In what might seem like an unlikely series of connections, Washington, Oregon and American football are linked together by one sporting-legend-turned-winemaker – and his bottles are now in the UK.
The person I’m referring to is Drew Bledsoe, a record-breaking former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, but since 2007, has been producing wine in the US. Starting his second career in Washington State, he told db in 2023 that he chosen to begin a wine business at the southern end of the state’s Walla Wally Valley AVA because it was his home region, commenting that, “The winery is less than a mile from the place where I grew up”. Today he’s making a range of wines from the AVA, notably a pair of top expressions comprising a varietal Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon called Doubleback – in reference to Bledsoe’s decision to “double back” to his hometown of Walla Walla. He also produces other wines in the same region, as well as more recently Oregon too, under the brand Bledsoe McDaniels, to represent the involvement of winemaker Josh McDaniels, also a Walla Walla native. Commenting that McDaniels “is a gifted winemaker with a business brain,” Bledsoe said the range of wines carrying both their surnames reflects the fact that McDaniels is a shareholder, adding, “McDaniels is now on the label: that’s the wedding ring.” Under the Bledsoe McDaniels is a Walla Walla Syrah as well as an Oregon Pinot Noir, a region
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
