Carmelo Anthony Is Releasing a New Wine Label and It Promises to Be Revolutionary

Ever wonder what your favorite basketball player is up to in their free time? How they spend their time off court and what they do with their money always seems to be a topic of conversation that we just can’t resist having.

While athletes have a long history of endorsing different brands, these days there seems to be a lot more thought put into who an athlete endorses and how it can be perceived by others. More so, we are seeing athletes take their futures and life after the game into their own hands, by starting their own brands.  

Joining a legendary list of NBA players who double as wine enthusiasts, Carmelo Anthony has announced the launching of his own wine brand, VII(N) — The Seventh Estate — a project over three years in the making.

The 10-time NBA All-Star partnered with Stéphane Usseglio, a third-generation French winemaker, to create Oath of Fidelity, a 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape made from a blend of 90 percent Grenache and 10 percent Mourvèdre. The new varietal is sourced primarily from 80-year-old vines at the Le Mourre du Gaud vineyard in the Rhône region and was fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeast before aging for two years in a mix of large concrete and oak barrels.  

Described as offering “subtle notes of cherries, lavender, sage, and peppercorns, combined with blonde tobacco and dried tea leaves,” this wine results in a 14.5 percent AVB full-bodied red that is “firm with tannins” and has “flavors of smoked meats, dried fruits and river stones.”

While it is easy to assume that most celebrity athletes are not very involved in the creation of the products they endorse, this is absolutely not the case with Anthony. The VII(N) brand admitted that “Carmello fully immersed himself in the creation of this blend, making a concentrated effort to educate himself on all things wine, it’s production and distribution, and more,” and that he entered the project “with the utmost sincerity and respect for wine both as an art form and as an industry.”

With a name inspired by the Haitian revolutionary François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture — who helped lead his country to independence from France — and only 200 cases being made, you can most likely expect celebrity-like prices upon release.

Interested in nabbing yourself a case to experience yourself? More details are soon to come via the brand’s social platforms in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.  

While on the topic of sports, when your kids are out there becoming future Carmelo Anthonys, this meal prep plan will keep them fed and energized for the big game. And, if you’re tired of that water bottle taking up space in your bag after its been emptied, this $20 collapsible water bottle is the solution you’ve been looking for.