Sports and beer? Duh. Sports and wine, on the other hand? That’s a far less traditional pairing, but one you can expect to see more of.
Sports teams and athletes are increasingly churning out their own private-label “victory wines” — brand extensions that give fans a way to engage deeper with their favorite franchises while offering sports teams greater brand exposure — and business is booming, per Front Office Sports.
Wine for the win
Victory wines, many of which are commemorative, range in price and quality.
One prominent player in the space is Mano’s Wine, which has partnered with dozens of pro sports teams, including the MLB, NFL, and NASCAR, plus 100 collegiate teams.
After the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup this summer, wines labeled with the year, their logo, and the word “champions” quickly became available through Mano’s and a local grocery chain, priced between $35-$60.
How it works:
- Teams work with producers to choose a wine style and create custom bottles etched with their logos, slogans, or other IP, with turnaround times as short as a few months.
- After that, all they need are the right alcohol licenses to be able to sell it in their preferred retailers (sports stadiums, liquor stores, etc.) and region.
How do they taste?
Some victory wines are better than others.
The Jets 2022 Uncorked Legacy — a $40, award-winning bottle — for example, is apparently quite good, according to sommelier Amanda Schuster, who described it as “a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon with intense brambly fruit… and a balanced acidity with approachable tannins.”
As for other bottles: One social media user who tried an unnamed sports-branded wine claimed it tasted “like a penalty box after a triple overtime game,” per FOS.
But wine isn’t the only booze with spirit
- Ready-to-drink canned cocktails: The Las Vegas Raiders released Rum Rusher in 2021, and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes debuted its own cocktail last year.
- Liquor: Sagamore Spirit’s $39 limited-edition Ravens Festivus Maximus, a small batch rye whiskey that celebrates Baltimore’s Super Bowl win in 2001, is now in its third release thanks to its massive popularity.
- FOS predicts it’s just a matter of time before sports teams tap into nonalcoholic options.
BTW: If sports isn’t your thing, Mano’s also produces crypto wines as well as licensed LOTR and Scrabble ones.