TV host Graham Norton holds surprise wine tasting in Auckland supermarket

• Irish chat show host Graham Norton made a surprise appearance in Auckland this afternoon, hosting a wine tasting in a supermarket.
• Norton has a range of wines and spirits, produced in collaboration with New Zealand winery Invivo.
• The television host is in New Zealand for a three-city tour of his show An Evening with Graham Norton.

Butter, milk, run-in with a celebrity? People at an Auckland supermarket this afternoon were surprised when television host Graham Norton stopped by unannounced to host a wine tasting.

The 61-year-old Irish broadcaster is in New Zealand for the first time for a three-city tour of his show, An Evening with Graham Norton.

Shortly after 3pm, he was spotted in the Woolworths’ Mt Roskill store handing out samples from his Graham Norton Wines range, alongside unusual food pairings such as devilled eggs, seaweed and chilli sauce.

“The idea today is just sort of seeing what wine goes with what food and if people will push themselves to kind of try new things,” he told the Herald.

Tayla Gore was on the phone to her boyfriend when she spotted Norton in the store for his wine promotion.

“That’s so funny! I came at the right time,” she laughed.

Debbie Tan said this was the first time they’d seen a celebrity in the supermarket.

“I didn’t know what to expect but he was so nice, it was what you hoped it would be.”

Rasika Devle tasted Norton’s sauvignon blanc, which she described as “fruity”.

“You can really taste the grapes, I guess? It was sour but I liked it. I’m a big fan of whites.”

Rasika Devle described Graham Norton as "friendly" and his wine as "fruity". Photo / Alyse Wright

Lisa Aull is not a fan of sauvignon blanc and told Norton as much.

“I was very honest with him, and I feel like I can be because I’m over 50 now,” she said.

“Sav’s not my fave but it was very lovely.”

However, not everyone was starstruck by the celebrity sighting.

A mother passing by told her child, “that’s the man mummy and daddy went to see last night” – to which the child replied: “Can we go now?”

Graham Norton leads Lisa Aull through a wine and snack pairing in-store at Woolworths Mt Roskill. Photo / Alyse Wright

Norton was joined in store by Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron, co-founders of the Te Kauwhata-based Invivo Wines, who have produced wine bearing Norton’s name since 2014.

Lightbourne said it was a huge help to have Norton involved in the Invivo business.

“What we’re selling and what we’re creating is incredibly high-quality New Zealand sauvignon blanc from regions around the country,” he said.

“We need to celebrate that, having someone like Graham on board is so helpful to help elevate that story.”

Norton’s collaboration with Invivo in 2011 began when the winemakers spotted Norton drinking New Zealand sauvignon blanc on The Graham Norton Show.

“These guys from Invivo, they heard about it, and they got in touch and they said, ‘we hear you like New Zealand sauvignon blanc, do you want some for the show?‘” Norton said.

“You’re never too old or too rich for a free drink so we said ‘yes’, and that relationship started that way.”

Tim Lightbourne, Rob Cameron, Haydn Jones and Graham Norton at a surprise wine tasting event at Woolworths Mt Roskill. Photo / Alyse Wright

The cheeky offer has since proved fruitful; in 2024, Invivo produced its 20 millionth bottle of Graham Norton wine.

Woolworths New Zealand’s general manager of liquor, Jamie Matthewson, said Norton’s wines were popular with shoppers even when he was not personally on hand to promote them.

“Graham Norton Wines are a top pick for Woolies customers and it’s a treat to have him join us for this event.”