No, it's not a joke. Comedian decides he's a winemaker

Greg Norman is a golfer, not a winemaker. But that didn't stop him from releasing a very successful range of wines under his own label in the United States. 

It is my bet that Norman knows as much about indigenous yeasts and lees stirring as I do about breaking par at St Andrews - but now the trend is spreading.

Alleged British comedian Graham Norton, who has already released a very decent Marlborough sauvignon blanc in conjunction with Invivo Wines, is now claiming, rather absurdly, to be the "chief winemaker" of a new red blend from South Australia. 

The "talk show host and wine lover" has followed up his 2015 Graham Norton’s Own Sauvignon Blanc By Invivo with the inaugural Graham Norton’s Own 2015 Shiraz to be released in October along with a 2016 savvy. 

We are told it is a blend of grapes from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek. I thought maybe it had been hand-picked by Norton, perhaps with some nude pigeage thrown in. 

Still, if you are on to a good thing.... Norton's savvy blanc has sold almost half a million bottles in the UK, Ireland Australia and New Zealand since its release in October. 

It turns out that Norton didn't even visit South Australia to make the wine. 

The Invivo people say: "“We asked Graham if he would be keen to make a South Australian shiraz, which he was really excited by, so we took six or seven samples from across South Australia and he chose his favourite blend."

So much for "chief winemaker" then. is the joke on us, or will Norton and the Invivo team come up with something special? Stay tuned.