I attended the Red Sox game yesterday afternoon and usually after a Sox loss, I sulk around for a little bit, but not last night. I got an instant pick me up. I was lucky enough to get an invite to the Charity Wines Launch of the two newest wines in their collection. This year, the wines are from Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz.
Here is a little video of the Q&A by Heidi Watney. The video quality isn’t the best, but it lets you feel a little bit like you were there.
Clay’s wine is the ChardonClay. He said he prefers red wine, but Lester got dibs…but he tried it up on stage and said it was pretty tasty. It has nothing to do with the wine and his charity, but one of the most adorable things was watching Clay play with his adorable daughter Colbi before being asked to come up on stage. So so cute. Anyways…back to the wine and the charities. Clay’s charity is The Jimmy Fund. We all know about the Jimmy Fund and the great work they do in terms of cancer research and treatment through their amazing connection with the Red Sox. Clay is one of the co-captains (along with Tim Wakefield) for the Jimmy Fund. Clay talked about how much it meant to him to be able to go to go into a kid’s hospital room and just be a pick me up.
Lester’s win is the CabernAce. His charity was easy to choose. Lester chose the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where Lester received treatment when he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Lester talked at length about the great work and research that they do. He also talked with a lot of humility about how it took him some maturity to be able to feel comfortable being known as a cancer survivor and speaking for the community. I thought that was a really interesting insight since I remembered a lot of the quotes from him a few years ago saying how he wanted to be seen “not as a cancer survivor but just as a pitcher.” I think he’s gotten to the point of owning that not only is he a phenomally talented pitcher, but he’s really proud to be known as a cancer surivor. He talked about how doing charity work almost feels selfish because he gets so much from it personally. Lester spoke about how he wasn’t aware at how much money was needed to keep state of the art research going and that he is grateful to be a part of that.
Both Clay and Jon had their adorable babies in tow with them and Heidi asked them to share a little bit about being first time fathers. Lester said there was nothing better than being a dad. He did say the first few months were rough with a lot of screaming….both by him and Hudson. Clay remarked that things have been really great and easy with Colbi. He joked that Colbi really likes sleeping and so does he, so it is working out well. All in all…very cute.
Heidi also asked the players about the Sox struggle out of the gate. Both players said it was difficult to get off to such a bad start, especially with all the expectations the team had. They both also said that being at .500 is right around the corner and that as soon as that happens, they think a lot of pressure is going to come off.
The Q&A ended with someone in crowd sharing that a good friend of his passed away from lymphoma and that remarked at how much of an inspiration Jon Lester is to him. He remarked that he feels his friend with him every time Lester takes the mound. It was a really nice and poignant moment to end the session.
And of course, the question everyone wants to know: Is the wine good? I tried both types and they are pretty tasty. I’ve stopped being surprised that the wine is good. They do a great great job. I say surprised because I’ve know a lot of companies who put out a pretty bad product if it has a celebrity on it because they know they will buy it…no matter what. Not here. Seriously, it’s good wine.
And the other question is how you can get your hands on a bottle. I know I bought two bottles of both the Beckett and Ellsbury wines last year…and I have a bottle of the Youk wine hanging around somewhere. The wines are sold almost anywhere where quality wines are sold in Sox Nation. I know I’ve had great luck finding them at the NH Liquor Stores. And if you aren’t near Red Sox Nation and a liquor store, you can always order them online at Charity Wines. They sell for about $14 a bottle. They are not only tasty just for you to drink, but they make some great gifts. I can’t say enough about these wines. However, the most important thing is that every single cent raised goes to charity.
Let me say that again….EVERY SINGLE CENT RAISED GOES TO CHARITY. The athletes don’t make single cent from this. So…buy one…buy ten. Be part of not only getting a Sox wine, but also bringing some money to cancer research. Seriously…this whole Charity Wines things is one of the coolest things I’ve ever come across.
Here are some photos from the event. All in all a great great time. I’d like to give a huge thanks to Charity Hop for inviting me to be a part of this special evening. It was great sitting amongst a lot of other Sox bloggers as well.
Now…go buy a bottle of wine!
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