The NBA has a growing obsession with wine that was comprehensively laid out in a feature written by Baxter Holmes for an upcoming February issue of ESPN The Magazine. Titled “The NBA’s Secret Wine Society: The inside-the-bottle story of the intense love affair between NBA stars and the gilded grape,” Baxter shares one secret after another about the league’s love affair with wine.
According to Baxter, the most wine-obsessed team in the NBA is, appropriately enough, the Cleveland Cavaliers a.k.a. the “Wine and Gold.” It’s also perhaps the primary reason why he began the feature with an anecdote on the Cavaliers.
The Cavs have taken several trips to wineries in Napa Valley and had famously taken a visit to Mayacamas back in December.
It was in 2014 that former Cavs general manager David Griffin first introduced wine as part of the Cavs’ culture. His wife Meredith was training to become a sommelier and introducing wine seemed to be a good means of building camaraderie within the team.
LeBron James is a wine enthusiast and has not been shy about sharing his love for it in social media or otherwise.
“I’ve heard it’s good for the heart,” James said. “Listen, I’m playing the best basketball of my life, and I’m drinking some wine pretty much every day. Whatever it is, I’ll take it.”
Kevin Love and former Cavaliers Dwyane Wade, Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye were also given the spotlight in the feature.
If you’re a wine enthusiast or perhaps just a fan of the NBA’s Wine and Gold, “The NBA’s Secret Wine Society” is an entertaining and interesting read that you may not want to miss out on.