When UK talk show superstar Graham Norton comes to New Zealand, he will be bringing his own roll of toilet paper.
“There always seems to be a story about having to go to the toilet on the roadside,” the chat show host jokes with Spy when asked how Kiwis stacked up on his show’s famous red-chair segment.
Spy met the beloved Irishman via Zoom this week while he was holidaying in New York celebrating his 60th birthday.
His Kiwi business partner in the wine and beverage business, Invivo’s Tim Lightbourne, also Zoomed in from Auckland. The third musketeer, Rob Cameron, was in the South Island getting down to the business of grapes.
Norton had just been out shopping and was thrilled to see his own Invivo wine range for sale in a New York store. He quips that Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker’s Invivo wine was also there but he moved it to a less prominent space.
Graham Norton blending with Rob Cameron. Photo / Supplied
Norton’s efforts to get out to New Zealand over the past few years have been thwarted by Covid, but he hopes to visit the place where the grapes for his eponymous wine are grown next year.
This July will see the trio celebrate 10 years of blending wine together and selling more than 15 million bottles of Norton’s own Invivo-branded wine over the decade.
Lightbourne proudly says: “153 glasses of Graham Norton wines are enjoyed every minute around the world — that’s nearly three glasses every second.
Norton reflects on how it all started and Invivo’s tenacity.
“The boys read an article in NZ that I love NZ sauvignon blanc and made contact with my show as to whether we would like to have their wines for free in the green room. No one had thought of it — so it was a yes.”
Within two years — because Norton trusted Lightbourne and Cameron’s product — a collaboration was born for his own sav.
The team is most proud the product has returned $85 million into the New Zealand viticultural economy throughout its partnership.
Tim Lightbourne and Graham Norton – 10 years ago. Photo / Supplied
Norton has been a shareholder of Invivo since 2014 and since then the company has grown revenue by 733 per cent. The range has expanded too — rose, shiraz, malbec, prosecco, prosecco rose, Irish gin, pink gin, marmalade gin and vodka. His guests can choose their tipple before his show.
“We don’t push alcohol on them; it’s there if they would like,” says Norton with a grin.
He loves the fact the spirits are brewed from the potatoes in his native Ireland and, with the grapes from NZ, are the perfect representation of their partnership.
Norton was well aware of the PR opportunities that could happen for the brand with his name but says the hard slog the Invivo boys put in selling it on the road has seen the brand grow internationally at a phenomenal rate.
He has great memories of the annual blending sessions the three do together and the magic of getting the right balance is quite something to behold, even when Cameron has to shake his head on occasion, knowing there might not be enough of one particular grape to make a blend Norton loves.
Lightbourne can’t believe it’s 10 years since he travelled into the UK with grapes in a chilly bin and within 24 hours had Norton standing in the grapes.
The brand is famous for its headline-grabbing PR stunts, but with Norton, there is an authentic friendship and business partnership with Lightbourne and Cameron.
Apart from the Invivo lads — who is his favourite Kiwi? “Sir Sam Neill,” says Norton — before pointing out the actor is Irish.
“I interviewed him a few weeks ago for his book on radio, he dishes on celebrity beautifully.”
