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The love affair between professional basketball players and wine isn’t anything new, and NBA legend and Chicago-area native Dwyane Wade is using that passion to raise money for BIPOC communities. Wade, who graduated from Richards High School in suburban Oak Lawn before taking Marquette University to the Final Four in 2003, is partnering with Foxtrot to sell a special wine package to benefit Social Change Fund, an organization started by Wade and two of his fellow future Basketball Hall of Famers, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
Wade talked about the partnership in a video. The former NBA star is selling cabernet in as it’s a good entry point to get into wine: “if i get an opportunity to be a part of any industry, I want it to be authentic to who I am so it doesn’t feel like a job,” he says on the video.
Wade’s wine operation debuted in 2014 as Wade Wine Cellars was born. Wade, now retired for the NBA, spent the 2016 season and parts of 2017 with the Chicago Bulls. He’s best known for his years winning championships with the Miami Heat, first with Shaquille O’Neal before forming a “Big Three” with LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
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Foxtrot, a chain that started as a liquor delivery service before branching out into a full corner store type model, is selling a bottle of Wade Cellars Cabernet with a wine tote. $10 of the wine’s $55 price will go to the Social Change Fund. Foxtrot will donate an additional $10 per sale to the charity, according to a news release. Social Change Fund’s mission is “to liberate Black people and advocate for indigenous people and communities of color through the lens of policy solutions, community representation and narrative change.”
Basketball players and wine have been a hot topic over the last few years, as explored by this James Beard Award-winning story from Baxter Holmes over at ESPN. Holmes followed up on the story in August by sharing details about an unofficial wine club formed by players.
