In this day and age, every new mega-celebrity seems to be attempting to juggle five different career paths outside their initial fame-inspiring field. Actors are singing and singers are acting . . . and I find myself constantly debating which transition is more respectable. Every ex-NSYNC member is either snatching minor acting roles, Dancing With the Stars, or starting clothing lines it seems (Chris Kirkpatrick's "FuMan Skeeto" - Seriously? Incidentally, the label is nowhere to be found on Wikipedia, and if I can't "wiki" it, it might as well not exist). Every Paris Hilton wannabe, it seems, is hopping on the "everything-I-touch-MUST-turn-to-gold" bandwagon. And wait .... Why are some of these infamous reality TV stars and gossip magazine cutouts famous in the first place?

Amid this spiraling fame-mongering and Midas-touch cross-marketing delusion, it warms my celebrity-condemning little heart to see a legitimate star succeed in his second career outside the entertainment spotlight while benefiting society. The famous rock/pop singer from the 1950s and 60s, Sir Cliff Richard, has a winery to go with his title. And he's doing pretty damn good too! He calls it Adega do Cantor - "Winery of the Singer" - no joke. Sir Clifford's Vida Nova label has been recognized with awards and medals in Portugal, bringing prestige, fame and wine lovers to the Algarve where his winery is located, deep in the heart of the popular tourist region on Portugal's southern coast.

Sir Clifford's use of celebrity's Midas-touch is impressive not for the popularity it brings to the benighted one's vineyard fiefdom, but for the recognition it brings to the Algarve which is increasingly being recognized for its own distinctive wine production. Oenophiles, connoisseurs and wine snobs may have attributed a tourist destination's rap to the Algarve, dismissing its local blends as mere "plonk" while attributing the production of Portugal's finest "vinho" (Portugese for "vino") to more northerly regions. But that's not the case anymore. Vineyards, wine tours, and wine tastings are opening up delicious taste experiences to travelers bound for Portugal's southern coast, providing tourists from around Europe and beyond with evermore reasons to visit the Algarve.

Cecilia Pires, writing in the Algarve and Lisbon edition of The Resident, reports that the "two main wineries in the Algarve, the Lagoa and Lagos cooperatives, are joining forces to create the new Adega Cooperativa do Algarve, or Algarve Wine Cooperative" in order to "concentrate the production of wine under one umbrella and improve the wine quality in the region and marketing strategies for local producers". The cooperative has future plans to further raise the profile of the Algarve's wine district, including a new wine museum and a bevy of new restaurant openings to showcase wine tasting along with other epicurean delights for visitors to the Algarve.

If I've learned anything from my Portuguese grandfather, who makes his own wine as well, it's that the right wine has to be savored with the right food. Handing me a bottle of his homemade cellar "vinho", he insists I make sure to have it with a meal. But maybe it's not my palette he's concerned with and he's actually just echoing my Portuguese grandmother who urges me to eat every five minutes when I visit her? In the Portuguese mindset, to feed someone is to love someone. So if food equals love, and food goes with drink, wine must equal love! And that is why I am so sure Sir Cliff's business venture will bring good to the world as well as raising the profile of the Algarve's traditional and modern wineries. He's handing out love, one savory hangover at a time (but excessively is just how I choose to enjoy fine wine). All You Need is Love! . . . No, wait . . . that's Sir Paul. . . .

So from my Portuguese connoisseur's opinion (or as far as my experience of childhood years swinging haphazardly from my grandpa's small patio-sized grape trellis in the Ontario suburbs will allow me), and from my pride of heritage, having the Algarve establish a name for itself amongst the producers of Portugal's elite delicacies is welcome news. I'll take a glass of Sir Cliff's new "vinho" in the gorgeous Mediterranean Algarve over Scarlett Johansson's new single any day.