Actress, designer and wine lover Sarah Jessica Parker has announced that her New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine in partnership with Kiwi winery Invivo & Co will launch this September.
“Invivo X, Sarah Jessica Parker Sauvignon Blanc”, made from Marlborough grapes, will be available nationwide in New Zealand from early September. SJP’s New Zealand wine will be instrumental in raising the profile of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc around the world as it’s also set to launch in US, Australia, Japan, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong and Canada.
Sarah Jessica Parker comments: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration with Rob and Tim, from our initial conversations discussing wine styles, to the creative process on the brand and label design and of course the Sauvignon Blanc blending session, it’s been one exciting step after another.”
Loved worldwide for her acting, perfumes and her wildly successful shoes, Sarah Jessica Parker announced her partnership with New Zealand’s most innovative wine company to the world in February this year.
In May, Invivo founders and old school mates Rob Cameron and Tim Lightbourne travelled from the Invivo winery in Te Kauwhata to New York to blend Sarah Jessica Parker’s first ever wine, where she followed the exact blending process that any winemaker would follow. Rob and Tim brought with them samples of the 2019 vintage, harvested in April from five estates in Marlborough, spanning both the Wairau and Awatere Valleys.
Over a three-hour session, SJP and the Invivo team finalized the proportions from each vineyard to create the exact wine blend.
Sarah Jessica Parker was hands-on throughout the whole process: “While I’m new to winemaking, the Invivo fellows generously taught, showed and shared as much of the art and science of their business and hopefully I have absorbed some of their Kiwi confidence. I’m so looking forward to releasing my Invivo X, Sarah Jessica Parker Sauvignon Blanc in September and sharing our wine with the world! And feel very fortunate to have the opportunity offered by Rob and Tim.”
The wine’s first review – just days after bottling – landed it a 95point rating from NZ wine reviewer Sam Kim at Wine Orbit who says “The palate delivers excellent concentration and weight, wonderfully complemented by fine texture and brilliant focus. It is deliciously expressed and texturally delightful, making it hugely appealing.”
Invivo Cofounder & Winemaker Rob Cameron describes Sarah Jessica’s first ever wine: ”This is a seriously drinkable Sauvignon Blanc that will continue to develop for up to seven years. Sarah Jessica loves the fruit purity of Sauvignon Blanc but wanted to make a wine that has some weight behind it. The result is a beautifully well-balanced drop – think flavours of grapefruit, honey-suckle flower, passionfruit and citrus zest balanced with an acidic spine – it’s not a typical Marlborough Sauvignon!”
As a passionately creative person, Sarah Jessica Parker has naturally been instrumental in both naming the wine and designing the label. The X and the comma directly after it, is an intentional and personal touch, referencing her signature email and Instagram post signoff: “X, SJ.” Sarah Jessica also hand-painted the X on the original label and found the teal paint to match the exact shade of one of her favorite satin shoe colorways, “Hamilton”, from her SJP Collection label.
In Spring 2020, a Rosé Wine from Provence, South of France will join the Sarah Jessica Parker collection of wines with Invivo & Co. This will be a new vintage 2019 blend from grapes being harvested this September.
This celebrity partnership is not uncharted territory for the growing New Zealand wine brand as Invivo & Co also produces a successful wine brand with UK talk show host Graham Norton. His brand debuted in 2014 selling 12,000 bottles in the first year and now today sells 3.5 million bottles globally. Invivo & Co looks forward to growing Sarah Jessica Parker’s collection of wines to reflect her personal preferences and love for wine in the same way.
