Gin, Grapes & Gryffindor: Alex Watson Has All Three On His Resume
Alex and Emma Watson grew up with the vineyards of Chablis as their playground. Dinner time was an opportunity to guess tasting notes, and summer holidays were a chance to meet winemakers and brush up on their French before a big exam. So it’s hardly surprising that the siblings are now co-founders of a luxury drinks brand that’s rooted in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions.
“In France, the culture around letting your kids have a small sip of wine with a bit of water at mealtimes is quite a common practice. Dad would encourage us to play games and guess the tasting notes and in many ways, for me and Emma, it destigmatised drinks for us.
The Watson siblings are now co-founders of a luxury drinks brand.
Also, it probably made it not particularly cool because it’s something your dad does,” Alex laughs. So it’s safe to say they probably missed out on the great teenage rite of hiding alcohol from your parents.
But perhaps convention isn’t really the thing when one grows up as the younger brother of one of the world’s biggest stars.
A normal life
Alex was about 7 years old when his sister started filming the Harry Potter franchise, so having a famous sibling was just a part of everyday life. “I suppose I didn’t know it any other way. You don’t have any sense of normal when you’re a kid,” he says.
Perhaps convention isn’t really the thing when one grows up as the younger brother of one of the world’s biggest stars.
But of course, being the brother of the actress who played the cleverest witch of her age at Hogwarts brought along some opportunities.
While accompanying Emma to one of her film premieres, Alex was spotted by Christopher Bailey, the then chief creative officer of Burberry. One thing led to another, and Alex found himself starring in the 2010 Burberry campaign alongside his sister, which kicked off a couple of years of modelling and a bit of acting. “I don’t think I was terribly good at it,” Alex insists. “But I’ll always be grateful I had a few fun years of getting to do that.”
Alex did share a particularly shining point in his acting portfolio – the internet might have you believe that he played a Hufflepuff student in one of the Harry Potter films, but the truth is Alex Watson had about a second of screen time where he played a *drumroll* Gryffindor student at the breakfast table in the fifth film. “A lot of people might be shocked by this news, but I’m happy to give you the scoop here. If you can pause and find me in the film, you’d be doing a very good job,” he says. [Sadly, this writer was unable to locate Alex’s one second of Harry Potter fame, but that doesn’t mean she will not try again…]
The journey to entrepreneurship
While Alex’s career seems to have taken him to a place where he always meant to be – the co-founder of a premium gin brand, there is also an alternate universe where he might have swapped sunny Chablis for the snowy peaks of Courchevel. A qualified ski instructor, Alex spent holidays skiing in the French Alps (can we have a moment for the life-changing capabilities of school holidays?).
Alex’s career seems to have taken him to a place where he always meant to be.
“I have a big soft spot for France. We would go skiing in the French Alps a lot, which was awesome as a kid, and my favourite holiday is a ski trip. If I wasn’t doing this, I might be a ski instructor.”
But although skiing and showbiz didn’t quite pan out professionally, Alex was increasingly drawn to the hospitality industry. He worked with the multinational drinks company Diageo for about three years, where he handled commercial planning and activations. And while it was a dream job for him, Alex found himself conjuring a little magic of his own – in the form of the now nearly two-year-old gin brand, Renais.
It all started when Alex began to pull at the threads to find out where the grape skins from his family’s winery in Chablis were going.
I was partly encouraged by Emma, who said I either needed to stop talking about this project or do it.
Eventually, he figured there was a way you could distil a spirit from the grape skins, and essentially carry on the legacy of his family’s business. (His father, Chris, has been making wine in Chablis for more than thirty years.) “I was partly encouraged by Emma, who said I either needed to stop talking about this project or do it.”
Made from upcycled grape skins from the vineyards of Chablis (including his father’s winery, Domaine Watson), the gin is both a continuation of his family’s legacy in winemaking and marks his first venture into entrepreneurship. “It’s a bit of a roller coaster,” he says. “The moments that are great are just the best feeling in the world, but when there are problems, the buck stops with you, and that can be very stressful. But I love it and I’m incredibly grateful to get to do this.”
A spirit with a story
And talking about special moments… Alex has certainly been given a vote of confidence by the community of Chablis as well, a region that’s so precious to the Watson family. Earlier this year, Alex was inducted into the Confrerie (Chablis’ guild of winemakers) by the Piliers of Chablis, aka the senior winemakers of the land, in a ceremony that recognises services to the region.
Responsibilities include drinking a lot of Chablis wine and encouraging people to drink it as well.
“Undoubtedly one of the coolest moments of my life,” Alex says. His dad is also part of the Confrerie – “If there’s a hierarchy of layers, he’s at the top and I’m somewhere at the bottom”. Responsibilities include drinking a lot of Chablis wine and encouraging people to drink it as well – as far as KRA’s go, this one’s definitely up there with the greats.
In the sea of celebrity-endorsed alcohol brands out there, Renais feels exceptionally personal. After just a few minutes of chatting with Alex Watson, it’s evident that there is real passion here, that’s resulted in the creation of a spirit that’s born out of decades of family history and a fondness for a region that holds sunny childhood memories. After all, who doesn’t love a spirit with a story – and a little spell or two thrown in doesn’t hurt either.
