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Stars such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie find their new liquid assets

 

Christopher Beanland
Thursday 23 May 2013 15:44 BST
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Singer-songwriter and real ale buff Ed Harcourt
Singer-songwriter and real ale buff Ed Harcourt

The arts and intoxication have gone hand-in-jittery-hand for centuries – so perhaps it's no surprise how many stars are making their own booze.

Francis Ford Coppola began this trend back in 1975, when he bought his first winery in Napa, California. The terroir was blessed: he has just won a mammoth 26 awards for his vintages at the 2013 International Wine and Spirit Competition in London.

Last month Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie released the first rosé from their Château Miraval estate in Provence. One thousand of the £90, six-bottle, cases sold out within hours.

Other celebs to have gone into the wine biz include Dan Aykroyd, Antonio Banderas, Drew Barrymore and Sam Neill. Aussie metal band AC/DC even released a "Back in Black" Shiraz.

It's not just wine – musicians have taken to microbrewing beers. "I wore a nice Breaking Bad-style outfit and lugged bin bags around and measured things out, but had no idea what the hell was going on," says singer-songwriter and real ale buff Ed Harcourt, who has just brewed his own 6.9 per cent Dark Heart Ale to promote his latest album, Back into the Woods. "Thankfully I was surrounded by beardy gents who knew exactly what to do."

British microbrew crew Signature helped Harcourt join the ranks of fellow first-time musician-brewers like Professor Green, Elbow and Enter Shikari – all of whom brewed up a storm to promote their records in a novel way.

signature brew.co.uk

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