Whilst the competition between Europe and the US will be fierce out on the course at this weekend’s Ryder Cup, behind the scenes the event has brought two of the world’s most famous wine families – the Rothschilds and Mondavis – back together again with another unique collaboration.
All friends for now: Philippe Sereys de Rothschild with European captain, Thomas Bjork and Jim Furyk for the US
Whether you like your golf or not it’s hard not to get caught up in the emotion and drama of the Ryder Cup. Particularly as it throws so many of the world’s best players up against each other in head to head combat. Multi-millionaires who are normally wrapped up in their own cocoons suddenly having to work as a team, playing with partners they would normally be trying to pummel into the ground and all the while putting national pride ahead of any large pay cheque.
All of which captures the imagination of sport lovers all over the world and not just the respective countries taking part. The Ryder Cup has become one of the biggest televised events outside of the World Cup and Olympics. It has also become big business attracting huge sponsorship deals with some of the biggest luxury names all keen to have their brand names associated with not only such a high profile event, but one that makes inroads into key markets like Asia, China and Japan like no other.
Wine is no exception and there is no doubt the famous Rothschild family stole a march on its competition when it first signed up as the official wine partner to the Ryder Cup in 2014 for its Mouton Cadet brand as part of Baron Phillipe de Rothschild Branded Wines. No doubt with an eye on 2018 when this famous event would be held in his home country for the first time.
Four years later, and with two Ryder Cups already under its belt, the time has come for Paris to host the Ryder Cup 2018. It’s clearly a huge opportunity – and privilege – for the Rothschild family to be involved.
Perfect fit
Mouton Cadet’s special limited edition for the Ryder Cup at the Paris launch earlier in the year
Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, explains why they were first so keen to be involved. “There are three main reasons. We are very happy to associate our brand with a sport that is so linked to all our target markets, particularly the UK, US, Japan and China. It is the first time we have been able to get involved with what is now such a global sporting event. It’s also a good opportunity to bring new, fresh life to a brand that has been around since the 1930s. It is also a way to introduce Mouton Cadet to a new generation of potential wine drinkers. It’s hard even for an established brand like Mouton Cadet to keep our competitive space, especially with so many other wine and luxury brands out there.”
He also believes there are great synergies between the Ryder Cup and Mouton Cadets as brands. “They both have global appeal and everything we both do is done to the best of our ability. The values of wines are also enshrined in golf.”
Sereys de Rothschild says having being involved in two tournaments already clearly gives it an advantage now it is on home turf. But has still called for an enormous amount of preparation: “It’s a lot of hard work and there are lots of things to get right,” he adds. “You need to be fully committed to what you are doing, which is why we are putting all our energies behind it. But we have also recognised that our best customers love the event, and it’s great to be involved for corporate hospitality. At the last event our Japanese guests were up, dressed and all ready to go at 4am.”
Quite who has the made the guest list for this weekend’s event must have been a difficult call to make. Whoever they are in for quite a treat for a number of the main PR events for the sponsors will be happening at the Palace of Versailles.
“This really does give us a wonderful opportunity to entertain our guests. We will be offering a special three day trip for our VIP guests that will involve a day at the golf, a whole day at Versailles, which is being closed for the day for the Ryder Cup sponsors, and then a trip down to Bordeaux to see our properties there.”
Mondavi reunion
Rothschilds and Mondavis re-united with Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, centre, left Chiara Mondavi and right Mouton Cadet winemaker Pierre Lambert,
Then there is the wine itself, or in this case a limited edition of Mouton Cadet that is not only a nod to the Ryder Cup, but also reflects the Rothschilds own winemaking history and its associations with the United States that date back to the work and partnerships it has had most notably with the Mondavi family and the creation of Opus One in 1980.
Sereys de Rothschild explains what they have done together with the new wine: “It’s a very special wine as it is an opportunity to do a project with the Mondavi family in California that we have known for so many years and we have such a friendship with. It’s great that our paths should cross again in this way. This elegant blend has been created by Pierre Lambert, master winemaker of Mouton Cadet and American winemaker Chiara Mondavi. They have selected 12 remarkable terroirs from the Bordeaux appellation, like the best 12 players in each Ryder Cup team. The wine will also be the official wine on sale on the course to all the 250,000 spectators and VIPS during the Ryder Cup in September.”
You are, though, unlikely to find it down your local wine merchants to enjoy whilst watching the golf on the TV. There have only been 7,000 cases produced and they are being carefully distributed around the company’s key markets in Japan, China, certain golf-focused US states and at selected outlets in the UK like the Hyatt London and Sofitel London.
Post Paris
So will the Rothschilds be looking to play on with the Ryder Cup beyond Paris? “We shall have to see as all our focus at the moment is on 2018. But the whole process is fun to be involved in and it really helps with the visibility of the brand. You have to have people talking about your product and that they understand you are there for quality and for the long term. So we need to keep that noise at the right level,” adds Rothschild.
Which is also crucial for all its other wines, particularly when cutting through in the competitive world of fine wine. “There is a big market now for icon wines from around the world and that is still developing and growing. It is why we started our joint venture in Chile over 20 years ago (with Conchya y Toro and Almaviva).”
But then he also thrives on the competition. “Everyone talks to everyone. It is a very interconnected industry. We just have to focus on what we should be doing and the quality we should be producing. We are constantly tasting and evaluating our wines, and taste a lot of our older wines against our younger ones to ensure we always have that elegance, but also freshness and fruit in our wines.
“There is no secret to winemaking. The terroir does everything it can and we do the rest to best reflect that terroir.”
- The Mouton Cadet Ryder Cup is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It includes a design that capture key words that highlight the similarities between wine and golf: respect, tradition, prestige, and teamwork.
- The Ryder Cup takes place between September 28-30 at Le Golf National in Paris.
