TwentyFour by Charles Woodson
7/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
His latest venture, TwentyFour, mixes Woodson's style with his business savvy.
At the start of his NFL career while in training camp in Napa Valley with the Oakland Raiders, Woodson became immersed in the wine culture, visiting restaurants and wineries and starting his own collection. He befriended an employee at the Robert Mondavi Winery and in 2001 began his first foray into winemaking, producing his own merlot. Using the Mondavi facilities, Woodson produced his first wine with the idea of gifting the bottles to family and friends during the holidays.
From his initial batch, Woodson's passion for wine grew, and in 2004, he leased land in Napa Valley and purchased more grapes to bottle a 2005 cabernet, which became the debut TwentyFour vintage.
"It's called TwentyFour, by Charles Woodson," Woodson told OnMilwaukee.com in an interview in June. "Twenty-four being my number in Oakland, which is when I got interested in wine."
Woodson's first release of TwentyFour is his 2005 vintage, which has been aging for 18 months in French oak barrels. He has plans to release a 2006 and 2007 vintage. Woodson has already had tastings in Beverly Hills and Milwaukee, but the Michigan debut of TwentyFour will take place with a wine tasting on Friday (July 18) at the Chop House in Ann Arbor. The event will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. with tickets available for $75 per person. A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit the Mott's Children's Hospital and Woodson will donate $10 from each bottle sold to the hospital.
Always the renaissance man, Woodson is also in the process of endowing a scholarship at the University of Michigan and has talked about completing his degree to keep pace with his 59 year-old mother who just earned her doctorate in theology.
Just a few more things that separate number TwentyFour (or number Two to diehard Michigan fans) from the rest of the pack.
