When rock star Jon Bon Jovi began consuming rosé greater than twenty years in the past, the pink wine type was not precisely en vogue. However his “pink juice” ardour by no means waned, a lot in order that his son, Jesse Bongiovi (the precise, non-stage spelling of their final title), prompt they create their very own model about six years in the past.
They determined to name it Hampton Water, after the seaside Lengthy Island group the place dad consumed a lot of the pink stuff, and enlisted the providers of French winemaker Gerard Bertrand, whose mastery of rosé was simply touted on the quilt of Wine Spectator. In the present day, Hampton Water, which is comprised of grapes grown within the South of France, is among the hottest wines within the market.
Jesse is the one working around the globe to maintain these fires lit, and simply completed weeks of assembly with European wine consumers, distributors, and restaurateurs in London, Hamburg, and the German island of Sylt, amongst different locations. He’s headed to Santa Barbara on July 13, when he’ll be internet hosting a cheerful hour from 5:30 to six:30 p.m., at Montesano’s Market & Deli on Coast Village Highway in Montecito.
He tells us extra about Hampton Water beneath.
Why are you coming to Santa Barbara?
The idea behind the model has all the time been about sharing this concept of the Hampton way of life. We wished to create a model that was not essentially about geographic location. So many wine manufacturers try this, and for good cause. But when I’ve no connection to that geographical place, then what does that model must do with me?
Hampton Water is about transferring past a single location and right into a frame of mind. So why are we going to Santa Barbara? For us, wherever that you would be able to see water is a superb place to drink Hampton Water.
For being a rock star, your dad looks like he’s been a fairly good and regular father.
I don’t have something to base it on, as I solely have one dad. However the factor that’s all the time been an essential piece of their parenting type was to show us onerous work and dedication and all these issues which might be required to achieve success. There definitely was no “Don’t you already know who I’m?” and much more, “You exit and get it every single day.” That’s caught with me since my childhood.
Rosé isn’t traditionally thought of rock ‘n’ roll booze. Did your dad ever get shit from mates for consuming it?
He bought into rosé 25 years in the past, so he was forward of the curve. He’ll declare to at the present time that the East Hampton liquor retailer has Domaine Ott as a result of 15, 20 years in the past, he went to the Mediterranean and tried this superb pink juice and needed to carry it again to the States. He’s all the time been into the pink juice and he handed that alongside to me. I don’t know if he’s ever gotten shit from his contemporaries, however in truth I don’t assume a number of them are throwing again photographs of Jack Daniels anymore.
Fame definitely can assist launch manufacturers, however have you ever needed to take care of any unfavorable connotations that generally hang-out movie star merchandise?
For us, it’s not a star model — it’s a household enterprise. We didn’t do a “Mattress of Roses” rosé and slap my dad’s face on it and hope it will work. We wished to be very considerate in regards to the model and never be pandering. We didn’t need it to be an arrogance product. We wished it to be an actual rosé enterprise.
We’re at present the quantity 5 promoting premium rosé in the US. That doesn’t simply occur randomly. We knew it was gonna be onerous work. I imply, I haven’t been house in 5 weeks.
That’s what a number of different manufacturers neglect. They don’t listen that their juice isn’t superb, or notice that you must go to the conferences and shake the fingers and do the interviews and go to the cool eating places and discuss in regards to the model. You’ve bought to put money into the model or it is going to be right here right now and gone tomorrow.
We’ve all the time believed on this idea and I’ve been prepared to do the work to make it a hit. Now we’ve got an enormous group working each single day to carry it to the following degree.
See HamptonWaterWine.com.