SoFi Stadium is the website of Super Bowl LVI arranged to be used Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Ain’t it excellent when a plan comes together? Simply Ask Stan Kroenke.An impressive example of a dream come to life will be on screen this Sunday, when widely known Aspen regular Stan Kroenke’s Los Angeles Rams take the field to play the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in Kroenke’s own SoFi Stadium. Over the last eight years Kroenke has not only built an arena for the ages, he has also all at once shepherded the development of a championship-caliber football team. The strategy and the dream was to bring both of these entities together for one historical Super Bowl Sunday.It is extremely tough to get to the Super Bowl. Only two teams make it to the
big video game every year and this is only the 2nd time given that the first game in 1967(also played in Los Angeles) that a group has played the Super Bowl in its home arena. The very first circumstances was in 2015 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the game in Tampa. And yes, constructing a$ 5 billion stadium is likewise really tough. Other NFL dreamers in Los Angeles had actually been attempting to do so for over twenty years to no get. But Kroenke is one step away from the ultimate goal of raising the Lombardi Prize in his own house.Ironically, the locations of the Tampa Bay and Los Angles Super Bowls were switched in 2017 after it ended up being clear that the L.A. arena would need more time for conclusion. Had that not taken place, then this case of”Kroenke Kismet”would likely not have ever seen the light of day.THE TROPHIES So, what does all that pertain to wine?Well, in addition to myriad sports interests (he counts the currently red-hot Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and the Arsenal Football Club among his lots of properties)Kroenke is also the owner of a collection of vineyards and white wine labels that are of champion quality. In truth, Lombardi Trophy worthy. Los Angeles Rams owner
Stan Kroenke holds the George Halas trophy after the NFC Championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Oh, and his own wines will be poured in SoFi on Super Bowl Sunday.The gem in his collection is the Napa Valley-based Screaming Eagle, one of the most collectable
red wines in the world and one with bottles so pricy that even the highest-paid professional athletes would reconsider prior to buying– much less opening– one. Yelling Eagle produces limited amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oakville appellation as well as a smidgen
of Sauvignon Blanc.In early February, Sotheby’s carried out the”Napa Valley Library Red Wine Auction|Direct from the Cellar”in association with Napa Valley Vintners to raise funds for a variety of regional charitable companies. There were 53 lots of wines contributed by the most prestigious and collectable wineries in Napa, with almost all including magnums that were historical and unique offerings.Kroenke’s contributed Screaming Eagle lot consisted of three magnums: one 1.5-liter each of the only three white wines produced at the estate: Yelling Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, Yelling Eagle The Flight and Shrieking Eagle Sauvignon Blanc. Neither The Flight nor the Sauvignon Blanc had actually ever been sold in large format bottles, making this one of the rarest offerings ever put together from the estate. The lot sold for$48,600, or about$15,000 per magnum, easily the highest quantity created from any of the auction items.(Kelly J. Hayes) Remarkably, the three white wines were items of the 2016 Napa vintage, which takes place to coincide with the year that Kroenke moved the Rams from St. Louis back to Los Angeles, where the group played its video games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum while awaiting conclusion of their brand-new house. That fall, while Screaming Eagle gathered, the Rams coped a 4-12 season, revealing few signs of what was to come. At the end of that year, Kroenke employed a 30-year-old head coach, Sean McVay, and the “replanting “of the Rams that has led to this year’s Super Bowl appearance began.In addition to Shrieking Eagle, Kroenke has another”prize”red wine property,
Burgundy’s Domaine Bonneau du Martray, which is touted as the”only estate in Burgundy to solely produce white wine from Grand Cru vineyards.”It has a history that goes back 2 centuries and includes a Grand Cru parcel on the historical hill of Corton. Place, place, location.CALIFORNIA DREAMING My preferred Kroenke white wine projects are a bit more modest in profile, though, to my method of white wine drinking, they’re similarly enticing. On the Central California Coast, winemaker Matt Dees supervises The Hilt, Jonata and The Paring labels that make some of the most interesting white wines in the state. The Hilt Estate is concentrated on producing incredible Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from their own vineyards in the Sta.
Rita Hills appellation. Meanwhile, Jonata grows a number of various grapes consisting of Rhône and Italian ranges like Syrah and Sangiovese in its vineyards in Ballard Canyon in Santa Ynez, about 20 miles east of The Hilt Estate in Santa Barbara County.This past summer season, The Hilt opened a new tasting room and winemaking center on their vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills created by architect Howard Backen. The Barn at The Hilt Estate features a cutting-edge 50,000 square foot gravity fed wine making facility that will serve as the production center for both labels. A SoFi Stadium for the red wine group to play in if you will.Grapes sourced from the vineyard obstructs at Jonata and The Hilt that are either too young or don’t fit into the classic design of the those white wines are utilized in The Paring releases, called for the paring knife utilized by chefs in food preparation. About 15,000 cases of these white wines are produced and sell in the$20 -$ 25 variety. While the Paring white wines are bottled and sold nationally, scandal sheet cans of some of those white wines have actually been produced for sale in SoFi Stadium. On Super Bowl Sunday, fans who will remain in the arena for the video game
will have the ability to acquire Pinot Noir, Rosé and Chardonnay from The Paring in 250 ml cans. In addition to being the very first individual to have his team play in his own arena for the Super Bowl, it will be the very first time a wine has been sold in an arena that was produced by the same owner. Excellent planning.SPORTS AND WHITE WINE So what is the reason for Kroenke’s success in sport and wine?Well, the apparent answer is cash. But there are 29 other billionaire NFL owners who
will not see their teams play in this year’s video game. Much less in arenas that they moneyed and built. And lots of a millionaire owns a Napa winery that would like to have the need and reputation that Screaming Eagle enjoys.Rather, the answer (in addition to cash )are individuals, place, and patience.Kroenke has put his faith in young wine makers, Nick Gislason at Screaming Eagle
and Matt Dees at The Hilt, simply as he has in Rams Head Coach Sean McVay. He has actually allowed them to develop a prepare for constructing their vineyards and provided the resources to make them work. Much as he provided the resources for McVay to get players like Matthew Stafford, Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. so the Rams could make a run at this year’s Lombardi Prize. He has actually decided to utilize the tried-and-true axiom that place is the most crucial part of any venture. Los Angles for his arena and group, Napa and Burgundy for his leading