THREE-STAR MICHELIN CHEF AND FIERY ON-SCREEN PERSONALITY GORDON RAMSAY EXPANDS HIS GUSTATORY EMPIRE WITH NEW PREMIUM WINE COLLECTION

BY TIA KIM

Though the Scotland-born celebrity chef amassed international fame slinging shrewd remarks on competition hits like Hell’s Kitchen, The F Word, and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (among several others), Gordon Ramsay is also a damn accomplished chef outside of the screen. The proprietor of 35 restaurants across eight countries, Ramsay has been awarded a meaty 16 Michelin stars throughout his career, placing him in the ranks of culinary czars like Joël Robuchon and Alain Ducasse. The Ramsay brand also spans a master chef culinary academy, line of hard seltzers (aptly named Hell’s Seltzer), and most recently, a collective of clean, refreshingly non-kitschy California wines. In pursuit of the latter, the Stratford-upon-Avon native teamed with revered winemaker and master sommelier Chris Miller at Seabold Cellars, a small sustainable winery in Monterey, California.

The inaugural collection, dubbed Gordon Ramsay Signature Wines, debuted last year and spans eight varietals: a sauvignon blanc, two chardonnays (one reserve), a rosé, pinot noir, pair of cabernet sauvignons, and one biodynamic cabernet reserve. Grapes are sourced from several of the state’s most prominent winemaking regions, including Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Sonoma County, and the preeminent Napa Valley, with details on the soil and corresponding growing season listed for each on the company’s website. According to the chef, minimal intervention was employed during the winemaking process no adjustments, restrained use of cork, little-to-no fining or filtration, and minimal sulfur usage. Only native yeasts are used for fermentation (as opposed to cultured yeasts, which are grown in a lab), typically yielding richer aromatics, deeper depth of flavor, and more complex textures.

Initial production was limited to a mere 2,000 cases, available both online and in Ramsay’s many U.S. restaurants. Prices are wholly digestible, starting at $20 for the rosé and peaking at $60 for the top-end cabernet reserve. Each bottle is also tied to a recipe pairing online, including a vegan “beet” Wellington to complement the pinot noir, crisp salmon sushi with jalapeño dressing for the sauvignon blanc, and a juicy Tomahawk steak with truffle brie mash for the cab reserve. gordonramsay.wine