This past year sent many people looking for new wines, and they may have been bemused to discover that celebrities are taking over the industry. Cameron Diaz has Avaline, Mary J. Blige has Sun Goddess, and Sarah Jessica Parker her award-winning partnership with Invivo. It comes as no surprise that the latter’s 2019 Sauvignon Blanc is considered one of the top 100 wines this year, according to Wine Spectator. “I’ve loved learning about the business and everything I can about wine,” says Parker.
In-person wine tasting and blending would’ve created the perfect follow-up to the award-winning 2019 vintage, but amid the pandemic Parker and the wine producers in New Zealand had to adapt, quickly. The solution: an at-home wine blending kit and virtual tasting sessions. “We’ve now done two virtual blending sessions. We did our second Sauvignon Blanc in April and we just did our second Rose from Provence. it’s really fun. It’s pure science, trying to reach the perfect blend based on the accuracy of each pour,” Parker explains. Of course, with the actor in New York and her partners in New Zealand, the time difference presented an added challenge. “We normally start in the middle of the day, which feels very peculiar to be drinking that much in the middle of day—or in some cases, it’s been really welcome.”
As Parker prepares for her holiday at home with a honey-baked ham and a roast (“all those things we typically make, just fewer and less”), her wines will be helping others get a meal to eat. Through a partnership with FEED Projects, Invivo x SJP has committed to donating a varying percentage per each individual purchase in order to reach their goal of 330,000 meals for those who are food insecure.
When it comes to her downsized family dinner—she has 8 brothers and sisters, but they’re spread out across places and time zones, meaning it will be a holiday of Facetimes—Parker is finally bringing out a set of dishes she’s been collecting over the years, figuring it’s high time she fully appreciated their beauty and utility. “They’re all mismatched hotel plates,” she explains. “For years I was like, ‘Oh, we can’t use these,’ but now I’m like: Use them. Put them in the dishwasher. Enjoy them.” She’ll be pairing the dishes with jelly jars and bistro cups for a nonchalant gathering, which is an approach she hopes her wine inspires, rather than the intimidation that some bottles evoke. “There aren’t any rules. The whole point is to just enjoy it.” It’s advice we could all use, heading into a season of festivities that won’t look like any other.