Carmelo Anthony and Mondavi Team Up for New Wine Blend

Wine and sports have always gone hand in hand. Carmelo Anthony would know: When he played for the Denver Nuggets, he was bitten by the wine bug,and quickly spread that love to other players, including pals Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Paul.

Together with cofounder Asani Swann, Anthony launched his own brand, VII(N) The Seventh Estate in 2022, but the latest release, a partnership with legendary Napa winery Robert Mondavi, is the one to watch. Dubbed Ode to Soul, the wine is a robust red blend featuring grapes from the storied To Kalon vineyards in the heart of Napa’s Oakville district. It marks Anthony’s continued evolution as a wine drinker into a full-fledged winemaker. Bon Appétit sat down with Anthony, Swann, and Mondavi’s chief winemaker Geneviève Janssens to discuss the journey to Ode to Soul, and how the team wants to make wine more inclusive for new audiences.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

BA: A couple of NBA players have been getting into wine. Can you speak about how you got into it and how it went from a hobby to you saying, “I’m going to take this seriously?”

CA: I started off not knowing what I was doing, just having a glass of wine after games, before I started collecting. This was probably 2005 or 2006, so I was heavy on Napa and California wines back then. I looked back after being on this wine journey and realized I was spending a lot of money, so I thought “I might as well put this money into my own thing.” I didn’t know the business that well, so it was hard for me to just dive right into it. Once I had an understanding of what I really wanted, and after I felt like I perfected my palate, I was ready to enter the market.

Getting into the wine industry, it was very difficult, nobody was really giving you the game. I really wanted to blend something that’s understandable to people with different palates. Ode to Soul is unique because it was crafted in a way where we wanted followers of the Robert Mondavi brand to recognize and relate, but also consumers who wanted to try new things, to bring people new to wine.

BA: How would you describe Ode to Soul to a friend?

CA: It’s smooth and dark, with a little hint of licorice. It’s like music, and dances a little bit.

AS: We wanted to create something that was a tribute to the Robert Mondavi of the past with a flair of what Melo and I brought to the table. Geneviève was able to help us to find that in the To Kalon vineyard. I really enjoy Cabernet Franc; it balances out the Cabernet Sauvignon a little bit more. Each one of us put our personality into this wine, which is Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot — if you look at each of those grapes, you will find a little bit of each of us.

GJ: It’s a charming blend and reflects our initial goal: To bottle up seriousness, quality, and joy at the same time.

BA: Is this process something new for the Robert Mondavi team?

GJ: This was the first time I had to blend with two people who clearly knew what they wanted, but I had to translate their ideas. We worked together to create a reflection of the vineyards.

CA: We went through a journey of being really intentional about how we wanted this blend to taste.

AS: The blending process takes time, it’s an evolution over three to four sittings. What we started with in the very first tasting was establishing a baseline, but that is not where we ended. When the wine was finally finished, we started thinking about how it made us feel and think and believe, which is how we landed on the name.

GJ: As we tasted, I could see what Asani liked, what Melo preferred. They were expressing themselves through each lot of wine. “We want finesse, we want elegance, we want power, we want depth.” I’ve spent many years translating similar languages, and I helped them blend the expression they were looking for. It’s all in this glass.

BA: What’s your ideal situation to pair with this wine? Is it a first date pour, or a turn-up wine?

CA: I don’t want anybody to think that they have to drink this in one particular place. If you are at a bar, you can have it. If you’re at a restaurant, you can have it. This is universal.

BA: And if you are having it in a restaurant, what are you pairing it with?

CA: Me personally, I’m going to pair this with a nice rib eye, maybe some lamb chops, some type of greens. You know what’s crazy? You can have it with a cheeseburger. This wine is all across the board, especially when it comes to pairing with food. When we were blending, I wanted to express its strong notes, like strong licorice notes.

BA: What has been the biggest lesson learned since entering this space?

CA: I think for me it would be access. We are here to kind of take the locks off the door, make wine more of a world where everybody feels comfortable.

AS: The first lesson is you should absolutely partner with an amazing winemaker like Geneviève, and be humble enough to learn from someone who has been doing this a lifetime. When we started we were learning where the grapes are located in the vineyard and understanding which ones get more sun and how that starts to affect the flavor and the terroir and all of those pieces. Which ones get more water when it rains? Which ones get picked sooner rather than later? All of these things are important.

BA: You’re trying to open up your audience to wine and diversify it. What does that look like?

CA: I want to bring a different type of vibe and content to the wine space. We like to use the word inclusive a lot. We want to bring our community along with us to Robert Mondavi, which makes this partnership really what it is, bringing these two worlds together to create music.

AS: We started The Seventh Estate with the concept of wanting to make wine all over the world, accessing winemakers all over the world. There is vulnerability and truth in our approach.