Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could become the next couple to join the ranks of other celebrities to open their own winery in Santa Barbara, as they settle into their new lives away from the royal family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to the premier Southern California wine-making region last year and after landing multi-million dollar megadeals with Netflix and Spotify locals say this could be their next great venture.
Speaking from their $14.5million mansion earlier this month, the pair revealed they were eager to ‘live authentically’ and get back ‘down to basics’ at their home.
Locals and winemakers in and around the couple’s new hometown believe Montecito could be the best place for Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, to launch their own Brangelina-style wine label.
Harry and Meghan have been busy starting new business ventures after leaving the royal family last year. Neighbors tell DailyMail.com the two should dip their toes in the Southern California winery business next
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to the premier Southern California winemaking region last year after stepping down from their royal duties. Pictured above is Meghan and Harry’s $14.5million Montecito mansion
Insiders say the move would make a lot of sense if they were to add a winery to their $14million mansion.
The idea could especially pique the interest of Meghan, who is also known to be a huge wine fan and named her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig after her favorite red wine.
The couple even served a Californian red wine – Domaine Eden pinot noir – at their May 2018 wedding in Windsor Castle.
And there is already a growing trend for top tier Hollywood celebrities to get involved in the wine industry.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Jon Bon Jovi have all done well in the wine industry as well as Brad and Angelina.
Local resident Penny Bianchi, who lives next door to Harry and Meghan interviewer and friend, Oprah Winfrey, said: ‘Investing in wine is pretty common in Montecito.
‘I’ve got a bunch of friends who have wineries, I even know a couple of people who have vineyards on their own properties.
‘It seems to be a very popular thing to do around here so I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry and Meghan did the same.
David DeLaski (pictured) who runs Solminer winery in Santa Barbara County with wife Anna (left) after they moved up from Los Angeles, tell DailyMail.com they believe Harry and Meghan would be welcomed with open arms by the wine industry there
Santa Barbara County is home to more than 275 wineries (stock image) and its bustling wine scene were famously portrayed in Oscar-winning movie Sideways in 2004
Award-winning Santa Barbara winemaker Greg Martellotto (left) who runs Martellotto Winery in Buellton, said the project could be a great transition from their ambassadorship from the Queen. According to DeLaski (right) starting up could cost up to $10million – but that shouldn’t be a problem for Harry and Meghan
‘Montecito has so many great things to speak of and the wine industry is one of them.
‘It would be really interesting and cool if they started a wine label of their own.’
Santa Barbara County is home to more than 275 wineries and its bustling wine scene were famously portrayed in Oscar-winning movie Sideways in 2004.
The region’s wine industry is estimated to have an annual economic impact of $1.7billion and employs almost 10,000 people, according to the Santa Barbara Vintners website.
Much of its success is due to its location among East to West-oriented mountains, which create perfect conditions for cool climate wines such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Award-winning Santa Barbara winemaker Greg Martellotto, who runs Martellotto Winery in Buellton and is a member of the Santa Barbara Vintners Association, told DailyMail.com: ‘I think it would be fantastic if Harry and Meghan get involved with our industry.
‘It would be confirmation of what wine insiders already know.
‘They are global people with name recognition around the world who could go anywhere but they came to Santa Barbara and I think that in and of itself says a lot.
Harry and Meghan could potentially follow in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s footsteps in launching their own wine label. The former Hollywood couple create their own rose wine, Miraval, Cote de Provence (right) displayed in Paris, in 2013
Meghan and Harry opened up on their lives after leaving the royal family for the first time earlier this month, expressed their desire to live more ‘authentically’
‘It would be great for them to transition their ambassadorship from the Queen to the Santa Barbara wine region.
‘Santa Barbara is like Napa 20 or 25 years ago.
‘It’s clear that we are producing world class wines and there’s great opportunity here because Napa is outrageously priced and there is definitely land available in Santa Barbara.
‘It’s exciting and for me as a producer, when we get people from other regions coming in it reinforces what we know – there’s an exciting future for wine in Santa Barbara.
‘Harry and Meghan are following a long line of British expats who moved to Santa Barbara, including John Cleese and (Depeche Mode musician) Martin Gore.
‘It’s the latest chapter of the British Invasion to California.’
David DeLaski, who runs Solminer winery in Santa Barbara County with wife Anna after they moved up from Los Angeles, also believes Harry and Meghan would be welcomed with open arms by the wine industry there.
DeLaski said: ‘Santa Barbara offers a lot to winemakers, they call it the American Riviera. It’s a magical place.
During their bombshell interview with Oprah on CBS, Meghan and Harry showed off the hens they rescued from a factory farm while giving a rare glimpse of their $14.5 million mansion in Montecito. Sources told DailyMail.com the idea to keep chickens could have come from Oprah herself
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared candid footage of Archie playing on a beach during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month
‘It has amazing climate and it is just a beautiful place to grow grapes.
‘Every varietal does well, the weather is great but is also nice and cool by Southern California standards.
‘It’s an up and coming world class wine region where you can find affordable property, although it is coming up in price because of the increase in demand.
Penny Bianchi, who lives next door to Harry and Meghan interviewer and friend, Oprah Winfrey, said she wouldn’t be surprised if the couple were inspired to invest in winemaking
‘There’s a lot of celebrities buying up property in this area as it’s just two hours away from LA.
‘People are starting to understand that there are some pretty special wines coming from this place.
‘You can get set up to produce wine very easily if you have the means.
‘Lots of people have success in other businesses and decide they want to come and spend money in wine country on a new venture.
‘You just need $10million and you’re good to go, which I guess for Harry and Meghan is no problem.
‘If money is no object there are definitely people here in the community that will help you to spend it on creating a really beautiful wine facility.
‘There’s a lot of infrastructure and talented people to hire, it’s a whole industry.
‘It’s a lifestyle choice – celebrities like Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas and P!nk own wineries in the area.
‘P!nk is our neighbor, her kids go to our school. She’s great, just a very down to earth person.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were seen dressed down as they made their first outing as non-Royals in their adopted new home state of California in April 2020
‘It’s a very supportive winemaking community here, we’re artisan winemakers so we are not as much in competition with each other and more with big industrial winemaking brands.
‘We’re trying to work together to show people something special which they can’t find at a grocery store.
‘I think Harry and Meghan would fit into the winemaking community here.’
Meghan spoke of the enormous impact that wine had on her life on her blog The Tig.
Telling the story of the first time she tasted Tignanello, she wrote: ‘So there I am, with very minimal wine knowledge and I take a sip of this wine.
‘It wasn’t just red or white – suddenly I understood what people meant by the body, legs, structure of wine. It was an ah-ha moment at its finest.
‘For me, it became a ‘Tig’ moment – a moment of getting it.
‘From that point on, any new awareness, any new discovery or ‘ohhhhh, I get it!’ moment was a ‘Tig’ moment.’