We've been doing zone coverage of football wines here at Unfiltered this season as more and more teams, players and other gridiron gadabouts create official wines or found entire wineries. Fifteen teams have activated team wines, many for the first time in 2019, partnering with all-star wineries like Robert Mondavi Winery, Josh Cellars and Joe Wagner's Copper Cane. But only in week 9 did the entire league name a wine partner: Coming to 12 stadiums around the country, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl, it's the Official Wine Sponsor of the NFL … Babe Wine.
How did a brand started by an Instagram comedian as a kinda-goof just a few years ago (to combat the Great Hamptons Rosé Drought of 2014) beat out a competitive field of football wines? Pretty easily, since Anheuser-Busch acquired the brand this year! "Babe tapped into Anheuser-Busch’s existing relationship with the NFL to establish the partnership," an A-B rep explained to Unfiltered via email. While Babe debuted in bottles, A-B saw the potential for canning it. "The intention was that this canned wine would be the perfect fit for concerts and sporting events, because at the time there were really no wine or spirits options that made sense …. Now that we are tapping into the football space, we expect this to become more prevalent." Now Babe's sparkling rosé, red and Pinot Grigio cans are available in the bleachers at home games for the Ravens, Patriots, Giants, Jets, Redskins, Falcons, Panthers, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Raiders and 49ers.
Babe kicked off the partnership with a video of TV host Kayla Nicole, in full pads, paint and helmet, dismissing a particularly garrulous sommelier from the table with a hard, shoulder-forward side tackle. A-B told us to keep an eye out for more such hijinks/promotions throughout the remainder of the season.
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