buckets + barrels: a space for the sippers and shooters
Champagne showers in locker rooms. Wine fridges in the NBA bubble. Pro hoopers starting wine brands. The perfect wine pairing for in-arena nachos.
It’s the content you didn’t know you needed.
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”I think a wine palate is very similar to athletic ability.”
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The inspiration for buckets + barrels emerged when I started my formal wine study in 2020. The name Steven Spurrier rang a bell as both the “Head Ball Coach” and the name behind the legendary Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. SOMM TV featured the “NFL Wine Guy” Will Blackmon. Decades before co-authoring the bestseller American Wine, Linda Murphy began her writing career in sports, breaking barriers as the second woman working in an MLB locker room. The same questions of labor, globalization, class, and identity seeped into every glass.
Basketball, though, felt particularly well-suited for comparative study and consumption.
Maybe it was Raj Parr’s epic blind tasting wins while wearing a Kobe “Mamba” hat…
…or maybe it was bumping into Channing Frye at a winery in Oregon.
Perhaps it was when wine labels connected their brands to the “cool” of basketball.
Ultimately, buckets + barrels aspires to do what basketball and wine both accomplish beautifully:
tell an amazing story
About Me
Photo credit: Dr. Amira Rose Davis
Hi!
My name is Courtney Cox - yes, like the actress.
I live near the top of the Willamette Valley (Portland) and teach near its southern corridor (Eugene). I started buckets + barrels to bring two of my favorite things together: basketball and wine.
As a former ESPN employee-turned-academic, I spend a lot of time thinking through issues of labor, identity, and technology in sports. I found that many of the problems and opportunities I discovered as a researcher followed me into my wine study.
I’m currently a WSET Diploma candidate interested in teaching and writing opportunities in wine. Hit me up!
My teams: Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Sparks, Texas Longhorns, Desoto Eagles
Favorite places to travel in a glass: Rioja, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lombardy
Resources
(updated frequently!)
Articles
How NBA players are helping drive diversity in the wine industry | Curtis Bunn - NBC
Tony Parker Euro Steps into French Wine | Shawn Zylberberg - Wine Spectator
Having Failed at Basketball, the Philadelphia 76ers Are Now Making Wine | Chris Fuhrmeister - Eater
I tried 4 wines backed by NBA players and was blown away by Dwyane Wade's Cabernet Sauvignon | Scott Davis - Insider
Interview: NBA star Moe Harkless on wine | Chris Mercer - Decanter
NBA Baller James Harden is the Latest Celeb to Add Wine Owner to His Resume | DeAnna Taylor - Ebony
NBA Players Are Making Wine More Inclusive | Nina Friend - Food & Wine
NBA's Klay Thompson and MLB's Nolan Arenado Launch Diamond & Key Napa Cabernet | Shawn Zylberberg - Wine Spectator
NBA stars taste test the wine business | Paul Wachter - Andscape
Can the NBA’s All-Star Oenophiles Teach Us Everything We Need to Know About Wine? | Aaron Goldfarb - Vinepair
Swapping tip-offs for tipples, these NBA stars are hoping to hit the right notes in the wine industry | Jeremy Harlan - CNN
Dwyane Wade, Julia Coney Join U.C. Davis Executive Leadership Board | MaryAnn Worobiec + Shawn Zylberberg - Wine Spectator
NBA star Dwyane Wade: ‘I got into wine to be a voice for black makers’ | Alice Lascelles - Financial Times
Wine’s Power Forward | Mitch Frank - Wine Spectator
The Wines Actually Worth Buying From NBA Stars | Lettie Teague - WSJ
Wine Talk: NBA Champ Channing Frye on Pinot, Pétrus and Game 7 Wine | Shawn Zylberberg - Wine Spectator
Professional Athletes and Oregon Wine Make Great Collaborative Teams | Oregon Wine
Worth the Wait: Carmelo Anthony's 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Debuts | Kristen Bieler - Wine Spectator
Social Media
Videos/Podcasts
What’s in Your Glass? (Carmelo Anthony)
Pro Athletes & Wine: NBA (SOMMTV)
CJ McCollum Talks Wine, LeBron and His Future (Full-Bodied w/ Channing Frye)