsen data cited in coverage placed it at the top of the branded Prosecco category by September of that year. This performance helped establish the label as more than a one-off celebrity endorsement and gave it visibility in mainstream retail. The portfolio also developed an upscale regional dimension. Alongside accessible sparkling and still wines, it included Côtes de Provence Rosé and Côtes de Provence cru classé rosé, as well as wines sourced from recognized Australian regions. The Margaret River Chardonnay received a gold medal at the 2020 Global Chardonnay Masters. In 2021, the brand’s launch received a special commendation at the Drinks Business Awards. International expansion followed the United Kingdom launch. Kylie Minogue Wines entered the United States in June 2022. The American introduction was supported by a hospitality and entertainment event at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City, where Minogue performed an intimate jazz set and the hotel’s restaurants and bars served the wines. The event reflected the brand’s use of Minogue’s music career and lifestyle image as part of its commercial communication. The available reference material describes the business as active and offering nine varieties produced in France, Italy, Australia, and Spain. Its history illustrates a contemporary branded-wine strategy: use a globally recognizable personality to create awareness, work with specialist beverage partners and producers, distribute through retail and hospitality channels, and use a portfolio of regional wines rather than relying on ownership of one vineyard or winery.

1. 2022United States introduction

   The brand entered the United States in June, supported by a New York launch event at the Carlyle Hotel.

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2. 2021Launch receives Drinks Business Awards recognition

   Kylie Minogue Wines received a special commendation for Best Launch of the Year at the Drinks Business Awards.

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3. 2021Prosecco Rosé reaches leading branded position in the UK

   Nielsen data cited in press reporting placed the brand’s Prosecco Rosé as the leading branded Prosecco in the United Kingdom by September.

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4. 2020Brand launched

   Kylie Minogue Wines launched on 28 May 2020, coinciding with Minogue’s 52nd birthday.

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5. 2020Margaret River Chardonnay wins gold

   The brand’s Margaret River Chardonnay received a gold medal at the Global Chardonnay Masters.

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6. 2017Wine brand concept considered

   Minogue began seriously considering a wine brand while recording the album Golden in Nashville, Tennessee.

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A celebrity-founded international wine and lifestyle brand combining accessible retail wines with region-specific French, Italian, Spanish, and Australian offerings.

• Prosecco RoséSparkling wine2020

  An Italian sparkling rosé produced in Gambellara. It became the brand’s best-known commercial offering and was reported as a leading branded Prosecco rosé in the United Kingdom. The product helped establish Kylie Minogue Wines in mainstream retail and reflects the brand’s emphasis on approachable, celebratory wines.

• Rosé Vin de FranceRosé wine2020

  A French rosé produced in Provence. It forms part of the accessible still-wine portion of the portfolio and extends the brand’s association with the classic southern French rosé style.

• Sauvignon BlancWhite wine2020

  A white wine produced in Gascony, France. Its inclusion gives the range a fresh, varietal-led white-wine option alongside sparkling wines, rosé, Chardonnay, and red wine.

• MerlotRed wine2020

  A French red wine produced in Languedoc-Roussillon. The Merlot broadens the range beyond the rosé and sparkling categories associated most closely with the brand.

• CavaSparkling wine2020

  A Spanish sparkling wine produced in the Penedès region. It provides a second sparkling-wine style in the portfolio, complementing the Italian Prosecco Rosé with a product from one of Spain’s principal sparkling-wine areas.

• Côtes de Provence RoséRosé wine2020

  A Provence rosé positioned around a recognized French regional designation. It represents the brand’s region-focused French offering and sits alongside the broader Rosé Vin de France product.

• Côtes de Provence Cru Classé RoséPremium rosé wine2020

  A premium French rosé from Provence carrying the Côtes de Provence cru classé designation. Its inclusion gives the portfolio a more elevated regional expression in addition to its accessible retail wines.

• Margaret River ChardonnayWhite wine2020

  An Australian Chardonnay from Margaret River. It received a gold medal at the 2020 Global Chardonnay Masters, providing one of the brand’s clearest examples of external product recognition.

• Yarra Valley Pinot NoirRed wine2020

  An Australian Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley. It adds a premium-regional Australian red to the portfolio and complements the French Merlot with a different grape and origin.

• 2022United States launch performance

  United States

  The American launch was marked by an intimate jazz performance by Minogue at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City, where the brand was served in the hotel’s restaurants and bars.

  Outcome. The event introduced the wines through a combination of entertainment, hospitality, and celebrity-led experiential marketing.

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• 2020Birthday launch

  United Kingdom

  The brand was introduced on 28 May 2020, using Minogue’s 52nd birthday as the launch date and connecting the product range directly with her public identity.

  Outcome. The launch established Kylie Minogue Wines as a branded wine range with retail ambitions.

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• 2022Expand into the United StatesStrategy

  After establishing the brand in the United Kingdom and other markets, the business pursued an American launch.

  What changed. The wines were introduced in the United States in June 2022 and supported by a New York hospitality and performance event.

  Aftermath. The launch extended the brand’s international distribution and connected its wine offering with Minogue’s music and entertainment profile.

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• 2020Adopt a multi-region branded-wine portfolioStrategy

  The brand was developed with Benchmark Drinks rather than around a single publicly identified vineyard or estate.

  What changed. Kylie Minogue Wines assembled wines from France, Italy, Spain, and Australia, covering sparkling, rosé, white, and red categories.

  Aftermath. The approach enabled the brand to offer multiple styles and price-positioning opportunities across retail and hospitality markets.

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• 2022Kylie Minogue Wines expands into the United States

  The brand entered the United States in June 2022, with a launch event featuring an intimate jazz performance by Minogue at New York’s Carlyle Hotel.

  Product launchCampaign
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• 2021Prosecco Rosé becomes a leading branded Prosecco in the United Kingdom

  Press coverage citing Nielsen data reported that Kylie Minogue Wines’ Prosecco Rosé became the number-one branded Prosecco in the United Kingdom by September 2021.

  Other
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• 2021Kylie Minogue Wines receives launch and product recognition

  The brand received a special commendation for Best Launch of the Year at the Drinks Business Awards, while its Margaret River Chardonnay had previously earned a gold medal at the Global Chardonnay Masters.

  Other
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• 2020Kylie Minogue Wines launches in the United Kingdom

  The wine brand was launched on 28 May 2020, coinciding with Kylie Minogue’s 52nd birthday.

  Product launch
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1. Kylie Minogue Wines