NEW YORK — Kris Kato was explaining the science of winemaking as we sat beside each other at Zuma, enjoying wines from Kendall-Jackson.
The conversation soon moved from vineyards and fermentation to something familiar to both of us: basketball.
Kato, a lifelong Portland Trail Blazers fan, helped develop three wines for Kendall-Jackson’s partnership with the NBA. The relationship traces its origins to an unusual problem inside the league’s pandemic bubble in 2020.
Some of the world’s highest-paid basketball players weren’t happy with the wine available at their Disney hotels.
Six years later, the challenge has changed.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony helped make wine part of NBA culture. Now, Kendall-Jackson wants to introduce that enthusiasm to ordinary fans who may know little about wine but can recite their favorite team’s starting lineup.
Kato’s assignment was to create wines that didn’t require the budget, knowledge or private cellar of an NBA superstar.
For someone who once planned to become a pharmacist, it was an unusual intersection of his two passions.
How NBA Players Built a Wine Culture Long Before the Bubble
Wine was already a fixture in NBA circles before the pandemic.
Gregg Popovich had spent years introducing players to wine during team dinners in San Antonio. Anthony developed an interest while playing in Denver, eventually sharing his enthusiasm with James and Chris Paul.
In 2018, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes documented the league’s growing fascination with wine, including a Cleveland Cavaliers visit to Mayacamas Vineyards in Napa Valley.
Wade, meanwhile, developed his own wine business and became one of basketball’s most recognizable enthusiasts.
His interest has continued well beyond retirement.
The three-time NBA champion has been a frequent visitor to Kendall-Jackson wineries, according to visitation records shared with Heavy.
Former NBA stars Gary Payton and Carlos Boozer are among other basketball figures connected to Jackson Family Wines properties.
Wine’s place in the NBA also extends beyond celebrity tastings.
In October 2025, Front Office Sports reported on a bottle-exchange tradition involving players from opposing teams.
Jalen Brunson once asked Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell about his wine during a Knicks-Pacers game. McConnell was already exchanging bottles with Brunson’s teammate, Josh Hart.
For Jackson Family Wines, the NBA’s growing interest in wine eventually opened an unexpected opportunity.
How the NBA Bubble Started Kendall-Jackson’s Partnership
When the NBA resumed its 2019-20 season at Walt Disney World, players found themselves living under restrictions that made ordinary social activities difficult.
JJ Redick arranged for a wine refrigerator in his hotel room. CJ McCollum brought an extensive collection of bottles.
Other veterans shared wines and learned about different varieties.
But the available hotel selections didn’t always satisfy them.
That’s when Jackson Family Wines, the California-based, family-owned wine company behind flagship brand Kendall-Jackson, entered the picture.
“It all started kind of during the bubble during COVID,” Kato told Heavy during an exclusive interview at Zuma in New York in October.
“We started sending them wine because that’s kind of what we heard, where the players wanted better options.”
Jackson Family Wines supplied wine to Orlando, beginning an informal relationship that eventually developed into an official NBA partnership in April 2024.
Kendall-Jackson became the league’s first official wine partner, while another Jackson Family Wines brand, La Crema, entered a separate partnership with the WNBA.
Now in its third NBA season, Kendall-Jackson’s partnership has expanded beyond league events and player relationships to an NBA-branded collection available to consumers nationwide.
Kato said the company’s connections with basketball players continue beyond organized league activities.
“We hosted a lot of just players that are coming into town playing the Warriors or the Kings because there’s usually a day in between,” he told Heavy.
Northern California’s proximity to those NBA markets gives visiting players opportunities to explore nearby wineries.
But Kendall-Jackson’s ambitions now extend beyond serving athletes with expensive tastes.
They reach directly into Kato’s work as a winemaker.
From Brewing Beer to Making Wine for NBA Fans
Kato never planned to spend his career making wine.
Growing up in Portland, he developed an appreciation for agriculture while spending time on his grandparents’ farm.
He initially enrolled at Oregon State University to study pharmacy.
Then he began brewing beer with a friend.
The experience changed his career plans.
Still fascinated by chemistry and biology, Kato switched to fermentation science. After graduating, he moved to California and began working in the wine industry.
He joined Jackson Family Wines in 2014 and became Kendall-Jackson’s head winemaker in 2025.
His scientific background remains central to how he approaches the job.
“It’s impossible to make great wine out of bad grapes,” Kato told Heavy.
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He works with farming partners, monitors growing conditions and evaluates grapes before deciding how to transform them into wine.
Unlike products manufactured throughout the year, wine depends on an annual harvest.
“You only get one chance a year with grapes,” he explained.
The process combines scientific measurements with decisions guided by taste.
Kato examines acidity and sugar levels. He considers when to harvest, how fermentation should proceed and which barrels will produce the intended result.
“It’s so much like cooking,” he said.
That comparison became particularly useful when discussing the NBA collection.
Kato helped develop three varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Each required a different approach.
For Sauvignon Blanc, he emphasized fresh aromas and brightness. The Chardonnay needed texture. The Cabernet Sauvignon was designed to be soft and lush rather than overly imposing.
Those characteristics depended on decisions made throughout production, from grape selection to fermentation and barrel aging.
“We intentionally launched a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, and a Cabernet,” Kato told Heavy.
The wines were introduced nationally in October 2025, with suggested prices ranging from $15 to $25.
Their basketball-inspired labels provide another connection to the NBA’s history.
Artist Victor Solomon, who collaborated with Tiffany & Co. on the 2022 redesign of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, also designed the labels for Kendall-Jackson’s NBA wine collection.
Solomon’s involvement brings a familiar artistic influence from the league’s championship trophy to bottles intended for basketball fans.
For Kato, however, what matters most is what goes inside them.
He wasn’t trying to reproduce the expensive wines collected by NBA veterans.
He wanted to make wines that people could enjoy without needing an education in winemaking.
Why Kendall-Jackson Wants NBA Fans to Think Beyond Beer
There is an obvious economic gap between the people who helped establish the NBA’s wine culture and the fans Kendall-Jackson hopes to reach.
Professional basketball players can afford rare vintages and private tastings.
Most fans cannot.
Kato understands that difference.
“I think we would be doing a disservice if, to your point, we made these wines and no one could find them or they were priced so high,” he told Heavy.
Accessibility influenced not only the collection’s price but also its intended use.
When developing the wines, Kato thought about food.
Not elaborate tasting menus or expensive restaurant dinners.
Stadium food.
French fries. Nachos. Hot dogs. Popcorn.
Those were the foods he imagined fans eating while watching basketball.
“You know, when you’re watching a game and you just want to have a really good drink and not think too hard about it,” Kato said.
For someone unfamiliar with wine, he recommends beginning with Sauvignon Blanc.
“It’s very light, it’s very crisp, it’s very refreshing,” Kato explained.
He believes its freshness makes it approachable on its own or alongside food, without the heavier characteristics that can make some reds and oakier Chardonnays more challenging for newcomers.
The thinking reflects a broader commercial ambition.
For decades, the NBA has influenced what fans wear, from sneakers and jerseys to fashion collaborations.
Kendall-Jackson is exploring whether that influence can extend to what adult fans drink.
But attaching an NBA logo to a bottle doesn’t guarantee a new generation of wine enthusiasts.
Can the NBA Help Shape the Future of Wine in Sports?
The wine industry is confronting a difficult reality.
Americans spent more than $115 billion on wine in 2025, according to the 2026 BMO Wine Market Report, but overall consumption continued to decline.
Consumers are drinking less, and producers are looking for ways to reach new audiences.
Even within NBA locker rooms, the future of wine culture is uncertain.
Front Office Sports reported that some veteran players have struggled to interest younger teammates in the bottle exchanges that became popular after the bubble.
The challenge for Kendall-Jackson is therefore larger than attaching an NBA logo to a bottle.
It must persuade adult basketball fans that wine belongs in their game-watching experience.
Whether such partnerships produce lasting changes in consumer habits remains an open question.
For Kato, the approach begins with something simpler than marketing.
He wants the wine to be enjoyable.
Back at Zuma, our conversation eventually returned to Portland and the Trail Blazers.
“I’m originally from Portland, Oregon, so I’m a die-hard Trailblazer,” Kato told Heavy.
He was looking forward to Damian Lillard’s return to a resurgent Trail Blazers team led by All-Star Deni Avdija, speaking about his hometown franchise with the passion of a lifelong fan whose connection to basketball long predated his career in winemaking.
He understood the appeal of watching a game, sharing food and spending time with friends.
It was the same experience he had in mind when developing the NBA collection.
The league’s biggest stars may have helped establish basketball’s wine culture through expensive bottles, private collections and visits to celebrated vineyards.
Kato’s task is different.
He wants to make wine approachable enough that fans don’t have to think about everything that went into making it.
They can simply enjoy the game.
The NBA Fell in Love With Wine — Now It’s Sharing That Passion With Fans