JOHN LEGEND @HAMPTONSMAG MLHAMPTONS.COM Jacket and shirt by Prada

L E G E N D I N T H E MAKING

MANY CELEBRITIES HAVE TRIED THEIR HAND AT WINEMAKING. JOHN LEGEND IS COMMITTED TO MAKING SURE HIS COLLECTION OF VARIETALS GETS TOP BILLING.

BY MARSHALL HEYMAN PHOTOGRAPHED BY DOUG INGLISH/TRUNK ARCHIVE STYLED BY WILLIAM GRAPER Sweater by Michael Kors

or a while, John Legend was made the connection more explicit by doing wine tastings at just John Legend. You know, my shows. a University of Pennsylvania- educated crooner with dulcet-toned Tell me about your new sparkling rosé. A lot of it’s based pipes. His songs, like 2013’s “All of on what we like to drink and what we like to entertain our Me” or 2016’s “Love Me Now,” were friends and family with. In some ways, it’s kind of selfish, perfect for a teary-eyed subway but it’s also understanding what the market wants and what ride home from a tough day at we like to drink. work; for the bubble bath that took place as soon as you walked in the What kinds of things does it pair with? We love the flat rosé door; and for any potential roll in with barbecue chicken, fried chicken and coleslaw. We’re the hay that might—fingers crossed—happen after. still figuring out the sparkling rosé. I’ve served it for brunch fBut Legend isn’t just that anymore. He’s also a with French toast and that was good. sometime actor; a successful film and television producer with his company, Get Lifted; a coach on The Voice; a Do you drink your wine every day? Not every day. When I’m voice on Google Assistant; and Mr. Chrissy Teigen, on tour, I don’t drink much at all. When we do a wine tasting who is a hilarious model, an impromptu chef and a VIP experience, I only taste. I like to stay really hydrated, multihyphenate in her own right. Together, they have two and I need to keep my voice as pristine as possible and not children: Luna and Miles. Legend is even an EGOT (that’s affect the wear and tear. But I usually have at least a glass of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner). red with dinner when I’m at home. But that’s not enough for him. Like Drew Barrymore, Brad Pitt, Dwyane Wade and Jon Bon Jovi, Legend launched What’s cooking like with your wife? We don’t really cook his own wine company, LVE (lvewines.‌com), featuring a together. I cook for her; she cooks for me. She’s a bit more chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, Napa Valley, sparkling creative in the kitchen. I like to follow recipes, and I’m very brut blanc de blancs, red blend and Côtes de Provence good at executing them. I’ll look them up online or literally rosé, as well as a French sparkling rosé, which launched in her book. I’m not really creative in the kitchen, but I love this summer. to cook.

So, what made you want to get into the wine business? What do you like that Chrissy makes, and what does she I’ve loved wine for most of my adult life. It’s accompanied like that you make? I love the French onion soup in her new lots of travel, romance and great meals­—a lot of good times. book. It’s incredible. She also does a really good braised I also thought it went well with my music. A lot of my fans short rib. I like to make macaroni and cheese. She loves my tell me they like to drink a glass of wine when they listen to mac and cheese—the garlic is really important. I usually my records. So, [thinking of] my personality, my music and drink rosé with that. my love of wine, I started looking into a collaboration with a vineyard. I connected with Jean-Charles Boisset at Raymond What’s the most expensive bottle of wine you’ve ever Vineyards on so many levels—musically and personality- bought? I don’t even want to say the price! We were at a wise as well. We thought it would be cool to come up with Michelin-starred restaurant in the south of France and the something together. It’s really important to find collaborators. sommelier recommended a wine, but he didn’t tell us how If you don’t have a lot of credibility, it’s great to partner with much it was. At a certain point, you should give someone someone who does. It’s a lot of fun integrating the wines into a warning when it’s in the high thousands, right? When our entertaining, dining experiences and concerts. the check came, I said, “Baby, this wine is way more than you’d expect.” But after you drink it, it’s too late. They got How difficult is it to develop new wines? It’s a process to get us. It was good—but it would have been good at a much the blends exactly the way we want them. There’s a lot to it, cheaper price. but luckily I’ve been working with a partner who has been doing it for years. I feel like I’m cheating a bit. Are summers downtime for you? I’m always busy, but we try to go on vacation. Last year, we went to Bali for Is it harder to develop a new wine or write a new song? I 3 ½ weeks. This summer, we’ll spend two or three weeks in make new songs all the time. I can create a new song in a few Europe. Singers have to sing year-round—there are festivals, hours. That doesn’t mean it’s going to come out on a record weddings, all kinds of things. I’m also working on some new that way. There’s a process of going back and forth with a music I’m excited about. blend until you get it right. There are arrangements and mixes. If the arrangement isn’t right, a song won’t sound like Where’s your favorite place to drink rosé in the Hamptons? it’s supposed to sound. Finding that perfection or beauty is Usually in someone’s backyard. We have some good friends kind of a similar process to making wine. with nice houses, and you don’t really need to go out. I miss New York and the Hamptons. I lived in New York for 15 Why do people like buying wine from celebrities? Part of it years. We have more friends on the East Coast than we do is experiential and who the person is. I think people connect on the West Coast. We’re going to be in the Hamptons July my music with romance and serenity, and soulfulness and 13 for an event with Hamptons magazine, and I’m doing a a certain vibe. Wine goes really well with that perception concert at Surf Lodge July 14. The Hamptons and rosé are the of me. I always thought it made sense, and then we also perfect combination. Sweater by Giorgio Armani; watch, Legend’s own. Opposite page: Jacket by Valentino; sweater by Giorgio Armani.

Hair by Ron Stephens

Makeup by Louise Moon using MAC