Charles Woodson Wine Review - 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon By Brian Weis

Charles Woodson Wine Review - 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon

By Brian Weis

This past Sunday, I ran to the grocery story to get my usual eats and treats for my Sunday ritual of all day football watching. Kick off was a few hours away and I was looking forward to my hometown Green Bay Packers playing the Oakland Raiders.

After picking up some specialty meats and cheeses, I decided to make a special stop in the wine section to bring home a nice bottle of red for my wife. She loves her Cabernet's, so I took a quick glance to see what might be on special. I took a serious double take when I saw Charles Woodson wine. Surely, it wasn't the former Green Bay Packer on the label. What was more mind blowing was the $65 price tag. Not all good wines are expensive but expensive wines have to be good.

A few bottles ended up in my cart purely on the fact that he played for the Green and Gold. Not to mention, he also played two stints for the Oakland Raiders. It certainly was fitting the two teams were squaring off in just a few hours.

On the way home, I was still baffled on the correlation between a 18 year old NFL veteran and California wines. After unpacking the groceries, I settled into my office to do a little research. Here is what CharlesWoodsonWines.com had to say:

"Charles Woodson discovered his appreciation for wine in 1998 when he arrived in Napa with the Oakland Raiders for training camp. He was intrigued when he noticed that everywhere he went people were enjoying a bottle of wine. It didn't matter if it was an opulent dinner, low key lunch, or lazy afternoon. He was drawn to the fact that people seemed to slow down and come together over a glass of wine. Being the curious type, he not only wanted to participate in this ritual, he wanted to learn how to create it himself."

"In 2001 Charles, met Rick Ruiz who was working at Robert Mondavi Winery. Rick invited Charles to visit the winery and showed him around the cellar while explaining the winemaking process from start to finish. In that moment, Charles' desire to actually make a wine was launched. The two worked together with another friend - who happened to be acclaimed international winemaker, Gustavo A. Gonzalez - to create the first barrel of Charles Woodson Wines. They produced a 2001 vintage Merlot that was used to support the various charities with which Charles is involved."

So how did it taste?
On the nose,i picked up deep dark berry and big fruit flavors. On the palette, strong notes of vanilla and oak. Overall, powerful tannins and a real nice balance.

The Facts

Winery

Charles Woodson
Grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon
Region
Calistoga
Regional styles
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Pairing
Beef, Lamb, Mature and Hard Cheese, and Poultry (Or a good day of watching football)

Revised: 01/02/2023 - Article Viewed 1,012 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.