Discovering TwentyFour by Charles Woodson

Tasti-Pairings had participated in a rare evening event on July 26, 2010. We were excited to meet a football player/wine vintner at Ristorante Allegria. (Special thanks to Baris Yildiz.)  The restaurant was turned into a classy night club for that evening with cocktails and dancing. It was a nice social scene to celebrate with former Raider and current Green Bay Packer defensive back Charles Woodson, who was named NFL Defensive Player Of The Year 2009.  Charles was  the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy and he has a reputation for being one the sharpest businessmen in the league.

His latest venture, TwentyFour mixes Woodson’s style with his business savvy.  At the start of his NFL career while in training camp in the Napa Valley with the Oakland Raiders, Woodson became deeply involved in the wine country, visiting restaurants and wineries and starting his own collection of wines. He met his friend and employee of Robert Mondavi Winery, Rick Ruiz in 2001. Using the Mondavi facilities and with the help of winemaker, Gustavo Gonzales, Woodson produced his first wine with the idea of gifting the bottles to family and friends during the holidays.

The vineyard is located two and a half miles south of Calistoga, next to Sterling Vineyards, Clos Pegase Estate Winery, and Scharmsburg Vineyards (House of Sparkling Wine). Their seven acre block of Cabernet produces wines with elegant complexity, an alluring portal and round but dense tannins that would allow this wine to be cellared for many more years.

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 Sauvignon, which became the debut of the TwentyFour vintage “…called TwentyFour, by Charles Woodson.“ Twenty-four was his number in Oakland, which was when he acquired the interested in wine. Woodson’s first release of TwentyFour was his 2005 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, which was aged for 18 months in 100% French oak barrels.

We had the pleasure of tasting his newest release, the 2007 TwentyFour Cabernet Sauvignon. The aromas of dark berries, nuts, and creamy tannins were intoxicating. There were layers of flavors such as black cherries, prunes, and rich hazelnut tones that gave way to a soft, silky, and savory spice to the long finish. This wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels, 60% new. Though more a collectible, this wine is great as a stand alone, but would pair nicely with Prime Rib or Filet Mignon.

TwentyFour wines believes in helping others, where $10 from every bottle of TwentyFour wines purchased will be donated to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Giving back is the only way to propel forward. Charles Woodson has made a gift of $2 million to the new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital and Womens Hospital. The new hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2012. The Charles Woodson Foundation (CWF) supports two scholarship funds as well as the C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital.

If you are interested in owning a wine that is more collectible then anything, you can find it in numerous places in Wisconsin and Michigan, and a couple places in the Napa Valley, but easier you can buy it online.

For more information contact:

* Charles Woodson Wines
* Rick Ruiz Director of Operations
* 2471 Solano Avenue
* Box 239
* Napa, CA 94558
* Phone: 707-337-7201
* Office & Fax: 707-255-2427