A-listers Sarah Jessica Parker and Graham Norton stopped by the Big Apple for a blending session with Kiwi winemakers, spending “hours” tasting New Zealand varieties.

This week, iconic Kiwi wine brand Invivo rounded up its stars Graham Norton and Sarah Jessica Parker in New York City for their latest blending sessions.

Invivo’s founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron took the best New Zealand grapes to New York to present to Parker and Norton, who have total control of the blending for their brands X SJP and GN for Invivo.

“With both Graham and Sarah Jessica, we spent hours tasting and discussing the latest sauvignon blanc vintage from New Zealand, sampling selections from both Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough,” Lightbourne tells Spy.

“Both of them expressed a strong interest in visiting New Zealand, so stay tuned for a potential upcoming trip!”

The brand, always trying to outdo itself in publicity stunts, last year creating the world’s first winery airline, which saw guests board an Invivo Air Saab 340 plane and enjoy a guided eight-step wine-tasting at 18,000 feet.

The boys, along with Parker, a New York native and star of And Just Like That and Sex And The City, commandeered the world-famous Mets baseball team’s famous Citi Field Stadium in Queens.

“The Mets loved the idea of the innovative use of their stadium, and Sarah Jessica and husband Matthew Broderick are renowned fans of the team,” Lightbourne tells Spy.

“The Mets had never done anything like it and we secured the stadium for private use.”

Parker and the Invivo boys blended their new vintage of X SJP right on the field at second base in the iconic stadium and took over the largest screen in baseball.

“We had the team’s mascot Mrs Met along for the ride, and Rob and I even had the chance to play on the iconic Mets field, borrowing a bat from marquee star Pete Alonso,” says Lightbourne.

They then hosted key customers, who have collectively purchased millions of bottles, and leading US media in the press room for an interview with Lightbourne, Cameron and Parker, and a tasting of the wine that was just blended on the field.

The publicity is working; after five years with Parker, Lightbourne says Invivo X SJP sauvignon blanc is currently the fastest-growing luxury sauvignon blanc in the US.

For the famous UK talk show host Graham Norton, a more refined location was chosen by Lightbourne and Cameron for their meet-and-blend.

“We met Graham to blend the 11th vintage of his sauvignon blanc together at the five-star Elm Suite at 1 Hotel Central Park, New York - with sweeping views of Central Park and the amazing Big Apple skyline.

“We had Invivo’s close friend, America’s Next Top Model judge Nigel Barker, shoot the blending and publicity shots.”

Again, publicity gold. Lightbourne says this year, their 11th with Norton, will see them reach production and sales of over 20 million Graham Norton bottles.

Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/