Chat show host goes feet first into NZ wine venture

Graham Norton had first hand experience of crushing his own grapes.

British comedy chat show host Graham Norton has dipped his toes into the New Zealand wine market - financially and literally.

Norton has become a 1 per cent shareholder of Invivo, which makes wines from Marlborough and Central Otago, and, for a good cause, he hopped barefoot into a bucket of grapes to crush them for wine.

"Graham Norton loves his New Zealand sauvignon blanc so much that he agreed to get his feet dirty and help us make some," company co-founder Tim Lightbourne said.

Mr Lightbourne said Norton served Invivo wine to his guests.

"We wanted to make something special with Graham to thank him for his support over the years. But he's in such hot demand there was no way we could get him down to the vineyard."

So instead, Mr Lightbourne took some grapes to Norton's London studio, where the TV star rolled up his trouser legs, washed his feet and trod the grapes. The juice was brought back to New Zealand and mixed with juice from the vineyard block that will make up Norton's signature sauvignon blanc. Profits from the wine will be donated to the Elton John Aids Foundation.