[MUSIC] Hello and welcome to the Wine Enthusiast podcast. You're serving the drinks culture and the people who drive it. I'm Jordan Kaplan, managing editor here at Wine Enthusiast. This one is for the football fans. As we approach the big game, I'm sitting down a super bowl winner, Will Blackman, who also just happens to be the founder of Black Clean Sellers, his very own wine club, the Wine MVP, and a 2021 enthusiast, 40 under 40, honoring. Will is a multi-level certified well of wine knowledge, and we're discussing his road to wine during his playing years through Super Bowl win and beyond his very own brand. While the Wine World attempts to capture the attention of sports fans through strategic partnerships with the NFL and NBA and WMBA, who better to provide insight on that intersection than a great player making great wine? [MUSIC] Will, thank you for being here today. We're extremely excited to have you on. Yeah, no, I'm stoked. This is exciting. Wine Enthusiast is a huge part of why I am where I am now, so I love you guys. Yeah, we appreciate what you're doing. So for anyone who might not know for our listeners who know you from football, like how do you usually introduce yourself now? Former player, wine maker, entrepreneur, something else entirely? Yeah, I always leave a football because that was my dream job. I thought first and foremost, I thought it was impossible to make it to the NFL. Actually, it is impossible, but at the same time, I was forced to do that. So I always say, former 12 year NFL veteran, Super Bowl champion, and now wine something. I don't say enthusiast. I think I graduated from connoisseur at the gum. I think I crashed from that. And it's funny, I'm going to English, I major in English at BC, so I have to find a better word. I'm majoring in English. Yes, I did. Look at those. Those rings, all black, white head, air buds, like here we are. Well, I love that. I feel like you graduated from connoisseur. Wine entrepreneur? I just hope that this founder of the Wine or the P in Black, my cell is done deal. That's right. And we're going to get into that. But first, I want to talk a little bit about the early career. So obviously, this is our Super Bowl episode. So what better person to have on is wine entrepreneur and Super Bowl. It makes sense. It does make sense. So I want to get a little bit into the background. Can you tell us a little bit about your early career and journey into that NFL? Yes. So for those who don't know, I'm actually, I'm from Providence, Revidence. I'm a East Coast new, even boy through and through. grew up there raised by our father. Lost my mom and I was very young. I lost when I was around six years old. And so my father raised myself, my older brother, older sister. I was the little rock rat. I was the baby, the family. And yeah, I started playing football when I was six years old and just became obsessed with it. And I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to Boston College. I was pretty highly touted in high school. So I had a lot of opportunities, fortunately, and I ended up picking BC. I thought it was great because I didn't care for this close to home, but it was close to home, which did help because my father got to attend. So I went to BC. And then in 2006, I was drafted to the Green Bay Packers. So the same year I was drafted to Green Bay is the same year that Green Bay signed Charles Wutzen. And he and Charles Wutzen, he's a big part of my journey. So when I was at BC, when I was a senior of age, I enjoyed wine here and there. And I remember my teammate Matthias Trouinurka, who actually is in the wine space as well too now. And then we ended up being teammates on the Giants. He used my roommate in college and he had this six ring wine rack in our kitchen. And I didn't know what the wine's were. We just always had rotating wines in there. And that was cool. We kind of felt like we were cool a little bit because we were the only like athletes on campus drinking wine. So it was it was free to wine and and this is going to sound crazy. But and then grazing out of me sometimes. Guys are living the Midwestern hell. So I was drinking like we live in the Chelsea or something like that. You know we're doing our rakes. And yeah, that's pretty dope. You know, we had wine. We watched shows like that and then we go out and then beat up somebody. So that was pretty dope on the field. And then going into when I was in Green Bay, you know, I still enjoy wine. I really got into beer because obviously being in the Midwest was constant. Like that was a huge, you know, area for that. But I still in drinking wine. Like I would say for me and as a beginner, I feel like I was like most right. I like really free blend replants. You know, I like really low alcohol, sweet, semi-sweet white wines, right. That was kind of the deal. So I remember like one of the first wines I was always buying was the Nogetwalla, right? Any Spencer red blend for some people was made on me. And then I was a huge, uh, Gversimeter guy. I really enjoyed that. That's kind of where I started. Oh, and then there was a there was a Vino Verde, called Castell Garcia. Oh my god, I used to actually. You started with a Vino Verde. I found it. It's it's so popular right now. You're you were on the very cutting edge. A bad idea. Like I was like, okay, this is dope. It was a cool bottle. It was very inexpensive and it was delicious. Like that's all that was to me. That's all I care about. And then it's funny what Charles, I followed him, you know, when I was a kid and really watched him you college. So the BST made was pretty dope. Then I got to find I found out like he was heavy and the wine scene. And usually you hear about Ricky's, you know, getting Hayes, but he didn't Hayes us instead. He took us out to dinner, which was sick. Right. So he's still he's still wine and dynas on road trips. And um, take a city's really nice restaurants, you know, get really cool wines. And I got to learn about his 24 wines in Napa. And I'm like, about this pretty dope. Like you got to do. Who's, you know, a top of the world in the football scene. You got an African American male who's also in the wine space as entrepreneur prior. So I was like, that's, I thought that was pretty cool. Now my mind didn't go straight to like, okay, you know, I want to get into this. I just thought it was really cool because you're already, you know, whatever people think about the one world, you know, it's gone inclusive and whatever it is, you know, I thought I was still. So for me, that's kind of how I got started. And then I got curious. That's what it was. That's so you actually hit like knocked out a lot of my questions and that. And I see that. I'm really, I was hoping, I was hoping, I was hoping Charles would come up too. Because I mean, I, I imagine he would have been a role model in that. Like, I feel like in a pioneer and like the crossover space. So you mentioned going out to dinner that that was just like you being curious about wine still. So do you remember like, was there like a first bottle or an experience that made you think like, is this something that I want to build or like work in? Yeah, sure. I don't remember. I don't remember a game thing we had. Well, I'll be straight up. I just, I just knew it was a lot and it was good. But I'll tell you what, this is what happened. So, you know, when you, you know, you are a professional athlete, you get to be around, you know, you know, pre-interesting people. And so in Milwaukee, I got to hang out with these real estate locals down there. And they will also invite me to Milwaukee. It was about like an hour and a half drive from Grebe. And they would invite me to these like really elaborate dinners. So I remember there was, they've had me to this one dinner at this private restaurant in Milwaukee somewhere. And I mean, it looked like, right, if you weren't with them, you kind of get in there. It was like that type of like mafia style. It was pretty cool. And, you know, they started ordering these wines. And I saw the bottles, but then, you know, I will look at what they were ordering. And they were like huge. I was like, it's burgundy. Like they're crush and burgundy. And I'm looking at these prices. I'm like, could you just crazy? Like this? No, in plain L. Like at the time, yeah, I go forward. I was like, I'm not dropping up as much money. I'm like, I'm gonna get some shoes or something. I don't know. I really spend on shoes. At least I can have it tomorrow. Yeah, exactly. And I'm looking at this like, this is crazy. And it was just all about it and enjoying it. And for me, one of my hobbies is, I'm a big loan diner. Like when you go to the restaurant by myself, let me get the experience. Almost like I'm a food critic, right? And so one day I go to these restaurants. And, you know, I had pretty good ratings. And I really, the lab at wine was apparently. So I go to this restaurant. And I get seated. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna find this burger. Like I'm gonna actually find some on my own. So I order it. I tell the song like this is what I want. So the song comes over to me. It brings a one. He puts on my table. He pours a glass. And I was like, it's like, bro, his wife said, this is, this is not a burger. And he was like, and he said, Mr. Black, because it's funny. All these restaurants, they were constant. They had the roster so they knew who you were. Sort of like, sort of like Mr. Black, when they were like, like, how can you tell me his number? I said, I said, dude, because it's white. And then, and then he was like, all right, he's like, wrist-blast, I gotta give you a little lesson here. So he schooled me up, you know, knowing that is, you know, funeral or shard day. All this stuff. And I didn't feel stupid. I just, I was like, okay, this is dope. But I didn't know, like, they don't put forrides on the body. I mean, on the puddle in France, you usually, um, you know.
If you know our sharnay, you get to know which is which based on where it is. So I was like, okay, this is cool. Now there's more information. So that's kind of for me where, I don't want to say competitive, but I was like, there's more to it. So that's kind of how I got started there. I mean, and there's endless amounts of things to know. And I think a lot of people are so intimidated to get into wine because of that fear of fiendling stupid. But like where do I start? Yeah. And once you realize that there's endless things to know, you just, you never feel stupid learning something new. You're like, okay, you know. Well, it's crazy because like unless you are like in it in terms of like it's in your family, your farmer, you've been doing this for years, you're a high level, some like a mat. If you've been doing this, this is your life. That's a small percentage of people. And they're going to know a lot of a ton. And I would say it is in the 90% of where people don't, I be able to know damn thing, you know, or into it. And that's, and that's kind of why I wanted to get into it because of that moment I had at the restaurant, you know. I love that. I was like, okay, I really enjoyed this. It's not so much like the lifestyle. Like, yeah, it was cool. I got to be a rock who people would and do this and, you know, be booze or whatever. But I thought it was pretty cool like, damn, like this, just one area. This is how they handle their wine. And so I immediately just started, you know, looking at publications, like I'll find enthusiasts, I saw looking at that. I thought I wanted enthusiasts. And then I started just, you know, finding documentaries, you know, I, all these things I started just try to find out myself. And just to do it on your own is a beast. Like I, I couldn't find anything. It was crazy. Just, again, I didn't know where to start. And then I started going to, this is a huge tip right now for people who are trying to get into the wine space. I would, I would be a nuisance to my local wine shop. Anytime they had like the tastings, like I show up. Like when I was on the rescues, I go to Wegmans. Wegmans had tastings all day long. I show up in, would enjoy those. And I wouldn't be shocked. I just go there to the tastings and you get to know the person who's handling the tastings, the person who knows that. Then if you think about it too, these people and these restaurants that are doing their tastings, like they're not, not winds out the door. So they're here, like, okay, who actually gives it in? And if you're someone who's a repeating customer that keeps coming for the tastings, then they're going to want to get you the information. So I started going to this wine shop like a lot of times and they eventually, the guys started calling me when distributors are coming in. And then, okay, he's like, yo, these, and is, he's like, these guys are going to come in, you know, so and so is like, I got probably five distributors coming in, you can try like 30 wines, like, rate then and there. So for me, I'm like, absolutely used, it's free education. If I want to get to know, I didn't go to these and get wasted, I used to block it. That's the best experience I got right there. And I started going to this wine shop locally called Wine Exchange, shout out to Tristan, Kyle, and Patrick here in California. And they would let me, they would invite me to come in at like nine in the morning and I mean, these shows off the door. Wow. I mean, just cook it. My name all morning. But it was pretty cool because these guys were wizards. And they knew they would end this business again. It was business forever. And you everyone, you know, anything and everything. And like, these distributors were so afraid of them because they were just, it was almost like the fructane of distributors. Like, they were, they were tough. But they were really cool people and I got to learn to that. So that's a trick for me is like, like get to the beat areas, you know, I walked in. Yeah, it's an NFL play at Super Bowl champion, but I was humble enough to be like, dude, try to learn. So, so to keep going. And then I saw some, right? Right. So I saw, like, I saw some and I'm like, yo, with it after they do that, like, what is, this is crazy. This is what I need. I don't have a wine background. I don't come from a wine family and nothing, but this looks like it could help me. And so I started searching and I remember I looked up Peter Neptune first. And then I was like, oh, he has a school right down the street from my house, like maybe not down the street with 20. California 20 minutes is down the street. Just like, um, so great down the street from my house. I just jumped. Only two was available at the time. And so I just took level two and I ended up passing it with merit. I did the in person, of course, of this is oxy before old and any stuff. And it just, it just brought my world. I was like, this is crazy. I was like, wait, all 50 states make wine. That's on her. Like, I had no idea. Um, and were you still like an active? I was still playing. Yeah, I was still playing. Yeah, I was still playing when I do this. And it totally just, like I said, rockman terms like, wow, like this is how it was done. This is what it is. Oh, ball, electric fermentation, all these, you know, carbon, like what is going on here? It's, it was crazy, you know, and just understanding like how much it's all about like farming and science. When you were learning all of this, did you think after I retired, this is something I might want to build on, like continue learning and make, maybe like, make a life with? Yeah, because here's the thing too is even, even when I was getting recruited out of high school, you know, I was, I was the guy who played both sides. Like, hey, I want to actually I did play both sides in the field, but I was like, oh, I want to go to a great school academically in sports. So I was kind of like, oh, both both, you know, I want to have a backup plan just at and a third. And then by my junior year, I was like, dude, I'm trying to get to the league. I like, this is cool. Like I love like being a student athlete and all this. I was like, but like the NFL is now possible. So I'm trying to get there. And even when I got there, it's, it's so challenging. The average year is two and a half to play the NFL. It was so challenging that I didn't even think about playing B because I was so hardcore about playing A and I had so many injuries, so many setbacks that when people are spending the off season working on their post career stuff or whatever the backup plan is, I was rehabbing. I was always rehabbing every season. So I was rehabbing to make sure I was super strong for the next year. So my all seasons were different. But I would say once I took that course and got to know more and then connect it with more people in the wine space, I was like, it'll be cool to make a wine one day. I remember when I was on the redskins. I, that's when I found out like they made wine in Virginia. I got, I had no idea. And when I got back to the rescue, I researched it and I was like, oh shoot, there's Leesburg. We're like 15 minutes from Leesburg. There's a whole wine region there in Leesburg. And I got such a networked Doug Stabioly. Stabioly sellers and he literally let me, he was like, what do you want? I was like, I'm just trying to hang out. You know, I learned about, I learned about this. I learned about cutting, I learned about grafting, I learned about bats. I learned about all these things. Like, can I just come to show? He was like, all right, like that you want to do. I'll clean a tank. I don't care. I'll just try to be here. He's like, all right, come tomorrow. You know, if you really want to do this. So I was like, all right, cool. So I remember I went and bought some, some Columbia, you know, waterproof type boots. You know, that I can walk to the vineyard with. Knowing he's a farmer. The next day it was pouring rain. And I was like, oh, he's testing me. He's like, this pretty boy is not going to drive over here. His body in the gravel, in the mud, in boots. And I was like, I bro, so soon as we were done meetings, and this is funny. I will go right after, no one knew this. I will leave right after practice and go to his vendor. That is commitment. And so after practice, I got my car and I, yeah, I tore my car up a little bit, drove in there, showed my boots. I had my sheers. I was like, what's up? Oh, well, I was like, let's get it. And he was like, okay, cool. So it was pretty cool to hang out with him. I did that all one spring. I would just go there and just be there. I didn't really want anything. And, you know, I got to like, re-plant. I got to, you know, do a bunch of stuff. So that was pretty cool. But then I thought about like, okay, don't want to make a wine. And then I asked some people around that I knew. And they all, the pretty much all scared me out of doing it. They were like, they go, you want to lose money? And I was like, no, there's like the government don't know me. These are a lot of people, you know, had businesses before and that they want to do something new. And I'm like, that's a good point. I know a lot of guys now or people who, yeah, they used to have a business. They sold it and now they got a bunch of money and they go buy a venue. Here we are. And so I was like, all right, how can I, how can I take my sports, my network and sports entertainment, now my new network in wine and combine them. And I was like, you know what, I can do like something. I could find a way to make wine fun and enjoyable. And that's why I was like, you know what, I mean, come up with something cool. So I thought like the NFL wine guy and I was like, that's, it's catchy, but it's so gimmicky. And I don't, I like that fun. I'm silly. I'm really silly. But like, I can't be on like that all the time. Now it's a real gimmick. I got a hold on. I got now people wait for it of a wine guy. I'm like, I get it's corny as hell. And then I was like, oh, the wine MVP and like that's dope because the NFL wine guy seems like just a football. The one.
MVP, you can be the MVP at any sport. And then I was like MVP, I was like, oh, most valuable pilot, that's it. And that's kind of where it started. And it was just, you know, just pretty much trying to elevate everyone's wine experience. Who doesn't really know, you know, how can I help with anything? Can I connect you with who? And so you start company, you start business like all your friends, right? So I'm like, okay, I know some guys who have sellers, I connected with this wine shop, I can get wine from them. So let me just see if they want to sell a bill. This is me like, as I'm playing still like, hit no guys to incredible to do the sellers. And I remember I called Matt Ryan on the Falcons of Reggie Bush. And they were like, yeah, like let's do it. So I started doing sellers, like early and then eventually I had partnered with wine exchange and did a wine club. I just picked two bottles and just send, I just wanted something I could get people in the hands as well as I wasn't making any money doing this stuff. I was just trying to find a way to get started. And I remember people call wind of it. And this is, this is kind of what expedited it is. I remember, I get it, I got a call from my friend, Mike Jones, who used to work for the post, I believe it was. And he called me and he's like, hey man, I'm at the athletic. I want to do it in a interview with you about what you do. I think it's pretty cool like what you're doing. I was like, yeah, let's do it. Let's chat. So he came through and we did like cool interview and then I said, yeah, be on a week or so. So I thought it was like a small column or whatever. So I'm on about, and my phone is like, ring off the hook. And I'm like, what the hell? I thought something happened to somebody. And I remember Jacob Omen, he's one of these, I could do it wrong time of he's at there's a Fox Sports. And he called me. He was like, no, he texted me. He's like, you see this? Look, and I'm on a front page of USA Today Sports like in a cellar. I'm like, oh my gosh, he was like, yeah, dude, like this is crazy. And I said, Mike, I said, you know, tell me USA Today, he goes, oh, I thought he's, I said, where I did. So yeah, I got a call from, I remember the first call was true blood cell. Yeah. So I just, people started calling me out the brick Meyer reached out. So now I'm getting all these guys away. Okay, we have another person who's interested in who I is doing this stuff. That's called the wine and P. P. was pulled. And that's not like celebrity on a bottle, like name on a bottle. This is like, I care about learning and teaching other people. Yeah. So just just a further on the education part. Like that's where I'm like, okay, once I did a WSET deals anymore. I need a, I need to figure this out. And then obviously learning about that. I was okay, but these guys on this, on this movie, they're doing CMS, they're doing core masters. What after that? And then, and then I found out, okay, they're offering the intro and Beverly Hills. And I'm like, on it, right? So I signed up for that one and I went there and it was actually led by a master of Michael Jordan. And I thought that was really cool because he's funny. He's funny. And he is tough. He's a tough teacher. That helped me a ton. And then I went back to school, went to Sonoma State. And I did their two year wine business certification program. Because I'm like, okay, well, if I really want to know how to make money in this, well, let me learn like the business part of it. And so yeah, I went into that. And then I, this is fun. Then I went to certified again. But this is my fault. But no, I don't know. This is my fault. Because I did, I did, like, go ahead and actually, like, I didn't do my best to like go for it. So I almost passed tasting. I did not do, I did not do well with the theory, but you know what I did pass? What service? Wow. I never worked at a restaurant in my life. Yeah, but you, you dying alone, you know what good service is. It's hard to roll. No, yeah, it was Josh or was procting my exam. And he was like, you were just, he said, you were just good with people. And if you didn't know, like a cocktail, whatever he said, you knew, you just, you knew you just go to people, like, hey, I don't know this. I can get this or whatever it was. So I did, I passed half of it. And so I actually didn't, I didn't go and do the other part. And then, um, then I did WCT3. So I got, I did that. So I just, I know that was a mouthful, but I went crazy trying to learn a lot. Um, so let's talk about Blackman sellers. So we started with, and with one MVP, what gave way to Blackman sellers. So with the one MVP, I, um, I started, so pretty much with the one AP, I elevated to a point now, we started doing like full on experience. So just to elaborate one that we, you know, I curated trips for, you know, high net with people and for athletes, any athlete, like I just did a trip last year for a box yard from the packers. Like he took his whole family, he did all weekend thing for him. We did some for like some high net with companies. We did like private dinners. We flew in like shut out of sobel from talk sheriff. Like we did go crazy. So we do that stuff. And I also do a lot of tastings. So I got, I got flown out to Volker Raton. I rocked for the NFL plays association. I did a tasting for about 200 people, I think, which is nuts, you know, to do a tasting for 200 people who don't, who don't really know why I'm like that. They like wine, but they don't really know it like that. So it sounds crazy to them. Like, okay, this guy's kind of talking over us. So what I did is I know I was reading the room. I'm like, damn, ain't nobody paying attention to nothing I'm saying. So I jumped off the stage. I jumped off the stage and I just thought walking around. I was like, what do you get? What do you get? What do you use? What's your research side? What do you see? What color go through it? And did they were like, uh, uh, uh, I got gone it Ruby. Uh, so then it's like in class where when you start walking around, everyone now like really tried the environment that one. So I had everybody locked in because like, oh, he might come to me and ask me a question. And so it is funny. It turns to a cool like standup show and it was really cool and it was a blast. But then this lady came out, come up to me afterwards and she was like, these are wines. And I was like, I said, no, they're not my wines, but they're, you can get them in our subscription box. And I'll tell you what Jordan, when I said, when I said there were no, I lost her because she was like, these aren't your wines. They're wines you pick, but they're not yours. And we were, we were connected to you, not so much like what you have here. So if these aren't your wines, then I'm not interested. And so that's where the light went off. I was like, I didn't even make wine. You know, I talked to some custom crash home to talk, you know, people do stuff like that. And um, somebody who's been very gracious to me during my whole journey was Malik and Ronnie advice advice wines. And I talked about it. He was like, I be down. Because I'll be like instantly. Is that no, I know you're a journey. I know you're starting to know a hardy work. I know what you're about. Um, I'd be down to help. So that's kind of how it got started. It's like just telling me what you want, what you want to do. And, you know, one black, I always have blackness. I got the LSE blackness. All this maybe like, it's 2016. Just never anything with it. I just got it because I was like one day, you never know. And here we are 10 years later. Right. I'm not smart. Yeah. And so I was like, all right, I'm going to do a red blend. I want to be premium, but not trying to smack anybody in the head financially. You know, like I want you to pay, you know, good money for it, but I'm not trying to like break your parking half. It's so I said, I want, I love borderblades, but wife goes borderblades too. And I said, but I want to do something a little different. I said, I want to instead of CAD, savvy on be the lead period, I saw what cap for all, you know, let me also on the cutting edge of that. Cab frog is having its moment last year and this year. Yeah, because I was like, I still want, I still want the weight, your structure, the body, right, like a left bank, a border blend, but I also want some aromatics, some elegance, some freshness like on the front, on the nose. It's all that I'm a league with now. I didn't go like, I didn't go crazy and I'm like 70% carrot frog. I wasn't like 30, like 40% right. So I went 30, like 39 or 40% carrot frog from Rutherford. How to get that run for dust in there, you know what I mean? And then, and then, and it was like 30, you know, cabinets, I was still like, I still want that. And then what we'll have critiqued for though, you know, for some of that spice. And then I went, I got mall back from Coons, though, which was interesting. So I finished your role model. And the reason why I finished doing mall back and nothing against Merlot, I like Merlot. I'm not one of those people. I enjoyed Merlot, I'm cool with it. We're good buddies. Right bank all day. Let's go. Yeah. Yeah. We're we're done Merlot hating in 20. Yeah. Okay. No. It wasn't a movie and everybody wanted to get cool.
- Yeah, yeah. - Relax, okay. But I went, so you got the calf front, you got the cabinet sell, man, you got the deeper go. And then I was like, you know what, this needs like a snubble, right? You got all that stuff, you got the, it's a rainy day, it's cold, you got some warm meal, maybe some foe, you know, like, so I'm comfortable. And then it's like, okay, what is gonna be the blanket and Netflix? It gets to go all back. - Who kind of, right? And then about 70% new French oak. So it came out about like 14.5, alcohol. So, that's what I wanted. - No. - And then it's funny 'cause I literally was, I mean, I was the chemist. I, this probably took me like six months to like get it right. - Oh, I can imagine. I'm sure it had to be perfect. And I mean. - Yeah, that's what the percentages are crazy. It's like 39, 31, you know, like 16, 15, it's crazy. But yeah, but I thought for the first round, it came out like way better than I expected. It's funny too because when, when, when Malik said that to me, I was so excited to like open it. And I, all my knowledge went out the window and I, I mean, I opened it, drank it, and I was like, what the, this is, oh, what is this? I said, oh, dude, man, I was like, okay, maybe because, you know, I said, it's just crazy. He was like, well, I was like, what? He goes bottle shock. I'm like, damn it. It's like, you're right. It said, give me a week. It just, it literally just got bottled instead. - Just got bottled. - And literally just got bottled. And I was like, oh, shoot, you know, I was so excited. I forgot. I even think it none of that stuff. You go. So yeah, that's still, so it's, it's a 69 bucks, 70 bucks. So I think it's like right there. And I don't want it to be too cheap. I don't want too expensive. So I, if this side is getting great reviews right now, people excited. It's in one restaurant right now in Cali. And they got about three that are interested in having this. So yeah, so far so. - Well, congrats. And definitely a labor of love. So I want to talk a little bit about the crossover from the sports world and the wine world and the wine world kind of trying to capitalize on that consumer market and or break into that consumer market. So I read an article from Forbes earlier this year that said things that went right in 2025 was wine being able to capture a new audience. So Kendall Jackson obviously is the official wine partner of the NBA and the double and the WNBA. And then Barefoot has become the NFL's official wine partner. And the number from the article said that they had netted somewhere around four million new customers directly related to the partnership, which I think is wild. I want to talk about like, what do you think that there, what can wine do to like market to sports ban? And what traditionally goes wrong when trying to market to an audience, you think? - I just think that this is my initial just reaction off the cuff. I don't, I was out of have any numbers presented to me now, but I just feel like that these sports are now treat them more like lifestyle brands. And you're getting more people curious what people interested. You have, you know, you see another huge rise in, you know, woman only fantasy leagues. So these women are meeting up in offices. They're having wine, they're having gifting and they're having real drafts. And so, and I also think, I think to the, you know, more people are getting educated just on the game in general. So I think when you're getting new people educated on the game, they might already have what they prefer, you know, you might have more wine drinkers that are more curious about the game. So therefore that's what they're having instead of beer, you know, so I just think you have a huge, just rise in different people who are more interested in the game and who are learning more about it. So that's just my initial thought on how that is. - So as an athlete that makes wine, do you feel like, do you think that that would make your wine more credible to an NFL fan base like if, like from a marketing standpoint, do you think they would be more trusting of your brand? - I think so. I think so, yeah. Especially when I think me being who I am, what I did is kind of like, so what I learned about, you know, obviously making wine is cool, but at the end of the day, like can you sell, right? That's the, at the end of the day, you got the best wine on earth, but can you move the bottle off the shelf? And so, you know, people are constantly thinking, "How can I create something to get someone like grab the bottle?" Right? And so, I think for me, you know, a small audience of people like football and one of our wines, like, "Okay, yes, they'll get it because of what I did." And then, hopefully, when they actually have it, they actually like it. So, you know, I would say so far, you know, it's been like that. And I've been getting a lot of support, especially not just from like fans, but a lot of my former colleagues are getting in and enjoying it. Or buying, like, especially during holidays, people were buying cases for their friends, because yeah, it was in coaches, so that was pretty dope. - One question I have to ask, was there a bottle that you got that you opened after the Super Bowl? Was there a special bottle? - All I remember is Kid Rock was performing. (laughing) That's a lot. I remember Kid Rock was performing. I remember, just starting with the game, I think Kelly Clarkson did our anthem. I think Madonna was halftime. And then, ended up winning the game, we beat Patriots. And then, I remember I was changing. And then, I turn around and I see, I see seal and how do you call them. And they were like, "Hey, congrats." I was like, "Hey, you're so bloody rich." You know, there's so many people in our, I think Penelope Cruz is there about Brad Pitt. It was crazy, it was because also a sneak test, one of the owners of the Giants, he's in the book space. But then I remember, "Good night, total." We put our stuff away, put our stuff on the bed. And then, yeah, Kid Rock was performing. And then, I know we had to get to the airport in like five hours. That's all I remember. Yeah, I don't remember the wine. I'm sure you're gonna be like, "Yes, it was this beautiful "shampaign." No, I'm sorry. 'Cause it wasn't even real, that's the thing, Jordy. It wasn't even real. And I just, like, yeah, if I won one now, I'd go like, "Oh, yeah, we had this, we had this bubble off." I don't remember anything. It was such a blur the whole week, the whole game. I don't know if that is incredible. Okay, so what would you pair Buffalo Wings with? I would go with a whole My Giverstimino. That is a great choice. Take it away back to the very beginning. If you were, I was drinking like 1.5s of relaxed reselling at that point in time. Who had the old, the old, was it the Rossi? Big the jug back in the day. Mix it with Sprite. That's all aggressive. That's-- - How's it in college? (laughs) - You and I. - What about you, that's what? - What about like seven layer nachos? What are we bearing with it? - Seven layer nachos. Like what do you, like, wear-- - Well, the layers, like, you know, you got your veggies, you got your cheese, you got like, that's a thing, right? Is that seven layer dip? - I mean, I live in California, so we don't really say like seven. - Okay, well, you're cauliflower substitute nachos. (laughs) - Oh. You know what I've been doing? So we always have like Taco Tuesday. This week was Taco Wednesday in the house. And I don't know, something about like nachos and rosé. That's what I love about. All right, let's do, what about like a jalapeno popper? Like something spicy. - Okay. Have jalapeno poppers. The person who makes them at this grocery store because you don't take none of the seeds out and lift me up. - That's diabolical. - Lift me up. Yeah, I mean, again, I go back to the, you know, the low alcohol wines. So I probably just have straight up grape juice. (laughs) - Fair enough, fair enough. - But yeah, let's go recently with that, Babboi. Let's go with some recently, 'cause you pick up white sushi, right? Some spice would be like that. I'd kind of zip, go with a, like a, I see sweet, but I like to off-drive. - Yeah. - I'll go drive. - Washington. - Speaking of, to Charles, that's my dog. - Ah. - I was hoping you were gonna, I'm like so endeared to him for no reason, but he's just always been one of my favorites. - He's good to know. He sent me an 84, Babboi rescuer from my birthday a couple years ago. He's just great. I have a lot of people, I do wanna add this.
So, I had a lot of support and help through this whole journey. And, like, my whole purpose in this space is how can I help somebody else? You know, this one world is such a, it's so driven with so much ego and aggressive energy and whatever have you. But I think like, I don't think I know how it is enough for everybody. Everyone can, everyone can still support each other and still have their own individual success. And that's a team. That's what I knew. You know, I knew that as a team. You know, and I did my best that I didn't want to walk into this space like, "Oh, here's this enough real guy." I'm like, "No, I do. I don't know anything." And whatever you got, like, I'm down. You know, I already mentioned the guys that wanted me to help me out through blood cell and stand cranky. You know, I got one of my closest friends for the past 10 years, you know, doing proctor. You know, he and I got are really less like my brother. You know, Christine and Jason Wise at Psalm TV. Madeline, you know, "I have a pocket. She's been great." Matthew Kener, he is my oracle. You know, Derek Westbrook, you know. He's actually the first person I saw that I was like, "New 40 to 40." That's pretty dope. I thought his shoot was sick. And I was like, "Damn, I was like, you know what? I was like, that'd be cool to be in it one day." That's what I said to hear. She's been great on the Hew Society. Obviously, like Malik and then Scott Gold at Opus. You know, I'd be here all day of all the people. Obviously, Michael Jordan has been ridiculously helpful. Just, you know, Chris Hedelow, she does those hospitality stuff. There's just so many people who I'm not afraid to, like, just, yeah, I need help. But also, I can help you. And so anything and everything that I have done in this team, in this space has been a team effort. A huge blessing to me is you and vet nurse. He's in England. You used to be the CEO of Fortenabasons. Hauser worth it. Now he's a Ted Baker CEO there. Through my connections there, being in there because the limiting of my work at Sky Sports, that I connected with the people at 6'7" Paul Mall. And now I have like an honorary membership there. So if I'm in town, they let me in there, just do whatever. I got to be a great overlap corps of any eventor. And got to connect with him. He's been extremely helpful. But that's what it's about. You know, it is, it's, you know, somebody might hit me up. Hey, man, we need wine for event. Cool, man. I just want to help, you know, I just did Kendra Wilkinson's event. It's like at Sir, which was, I know, yes, such a fronbo. That was my last podcast episode was Bravo and was a really, yeah, yeah. So yeah, and then I just got because of somebody who, I invite, we invited a writer to one of our Hollywood writer to one of our events. And he just hit me up yesterday, like, hey, would you want your wines at the Oscars? Oh, yeah, I mean, like, I don't, I don't expect nothing to return. But when it's genuine like that, we're still, you know, so I have incredible. I love the team, like team, like team player mindset of it. Yeah, so just, just to the point where, like I said, it's been just, it's been dope just to do that, connect with all these missions to our shows, you know, fresh laundry, it's been dope. Cress has been awesome to help me, you know, echo any other culture, fest and say, I'm a man, go on, no, no, no. I love that. Okay, well, thank you so much for being here. It was a pleasure having you on today. Jordan, thank you so much. It means a lot. And I am forever grateful for wine enthusiasts. There you have it, sports fans. Wine is a team sport. I want to thank Will for his time and insight today and his years of dedication to learning wine all while making it more approachable fans. You can email us your comments and questions at
[email protected]. Remember, you can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen to your favorite shows. You can also go to wineinfusius.com/podcast for more episodes and transcripts. I'm Jordan Gatlin, thanks for listening.
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