The world of wine has always been associated with sophistication, elegance, and a sense of refined taste. However, it may surprise you to discover that some of the world&#39;s most renowned NBA players have not only conquered the basketball court but also ventured into the captivating world of winemaking. In this comprehensive article, we will explore the fascinating stories behind NBA players turned vintners, discover their exceptional wines, and uncover the origins of their passion for winemaking.

<ol>
	<li>Tony Parker - TP Wines: NBA legend Tony Parker, known for his illustrious career with the San Antonio Spurs, has also found success in the world of winemaking. Through his venture TP Wines, Parker has established a reputation for producing exceptional wines. The grapes for his wines are sourced from the esteemed vineyards in France&#39;s Bordeaux region. With a focus on Bordeaux blends, TP Wines showcases Parker&#39;s commitment to excellence on and off the court. Critics have praised his wines for their complexity, balance, and remarkable aging potential. Notable releases include the TP Reserve, a bold red blend with dark fruit flavors and velvety tannins, earning an impressive critic score of 93.</li>
	<li>Carmelo Anthony - Melo Wines: Carmelo Anthony, a prolific NBA scorer who has played for several teams including the Portland Trail Blazers, is no stranger to the world of wine. With Melo Wines, he has crafted a portfolio of wines that reflect his appreciation for fine craftsmanship and dedication. Anthony&#39;s wines predominantly hail from Napa Valley, California, known for its world-class wines. One of his standout creations is the Melo 7 Cabernet Sauvignon, showcasing rich black fruit flavors, supple tannins, and a long, satisfying finish. Critics have awarded this wine an impressive score of 92, highlighting its quality and attention to detail.</li>
	<li>Dwyane Wade - Wade Cellars: Dwyane Wade, a three-time NBA champion and celebrated player, has transitioned his passion for winemaking into a successful venture with Wade Cellars. Collaborating with renowned winemaker Jayson Pahlmeyer, Wade produces premium wines that embody his personality and flair. Wade Cellars&#39; flagship wine, the Wade Cabernet Sauvignon, is sourced from the esteemed Napa Valley and showcases the region&#39;s exceptional terroir. With its velvety texture, layers of dark fruit, and refined tannins, the Wade Cabernet has garnered critical acclaim, receiving a remarkable score of 95.</li>
	<li>Channing Frye - Chosen Family Wines: Channing Frye, known for his championship-winning stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has made a name for himself in the wine industry with Chosen Family Wines. Frye&#39;s passion for winemaking stems from his family&#39;s love for wine, and he channels this enthusiasm into producing exceptional varietals. Chosen Family Wines specializes in small-lot, single-vineyard wines sourced from California&#39;s premier wine regions. The Chosen Family Pinot Noir, with its vibrant red fruit aromas, silky texture, and well-integrated acidity, has garnered critical praise and a commendable score of 91.</li>
	<li>James Harden - 13 Wines: James Harden, an NBA superstar known for his scoring prowess, has ventured into winemaking with his label, 13 Wines. Harden&#39;s wines reflect his commitment to excellence and attention to detail. Sourced from top vineyards in California, the 13 Wines portfolio showcases a range of varietals, including Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

The world of wine has always been associated with sophistication, elegance, and a sense of refined taste. However, it may surprise you to discover that some of the world's most renowned NBA players have not only conquered the basketball court but also ventured into the captivating world of winemaking. In this comprehensive article, we will explore the fascinating stories behind NBA players turned vintners, discover their exceptional wines, and uncover the origins of their passion for winemaking.

When Passion Unites: NBA Players and their Exquisite Wines

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Maison

Alexis Rogers

Maison Premiere

Maison Premiere #8

Music Intro:

RT: Hello and Welcome to Corkrules!

&nbsp;I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Alexis Rogers, Wine Educator and&nbsp; Restaurant Sommelier

Hello Alexis, glad you&#39;re with us on another episode of CorkRules, - a podcast where we help simplify and demystify the wine lists at some of your favorite restaurants. We talk with certified sommeliers who point out interesting bottles, classic food and wine pairings, hidden gems,&nbsp; value wines, or splurge wines that will take your dining experience over the top.

AR: Glad to be here, Robert! Thanks!

RT:&nbsp; Today we are discussing Maison Premiere. This gorgeous Williamsburg bar and restaurant has a distinctly Old World feel and is known worldwide for their incredible drinks, even winning a James Beard award for Outstanding Bar Program. Tell us about what you found, Alexis.

AR: As Sommeliers, we are trained in the finer points of not just wine, but spirits as well. And while the wine list here is stellar, these cocktails are not to be missed so let&rsquo;s start there!

RT: I&rsquo;ve heard they have the largest selection of absinthe in the country!

AR: That&rsquo;s right! And their own custom-built absinthe drip modeled after the famous Absinthe fountain in the notorious Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. The decor is even &ldquo;Absinthe-esque&rdquo;, a beautiful example of Belle Epoque design from The Turn of The Century - the heyday of this fascinating spirit. You can order a glass of it, expertly and classically prepared with cold water and a sugar cube or you can enjoy it in a range of inventive cocktails on the list. Personally, I&rsquo;m dying to try the Absinthe Colada!

There&rsquo;s also a subsection on the cocktail menu just for Juleps! I&rsquo;m thrilled and intrigued by the Barber of Seville, a rye-based Julep featuring ManzaNULLla sherry. ManzaNULLla is almost identical to Fino sherry - that is, it&rsquo;s a fortified wine from Spain made from the Palomino grape and aged biologically under a layer of yeast called &ldquo;flor&rdquo;. The only difference is that ManzaNULLla must be made and aged in Sanlucar de Barrameda, a town a bit closer to the sea. That extra saline tang will take this drink to a whole other level of complexity.

RT: I love when a talented cocktailer can incorporate sherry into a drink.

AR:I think it&rsquo;s really the most fascinating beverage. You can find highly technical scientific studies in journals of analytical chemistry that have identified over 500 individual aromatic compounds in Fino sherry. I don&#39;t even know if I actually ENJOY the taste of sherry but I LOVE drinking it and I&rsquo;m absolutely fascinated by it.

RT: Every sommelier, it seems, has one type of wine that they just absolutely geek out about. It sounds like sherry is yours.

AR: Totally! That and Champagne! Speaking of Champagne&hellip;

There are few things better together than caviar and Champagne and I can&rsquo;t imagine anything more picturesque than enjoying both of them on the insanely charming garden patio @ Maison. These two are a classic pairing - and a classic indulgence - for a reason! Champagne&rsquo;s beautiful, fresh, naturally high acidity slices through the fattiness, oiliness and general richness of the caviar while the saltiness of the caviar increases the tongue&rsquo;s perception of the Champagne&rsquo;s fruit. Maison&rsquo;s Champagne section is organized by subregion and features a surprisingly affordable selection of great bottles of bubbly! With over 25 awesome bottles that won&#39;t break the bank, you could really close your eyes and point and you&rsquo;d receive something wonderful. Personally, being the Champagne fanatic I am, I went specifically to the Cotes des Blancs subregional heading and the bottle of Pascal Doquet &ldquo;Arpege&rdquo; Blanc de Blancs. The Cotes des Blancs has a reputation for high-quality bottlings grown on chalky soils that produce electric, minerally, Chardonnay-based wines. The term Blanc de Blanc indicates that it&rsquo;s made from exclusively white grapes. Nothing could be more romantic than this incredible bottle and Maison&rsquo;s famous caviar service on a balmy summer night.

RT: That sounds like a great date idea, whether it&rsquo;s a 3rd date or a 30th wedding anniversary.

So Alexis, looking at the by-the-glass list, I see that each glass is marked either organic or biodynamic based on the principles of Rudolph Steiner. What&rsquo;s that about?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

AR: Oh man! Good ol&rsquo; Rudolph! Steiner was a philosopher, agriculturist, architect and social reformer that is credited with - among other WIDELY varied concepts - the creation of the biodynamic approach to agriculture in the early 1900s. The essential tenets of this approach center around viewing a farm or a vineyard as a single self-sustaining organism that thrives through biodiversity and can sometimes incorporate cosmic and lunar influences, especially as they are related to harvest and planting cycles. It&rsquo;s holistic, ethical and ecologically minded. Rudolf was the first to suggest that synthetic fertilizers and herbicides would devalue the health of livestock and crops. And surprise, surprise - he was Austrian!

RT: Sounds like an interesting man! At the very least, we can say these wines have an extreme attention to detail! What&rsquo;s not to be missed from that by-the-glass list?

AR: My pick is the 2019 Ludvic Chanson from the subregion of Montlouis-sur-Loire, just across the river from Vouvray in the Loire Valley in France. I like how much information this part of the list provides. All the usual stuff is there (producer, region, vintage) but they go the extra mile by indicating the grape (here, it&rsquo;s Chenin Blanc) and even a few very simple tasting notes. I do feel like they under-described this wine a bit by saying just &ldquo;lemon peel and slate&rdquo; but it serves to give a general idea of the profile. I would add to that honey, chamomile, fresh straw and autumn apples. As enticing as those flavors and aromas sound, it&rsquo;s really the structure of this wine that makes it fascinating - and food-friendly. It&rsquo;s sky-high acidity is often described using terms like &ldquo;vervy, electric, and laser-like&rdquo;. Pair this with an order of the Steamed MaNULLa Clams with preserved lemon for a citrusy interplay dream!

RT: Wow, I can&#39;t wait to take my wife&nbsp;here on date! Alexis, thank you so much for walking us through both the cocktail and wine list at Maison Premiere. To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to:

Info@corkrules.com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime,

please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists wherever you get your podcasts.

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

&nbsp;

END

BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Château Fage is a family-owned winery located in Graves de Vayres, Bordeaux, France. The winery has been producing high-quality wines since 1789, and has a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Château Fage's wines are known for their elegance, balance, and complexity.

Plush, ’50s-era spot featured in many films & TV shows offering steakhouse fare, cocktails & music.

Dante

Geronimo

La Mercerie

Bar Primi

Kirby’s Steakhouse

The Grill

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

The Dresden Room

Chateau Ste. Michelle

Cold Creek Vineyard Riesling 2018

Riesling

Columbia Valley, USA

Listel

Grain de Gris 2019

Blend

France

Terlato

Pinot Grigio 2019

Pinot Gris

Colli Orientali del Friuli, Italy

Antinori

Castello della Sala Bramito Chardonnay 2018

Chardonnay

Umbria, Italy

Terrazas de los Andes

Reserva Malbec 2018

Malbec

Mendoza, Argentina

Weather Wines Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018

California, USA

Antinori

Peppoli Chianti Classico 2017

Sangiovese

Chianti, Tuscany, Italy

Serial

Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Cabernet Sauvignon

Paso Robles, USA

Kenwood

Six Ridges Chardonnay 2018

Chardonnay

Russian River Valley, USA

The Prisoner

Unshackled Red Blend 2019

Zinfandel

California, USA

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne France NV

Champagne, France

Patz & Hall

Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2017

Pinot Noir

California, USA

Perrier-Jouët

Grand Brut Champagne NV

Chardonnay

Champagne, France

Le Grand Courtâge

Grande Cuvee Brut Rose NV

Blend

Vin de France, France

Le Grand Courtâge

Grande Cuvee Blanc de Blancs Brut NV

Blend

Vin de France, France