NBA Star Josh Hart Won’t Be Cracking Open This Birth-Year Bottle Until His 40th
Josh Hart’s on-court hustle has made him a fan favorite on the New York Knicks—and he’s pretty popular amongst his teammates, too.
“They’ll include me in dinners because they know I’ll bring something good,” says Hart with a laugh, referring, of course, to his fondness for drinking exceptional wines.
The shooting guard’s passion for exquisite vintages, however, is not unique in the NBA. Over the past decade or so, the Association has become fairly obsessed with wine. Stars like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul frequently post about their favorite bottles and varietals.
Hart has recently emerged as one of the league’s best-known oenophiles, even starting an Instagram account dedicated to showcasing his personal collection.
“So many people would ask me for my recommendations and to help them pick out a bottle,” Hart says. “Right now, I mostly post wines that I’m currently drinking, but I’d like to start highlighting other producers, bottles at different price points. It’s a work in progress.”
// Create the element
var script_694d784b9ea43 = document.createElement(“script”);
script_694d784b9ea43.innerHTML = `
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
var adType = “leaderboard”;
var mapping;
var lbmapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1024, 0], [[970, 250], [970, 90], [1, 1], [728, 90]])
.addSize([728, 0], [[728, 90], [1, 1]])
.addSize([320, 0], [[1, 1], [300, 50], [300, 100], [320, 50], [320, 100]])
.addSize([0, 0], [[1, 1], [320, 50]])
.build();; // Size mapping for leaderboard ads
var medrecmapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1024, 0], [[300, 600],[300, 250]])
.addSize([728, 0], [300, 250])
.addSize([320, 0], [[1, 1],[300, 250]])
.addSize([0, 0], [[1, 1], [300, 250]])
.build(); // Size mapping for med rectengle ads
if(‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’ == ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’
|| ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’ == ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’
|| ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’ == ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_3’) {
mapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1920, 0], [[728, 90]]) // >= 1920px
.addSize([1440, 0], [[728, 90]]) // 1440px-1919px
.addSize([730, 0], [[300, 250]]) // 730px-1439px
.addSize([0, 0], [[320, 100], [320, 50], [300, 100], [300, 50], [300, 250]]) // Up to 729px
.build();
} else {
mapping = adType == ‘leaderboard’ ? lbmapping : medrecmapping;
}
googletag.defineSlot(‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’, [],
‘div-gpt-ad-694d784b9ea43’).addService(googletag.pubads()).defineSizeMapping(mapping);
googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest();
googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs();
googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-694d784b9ea43’);
});
`;
// Append the script to the body
document.body.appendChild(script_694d784b9ea43);
The nine-year NBA veteran became interested in wine early in his professional career. While playing for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, Hart’s veteran teammate (and current Los Angeles Lakers head coach) JJ Redick was crashing at Hart’s house as he looked for a place of his own. The two developed a fast friendship, partly thanks to their shared love of wine (with Reddick providing bottles almost as a form of rent).
But during the league’s 2020 Covid bubble, their bond grew even stronger, and Redick expanded Hart’s palate, particularly by introducing him to Burgundy.
Now that Hart is a veteran himself—and one of the Knicks’ leaders—he’s paying it forward by helping his teammates develop their own appreciation for wine. He often picks out bottles at team dinners and has become the go-to source for recommendations. He’s even attempting to expand the palate of Knicks captain Jalen Brunson.
“He likes wine, but he’s pretty damn cheap to actually want the quality stuff,” Hart jokes, always looking to needle his longtime friend and former Villanova teammate.
As a professional athlete, Hart admits it can be difficult to find time during the season to drink wine (for example: he never drinks the day before a game). But when the team has multiple off days on the calendar, he’ll let himself indulge in a glass or two.
“No matter how the game goes, I could be drinking to celebrate or drinking my sorrows away,” he says, with a laugh.
No matter the occasion, Hart now has plenty of bottles to choose from. He boasts a vast collection of wines, but there’s one bottle that stands out—and it just so happens to have been a present from Redick, his wine mentor.
// Create the element
var script_694d784b9ee8e = document.createElement(“script”);
script_694d784b9ee8e.innerHTML = `
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
var adType = “leaderboard”;
var mapping;
var lbmapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1024, 0], [[970, 250], [970, 90], [1, 1], [728, 90]])
.addSize([728, 0], [[728, 90], [1, 1]])
.addSize([320, 0], [[1, 1], [300, 50], [300, 100], [320, 50], [320, 100]])
.addSize([0, 0], [[1, 1], [320, 50]])
.build();; // Size mapping for leaderboard ads
var medrecmapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1024, 0], [[300, 600],[300, 250]])
.addSize([728, 0], [300, 250])
.addSize([320, 0], [[1, 1],[300, 250]])
.addSize([0, 0], [[1, 1], [300, 250]])
.build(); // Size mapping for med rectengle ads
if(‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’ == ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’
|| ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’ == ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’
|| ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’ == ‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_3’) {
mapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1920, 0], [[728, 90]]) // >= 1920px
.addSize([1440, 0], [[728, 90]]) // 1440px-1919px
.addSize([730, 0], [[300, 250]]) // 730px-1439px
.addSize([0, 0], [[320, 100], [320, 50], [300, 100], [300, 50], [300, 250]]) // Up to 729px
.build();
} else {
mapping = adType == ‘leaderboard’ ? lbmapping : medrecmapping;
}
googletag.defineSlot(‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’, [],
‘div-gpt-ad-694d784b9ee8e’).addService(googletag.pubads()).defineSizeMapping(mapping);
googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest();
googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs();
googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-694d784b9ee8e’);
});
`;
// Append the script to the body
document.body.appendChild(script_694d784b9ee8e);
Owner: Josh Hart, shooting guard for the New York Knicks
Bottle: 1995 DRC Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache Burgundy
How’d I Get It? “It was sort of like a wedding gift and a ‘thanks for letting me crash at your house for four weeks’ gift from JJ Redick. I’ve since bought myself a couple bottles of it as well.
The NBA bubble is what got me into my Burgundy kick. JJ was on the team during the bubble, and I was a Bordeaux guy, he was a Burgundy guy. His palate—and more importantly, his wallet—was a little bit bigger than mine at the time, so he was opening Rousseaus like they were just water.
This one is a special bottle to me because I love drinking ’95 wines, the year I was born. It could be any producer, any variety, there’s just something about ’95 wines that is special. And DRC is one of the best, if not the best, producers. This isn’t their top tier, but La Tache is an amazing wine.”
Purchase Price: Gifted (and later purchased for ~$6,000-$7,000)
Estimated Value: $6,172, according to Wine-Searcher
When Do You Plan to Drink it: “I think when I turn 40, so I guess I’ve got about 10 more years to wait for this. I don’t know of another good time. Normally, I just drink wine to drink it, since if you wait for a special occasion, you’ll just keep putting it off.
Now… if the Knicks win the championship? Yeah, I think a lot of wine would be flowing—and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one found its way into the rotation.”
More Wine Collecting Coverage
- How a magnum of Burgundy changed Drew Nieporent’s life.
- When Michelle Obama gifts you Champagne, you hold onto it.
- Charlie Palmer’s most prized bottle is a birth-year Bordeaux with a backstory.
- Interested in starting your own collection? Don’t make these rookie wine collecting mistakes.
- Expert sommeliers and collectors weigh in on the potential paycheck of investing in wine.
In the Shop
Flex Your Collection
Transform your home into a wine lover’s paradise with a custom wine cellar. From design to functionality, Wine Enthusiast can create the perfect storage solution.
The post NBA Star Josh Hart Won’t Be Cracking Open This Birth-Year Bottle Until His 40th appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.
