With O’Neill, we can offer more varieties that are affordable to my fans and to people who love wine. I could only cater to a certain person for the most part. All the little details about the storage and the barrels, all of the little intricate details that go into it-it can be overwhelming. As a young guy getting into that business, you kind of got to learn things the hard way. WS: What have you learned since you started making your own wines?ĬW: From a business standpoint, a lot of people don’t go into it with their eyes wide open, everything that goes into having your own label. Rick Mirer was really into wine, so I remember times when we would be traveling back and forth to games-this was before they had all the bans on having alcohol on the team planes-we would bring bottles of wine and we would all break bread together. I think as my career kind of went along, more and more players that I knew started to get into wine. That’s the first one that I can really remember going to, touring a little bit, seeing the barrel storage rooms, walking around the vineyards. And I just absolutely fell in love with Napa.Įarly on, was Robert Mondavi. Once I got acclimated to where I was at and what it was all about-wine and food was everything out there. I just developed a great appreciation for wine, a great appreciation for Napa itself it's such a great town.
Wine Spectator: What were some of your early wine experiences with the Raiders?Ĭharles Woodson: I started in the early 2000s after being in Napa Valley a couple of times a year with training camp for the Oakland Raiders. Woodson spoke with Wine Spectator associate editor Ben O'Donnell about bonding over wine on the team plane, his special attachment to Napa, and how setbacks in the vineyard must be dealt with much like setbacks on the field.Ĭharles Woodson and winemaker Jeff O'Neill at the kickoff. Woodson retired from the NFL in 2015, and in 2019 he launched Intercept, a collection of Paso Robles and Monterey wines comprising Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a red blend, in partnership with O’Neill Vintners, sold at a more tailgate-friendly price of $20 per bottle. “Drinking wine at a football game, now it’s an accepted thing to do, and I think that’s awesome,” he says. Tasting Room24 in Napa, which Woodson describes as a “wine sports bar,” followed. In 2005, he went commercial with TwentyFour, a high-end label focused on Cabernet from near Calistoga, later called Charles Woodson Wines.
CHARLES WOODSON INTERCEPT WINE PRO
The nine-time Pro Bowler fell in love with Napa Valley’s wine scene when he was in training camp there, and in 2001, at 25, he tackled his first barrel, a Merlot, with a winemaker friend at Robert Mondavi. Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers jack-of-all-plays Charles Woodson caught attention as a football talent early, in his high school years, but he also started making wine young.
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