Chances are you might not expect the banter from pro sports players to revolve around wine. But fine wine is surprisingly significant in the world of sports. 

During the pandemic, ESPN reported thousands of cases of wine heading into the NBA bubble — the hotel’s array of mass-produced Napa Cab just didn’t suit the players’ palates. Both former New Orleans Pelicans’ JJ Redick and ex-Portland Trail Blazers CJ McCollum purchased wine fridges for their hotel rooms for off-duty refueling. (Full disclosure: JJ Redick is an investor in InVintory.)

Also over the stay-at-home period, Carmelo Anthony dug into a wine-soaked Instagram Live show dubbed “What’s In Your Glass?” where he chatted with other enthusiasts within the NBA. Some common scenes? Wade uncorking bottles from his own label, Wade Cellars (though he’s a big Burgundy fan), Anthony swirling a Domaine Jean Grivot, and guest Jimmy Butler — who famously travels to games, including the 2016 Olympics, with a wine case — savoring a William Fevre Chablis.

Wine wasn’t always a staple in the sports sphere. Today, as COO of InVintory (a wine collection management platform), I’m constantly seeing athletes across the board post about their wine habits or onboard their collections. But when I first got into the space a decade ago, actors were the main celebrity connoisseurs. Remember when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie bought Miraval in 2008? But then, we started to hear about Wade and Anthony enjoying Sunday wine dinners, and the trend blossomed from there.  Related RS Recommends: The Most Drinkable Canned Wines to Crack Open This Season RS Recommends: The Best Non-Alcoholic Spirits, Beers, Wines and Mocktails Bottle (Delivery) Service: 13 Wine Clubs to Keep Your Racks Well-Stacked During Quarantine

What’s truly remarkable is the attitude that athletes seem to have toward wine. They do not treat it as an accessory, something to be shown off like a Porsche or Patek Philippe. Across the board, they approach it with humility and a desire to learn, leaning into the stories of producers, the histories of the regions, the idiosyncrasies of different terroirs and the variation between vintages.

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Some have even dedicated themselves to studying it, like Will Blackmon, an ex-NFL player and Super Bowl Champion with the New York Giants, who has now completed his Wine & Spirit Education Trust (the industry benchmark program) Level III. Others, like Wade, have also launched their own labels, digging, quite literally, into the production side of things to learn all the nuances of growing grapes and producing this magical liquid. Yet it’s not only a hobby for players in retirement. Kyle Kuzma (Washington Wizards) is also an avid collector and has built an impressive collection in just a few short years — not bad for a Gen Zer. (Full disclosure: Will Blackmon is an advisor for InVintory.) 

For an athlete, falling down the wine rabbit hole makes sense. The outcome of a sports game is the product of so many unpredictable factors: the trajectory of the ball, the alchemy of team cohesion, the drive of your opponents and your own mental state. Wine, equally, is susceptible to myriad factors. Weather, soil, harvest, hands, blends and fires all impact production. The corollary is clear: Both rely on a million atomic variables to make one perfect moment — be it the swish of a ball through a basket or the swirl of exquisite wine in a glass.

It surely also helps that professional athletes have the mental fortitude to commit themselves to this passion and put in the time and effort to develop their knowledge. Yet, while competitiveness abounds in the sports world, so too does camaraderie, and it’s the latter that seems to play a larger part in underlying this growing trend. 

Athletes seem to have discovered a simple truth that is often lost amid the ratings and tasting notes: Wine is more than a drink; it’s an experience that connects you to the people around you in the moment — and to the people, places and history behind each bottle.

Few things decelerate the tempo of a hectic day — perhaps a day filled with workouts, games won or lost, team strategy sessions and FaceTimes with families across the country — like sitting back with a glass of wine in hand with a few of your teammates. Few things connect you so instantaneously to the people around you. That shared experience, that shared enjoyment, is what wine is really about. It’s easy to imagine why athletes would revel in it as an extension of their team culture off the court or field. 

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