Alex And Emma Watson Are Not Making ‘Celebrity’ Gin At Renais

In the vast (and generally unpalatable) world of “celebrity” booze brands, few have surprised me like Emma Watson’s gin. Renais—a family brand bolstered by the actor-turned-activist and her brother, Alex Watson—is actually very, very good.

Inspired by the people, production and provenance of Chablis (where their father, Chris Watson, has been investing in wine for over three decades), Emma and Alex’s gin has brought something unique to the not-quite-so-Gin-Boom-ing market.

Something distinctive. Complex. Luxurious, even. A gin inspired by (and extracting parts of) the winemaking process.

“None of this would have been possible without my dad,” Alex tells me, sipping a Renais highball at Paris’ illustrious Hôtel de Crillon, where the months-old brand has already secured a residency. “His passion for wine was about sharing it with friends and family when he bought the first vineyard [in 1992]. We’re just following the same passion in a different way.”

Domaine Watson, which exists separately from Renais, comprises a handful of small Chablis and Irancy vineyards that Chris has accumulated over the last three decades.

Renais, keeping things familial, crafts its gin using Domaine Watson grape skins, salvaged from the winemaking process, before enriching them with pressed grand cru grapes and a selection of natural botanicals. The result is not only a testament to the passion of two generations of the Watson family for all things Chablis, but the family itself.

“I went into it like a mad man,” Chris laughs. “The winemaking, that is, not the gin. That took some convincing.”

Renais, you see, was something Alex had been dreaming up for years.

Born just outside of Paris, both Alex and Emma had taken numerous trips to their father’s Domaine in their youth—not only to spend time there as a family, but to provide some “free labor” on the vineyards. “I’ve got to be honest, it probably cost everyone more than it made them,” Alex admits.

With little hope in becoming a vigneron in his own right, Alex turned his skills to the world of marketing—first, for property management group ETM, then for Diageo as Customer Marketing Manager On Trade.

“I learned so much so fast at Diageo, and it made me realize there was an opportunity to do something really different,” he says. “Ems and I are so passionate about Chablis, about the traditions, about the unique characteristics of the land, and I knew this byproduct [unused grape skins] would be the perfect way to capture the essence of the terroir in an unexpected way.