Time was, any self-respecting celebrity would have been more concerned with scotch and cigarettes than a nice glass of wine. But that is so last century

Today, indie band singers become teen idols through reality tv and barely register the irony, bands fire their lead singers for taking too many drugs, and having a baby in a car without a seatbelt is the outer limits of misbehaviour. So we shouldn’t be surprised that when modern celebrities want to diversify their interests, they look for the veneer of sophistication that is offered by vineyards.

The end result, however, can be pretty mixed. For every Niebaum Coppola, there’s a Koala Blue. It was when the news of Madonna’s latest vinous adventure hit the newspapers that I thought I really ought to look into the ‘celebrity turned winemaker’ thing.

Olivia Newton John’s Koala Blue Shiraz 2004, £9.99
Well, I wasn’t holding out high hopes for this bottle, and I have to say that I was not disappointed. She’s sensibly played it safe, going for chardonnay and shiraz, Australia’s two best known grape varieties, and the winemakers have recently improved the quality by adding a greater quantity of Padthaway wine into the final blend (an area of South Australia that is graced with terra rossa soil and produces some of Australia’s most successful wines from Southcorp Lindeman’s, Hardy’s and Stonehaven’s). Olivia has also put her name to a higher quality range of Coonawarra Cabernets, but this entry level wine falls well short of success, starting off with reasonable amounts of fruit, but trailing off quickly into that telltale sweetness that can blight so many New World wines.

Andy Hill’s Nyetimber 1999 Cuvée Classic, £20.99
Yes, we have a celebrity making genuinely world class wines on our very own doorstep. Okay, so you might not have heard of Andy Hill, but you will have heard his output - he was songwriter for Buck’s Fizz, and recently has penned hits for Celine Dion, Boyzone and Il Divo. Now served at Downing Street alongside Pétrus, Nyetimber has long ceased to be ‘that English sparkler’ and become one of the best sparkling wines anywhere, including most champagnes. When Hill bought the estate in 2001, Nyetimber was producing 10,000 bottles a year; now, under the winemaker Dermot Sugrue, it is making 55,000. This classic cuvée is just what you are looking for in a bubbly - lovely crisp flavours, biscuity undertones and bubbles that just keep on coming.

Cliff Richard’s Vida Nova 2004, £8.95
Misteltoe and Wine had long obliterated any fuzzy memories that I had of Summer Holiday and I was unsure that I even wanted to try Vida Nova, but it was a great surprise; a bit heavy on the alcohol, but rich and supple. When Cliff bought the Quinta da Moinho estate on the Portugese Algarve, he discovered old vines in need of a lot of attention, and brought in David Baverstock, the winemaker at the successful Esporão in the Alentejo. Together they planted shiraz, aragonez, and mourvêdre. The first vintage of Vida Nova went down well, causing Sir Cliff to comment, “We only made 200 bottles, but I got better reviews for that wine than I have ever done for any of my concerts or albums. Clearly I should have gone into wine in the first place and not bothered at all with rock and roll.” If only...

Gerard Depardieu’s Ma Verité Haut Médoc, 2004, £44
If you want to be assured of a good bottle, then look no further. Not only did Depardieu recently announce that he was giving up films to concentrate on his vineyards, he was also smart enough to enlist the help of his friend Bernard Magrez with the production. Magrez is one of Bordeaux’s most successful winemakers, and owner of Chateau Pape Clément. The pedigree shows in the wine, with the same rounded mouth feel and rich fruit that Magrez is renowned for, with a touch of mint and spice. This Haut Médoc chateau also has the same high standards of viticulture that Magrez employs with Pape Clément - individually picking not just each bunch, but each grape. Personally, I love this wine. And when it comes to trusting a winemaker, my money is on the one who declares, “I can be happy on this earth with very little, but I like to have a lot in my glass.”

Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks Last Chance, 2004, £14.95
Sam Neill must be alone in the world of celebrity wine makers for making no mention of his name on the label, despite the fact that it stood out head and shoulders above most of the wines in this tasting, and it’s got a lot more to be proud of than Jurassic Park III. This is a beautifully delicate Pinot Noir from the Central Otago area of New Zealand, vinified in the traditional Burgundian manner of low yields, hand picking and oak ageing. Bright berry flavours and a purity of fruit that is just delicious. I can still taste this, and my notes are from two days ago. The family-run business (Neill takes no credit for the actual winemaking, although he is more involved in decision-making than many winemakers on this page) has also just released a series of Picnic Wines - a chardonnay, a sauvignon blanc and a merlot, that are less expensive but still eminently quaffable.

Stockists

Two Paddocks (www.twopaddocks.com) UK stockists Haynes Hanson & Clark, 020 7259 0102 www.hhandc.co.uk

Vida Nova (www.cliff-guaranteed.co.uk) UK stockists Waitrose and Sainsburys

Koala Blue (www.koalablue.com) UK stockists Fullers bars and restaurants.

Nyetimber (www.nyetimber-vineyard.com); UK stockists Waitrose, Majestic (www.majestic.co.uk)

and selected independents

Ma Verité France stockists Lavinia, Paris (www.lavinia.fr)