Episode description

Important PSA: Your weekly dose of wine news is available wherever you get your podcasts, now dropping every Thursday. Substack subscribers are the first to know when a new episode hits the airwaves, so if you haven’t done so already, become a free or premium subscriber today. 

Today in Wine News: Over the last 10 years, the NBA has openly embraced wine culture, to the point where many notable players of past and present have made wine a part of their professional lives and a fun hobby. What started as wine-soaked team dinners has turned into current and former players making their own wine in collaboration with America’s best vintners.

Have professional basketball players changed the way American wine drinkers learn about wine and experience it for themselves? And why can’t the press stop talking about it?

Keep listening to learn more.

In Other News

Here are some additional highlights from the week:

This year’s Olympic Games in Paris have banned alcohol sales in stadiums.

* “The Drinks Brands You Can Expect To See at the 2024 Olympics” (Pete O’Connell/VinePair)

* “Sparkling wine brands go for gold at the Paris Olympics” (Louis Thomas/The Drinks Business)

Vintage Wine Estates, one of California’s largest beverage companies, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

* “Large California wine producer files for bankruptcy, to sell assets” (Jonathan Stempel/Reuters)

* “Four Takeaways From the Bankruptcy Filing Rocking a California Wine Company” (Justine Jones/Eater)

And finally, this is what it sounds like when doves cry over “Purple Rain”.

* “Settlement reached between local winery, Prince’s estate in ‘Purple Rain’ dispute” (Chelsea Simeon/WKBN 27 and Nexstar Media)

We’ll be back next Thursday with a new crop of wine news. Until then, cheers and happy drinking!