Athletes regularly parlay their sports careers into successful lifestyle brands, often in fashion and beauty products. In the early 2000s, NFL all-stars like Mike Ditka, Terry Hoage, Drew Bledsoe and Dan Marino pivoted to wine after retiring from sports. Recently, the trend of NBA players entering the wine game is on the rise, but rather than treating their ventures as vanity projects, they’re using their platforms to create legacy and promote diversity in the wine industry. Some might call them trailblazers.

Building a legacy

Former NBA champion and Chosen Family Wines partner, Channing Frye, hopes to change the perception around athletes and celebrities creating wine brands as mere vanity projects. He recognizes there’s important work to be done and is realizing those goals through wine. He wants to put his stamp on the industry by making the next generation of vintners more… Read the complete article here on Wine Industry Advisor.