“This is what you call butter.” That’s how NBA star Carmelo Anthony described the 2008 Vérité Le Désir, a Bordeaux-style blend from Sonoma he pulled from his cellar for this week's episode of his “What’s in Your Glass?” YouTube livestream. Joined by Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and his own wineglass (filled with Far Niente Oakville Cabernet 2014), the pair were eager to talk wine and Netflix—specifically the new Netflix wine flick Uncorked that's been on everyone's lips since its release late last month.
During the 30-minute chat, Foxx confesses that he wanted to learn about wine to impress girls at first, but it soon became clear he needed expert advice on the basics, such as how to hold a glass. He turned to Datari Turner, a close friend who also happened to become a producer of Uncorked, which follows the journey of a young somm-in-training.
“My father used to say you gotta think outside your box and to us, [wine] is it,” Foxx tells Anthony in the episode. Both the baller and actor count themselves fans of Turner's new production, the brainchild of writer-director Prentice Penny, especially for its message to African-American wine lovers. “[The film] gives our community the opportunity to say, 'This is for us too,'” Anthony says. “I’m trying to bridge that gap and be the person with the information.”
The Portland Trail Blazer certainly has the ears of West Coast winemakers. “While [winemaker] Pierre [Seillan] and I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Carmelo Anthony personally, we are glad he enjoyed the 2008 Le Désir,” Monique Seillan, Pierre's wife, business partner and vice president of communications for Jackson Family Wines, told Unfiltered via email. Mary Grace, Far Niente vice president of marketing and communications, told Unfiltered, “We’re looking forward to introducing Jamie’s and Carmelo’s fans to Far Niente, and hope that they’ll have the chance to visit us in the future.”
Anthony also revealed more intel on his new wine debuting later this year. “It took me a while to get to this point because I didn’t want to mess it up,” Anthony tells Foxx. “I have just been taking my time and really getting into the game and learning the whole business, as opposed to just putting my name on something or slapping a logo on a bottle.”—S.Z.
Snoop Dogg Blends New Cali Red with 19 Crimes, Redefining 'Lodi Dodi'
Rappers 50 Cent, Post Malone and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon are just a few of the most recent to mix hip-hop and wine, and this week brings news that emcee eminence Snoop Dogg and brand 19 Crimes are keeping the party going. Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), which owns the 19 Crimes label, announced it'll be syncing with Snoop to offer a new California wine: Snoop Cali Red, a blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Merlot, sourced from Lodi vineyards. “I’ve been a fan of [19 Crimes] wine,” Snoop proclaimed in a press release. “I’m more than eager to bring this collaboration to the world!”
“[19 Crimes] is really a story of overcoming adversity and coming from somewhere that’s a tough situation, to somewhere amazing. And we absolutely think that Snoop embodies that in a contemporary context,” John Wardley, TWE’s marketing vice president for the Americas, told Unfiltered. The brand has featured Australian wines celebrating the outlaws-turned-pioneers of Down Under lore and history. TWE approached Snoop, whose recent exploits tend more toward cookbooks, and soon he was tasting through samples to make the blend. “He very much picked this wine,” Wardley noted. “We wouldn’t have done it any other way.”
19 Crimes is among the brands that catch the eye with “augmented reality” labels, whose figures move and talk when viewed through a smartphone lens, and TWE plans the same for the Snoop label, due to start shipping in July. But the real-life Snoop is already pretty animated about his bottle. “According to him, he’s going to be drinking a whole lot more [wine] now,” Wardley reported. After that, the logical next step would be an appearance on the rapper-gastronome's VH1 show with Martha Stewart, Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party—a cameo that's already being discussed, we're told.—C.D.
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