Everyone knows Emma Watson's life as an actor in such iconic films as Harry Potter and Little Women. But who knew the Hollywood star spent her summers tending to the care of grapevines planted by her parents on a sprawling stretch of rolling hills that grow over craggy limestone in Chablis, France?
Those vines first planted in the unforgiving soil in the famous French wine region 30 years ago are now the main ingredients for the luxury sprit created by her younger brother Alex: Renais Gin.
Alex chose the brand, and the gin's gorgeous golden glass bottle, as a nod to the French word renaissance's translation as a "rebirth." The name is fitting as his recipe starts with discarded grape remnants used for Domaine Watson, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines produced on the English family's vineyards.
"It's like taking the best bits of the wine, what would be otherwise thrown away, and making this magic elixir," Alex Watson tells Los Angeles. "My father put all of this love and care and attention is going into growing his grapes … and then they would be pressed and discarded. I wanted to do something different."
And different it is.
Alex Watson's recipe uses grape skins, pulp, seeds and stems after the fruit had been pressed as the gin base instead of grain, which gives it a distinct minerality, the same earthy amazingness that Domaine Watson is famous for. It all starts with the Kimmeridgian stone-laden soils that feed his family's vineyards grapes, and is then brought to life with locally grown juniper, grains of paradise, linden flowers and acacia honey to give it a soft, smooth taste with a kick of spice.
The U.S. release of the Watson family spirit, which was first sold in Europe in 2023, is truly a family affair. Emma Watson made her directorial debut by filming a tribute to Renais Gin in a touching video shot with her little brother. She released it on her Instagram writing: "The US has been my second home since I first went to Brown in Rhode Island, so I am thrilled to be bringing Renais abroad and home again! Making this with friends and family has been one of the most rewarding, creative experiences I’ve ever had."
The Watson family chose Los Angeles for its U.S. debut because of "the richness of the people and culture," Alex explained as he sipped a gin martini made with Renais at a Hollywood launch event at Tesse on Sunset Boulevard — one of several cocktails that accompanied the sumptuous Tesse dinner courses to show off the gin's flavor profiles.
He traveled to L.A. with his father, an attorney who is recognized internationally as a communications law expert. The Watson family patriarch told Los Angeles "he couldn't be prouder," of his children's new venture which will continue to honor the legacy and the land that he fell in love with before they were born.
Renais Gin's popularity has exploded overseas, and hit the luxury spirits market in the U.S. in late June. Now Chris Watson, an avid fly fisherman, says he is mulling retirement so he could spend more time helping Alex run the company.
"That's exactly what I was hoping would happen," Alex says. "I found a way to spend more time with my father."
