Dwyane Wade Wants You To Learn How To Make Wine

Dwyane Wade may have retired from playing professional basketball, but his career is far from over. Since his time with the NBA, the father of four has gone on to become a sports commentator, a game show host, a restaurateur, and now, a winemaker. 

According to Haute Living, Wade was first introduced to wine culture by former teammate Alonzo Mourning. "I thought it was the worst thing I've ever tasted!" Wade recalled of his first experience drinking wine. "But I kept trying, kept trying, kept trying until I found a Reisling wine that was very sweet." Since then, Wade has gone on to open his own wine cellar, Wade Cellars, partnering with the famous Pahlmeyer family. 

Wade's goal is to not only share his love of wine, but to ultimately break down the elitist barriers of the wine industry. "I got into it as a passion, but also to introduce to my community—the African American community—introduce them to wine," he explained. "It's not something we grow up really being educated about or really knowing about."

Although Dwyane Wade himself didn't become formally educated in the art of wine until he was in his late 20s, he expressed to Food & Wine that he strongly believes in making winemaking a more accessible career path. And, as one of the 26 executive board members of the prestigious Viticulture and Enology department at the University of California, Davis, Wade is actively working to make that happen. "Wine is for everyone," Wade told Food and Wine. "Together we hope to reach and inspire our community to pursue a career in the wine industry by creating a more equitable and viable pathway to achieve those dreams."

The UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program is one of the top wine schools in the world. However, underrepresented minorities only make up just 25% of its enrolled students. With his leadership working alongside the best wine educators in the country, Wade hopes to diversify both the program and the industry a whole.