Yao gets inventive in new game
In 2002, the Rockets made Yao Ming the first Chinese player to be drafted first overall by an NBA team, and he would accomplish enough despite an injury-marred career to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. Now, Yao has set another precedent, breaking a different kind of new ground.
Capitalizing on his unique hoops legacy and the fact that his Napa Valley wines are quite special, Yao recently offered at auction 200 paired lots featuring bottles of his 2016 flagship Rutherford District Cabernet Sauvignon, called “The Chop,” and limited-edition NFTs. It was made from what winemaker Tom Hinde deemed to be the single best barrel sourced exclusively from the Morisoli Vineyard, a plot that has been under vine since 1879 and was quite possibly the first to internationally showcase Napa Valley’s immense potential.
NFT? That stands for “nonfungible token.” In short, NFTs transform digital assets, such as works of art — or, say, a video of a memorable Yao jam — and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable entities that can be traded on the blockchain.
One special item within the auction was the pairing of bottle No. 11 and NFT No. 11, a one-of-a-kind offering that paid homage to the year that Yao’s first vintage, a 2009, was released and was also the final year he played for the Rockets. Of course, he wore No. 11 for the Rockets, too.
Yao’s current, more widely available-to-the-general-public releases range from $35 for the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc to $258 for the 2016 Napa Valley Family Reserve. His regular cab — both the 2017 and 2018 vintages are available — sells for $95. All can be purchased at yaofamilywines.com.
BYOB news
Houston has a new BYOB spot but with a familiar name. Ruggles Dessert Cafe, recently opened in a shopping center at Alabama and Kirby, offers an array of desserts plus soups, salads, sandwiches and pastas, pairable with any wines you choose to bring, no corkage fee. It’s on the cozy side and doesn’t have any patio seating, but it’s bright and airy and open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Sunday.
Arguably the hottest BYOB in town these days is Porta’Vino, 7800 Washington, which opened a couple of weeks before COVID-19 forced a shutdown in March 2020. These days, ironically, the wines on its compact house list are such bargains that owner Bill Floyd says two-thirds of his customers are drinking the restaurant’s wines rather than lugging in their own. In fact, many are taking Porta’Vino’s bottles home with them, sometimes by the case. In one crazy week recently, Floyd moved nearly 1,900 bottles.
Note that he waives the corkage tariff ($12 for the first bottle, then $1 less for each subsequent one) on your wine if you buy one of his. The temptation is huge when you see the 2017 Dumol Wester Reach Russian River Valley Chardonnay, a wine that earned 95 points from the Wine Advocate, selling for $49 when it’s $60 at Total Wine. Or the 1-liter bottle of 2019 Caymus for $73, which Total Wine sells for $99.97.