LeBron James is a Wine Connoisseur Now, and Oregon Pinot Is His Favorite

“Oregon Pinot is some of the greatest wine you can find in America, and maybe not even America, but the world."

Cavaliers at Wizards 2/6/17
By Elise Herron

Oregon vineyards recently received praise from a surprising place: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, the sports star divulged a newfound passion for wine.

And according to James, who's been honing his wine-tasting palette for a whopping three years, the beaver state makes some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.

"Oregon Pinot is some of the greatest wine you can find in America," James told Yahoo, "and maybe not even America, but the world."

A testament to this praise, in one of James' post-game Instagrams of the vintages he's currently "researching," an Oregon Pinot was spotted in the lineup.

In the caption he cautioned his followers, "P.S. don't talk to me about wine like u know it if you really don't know what you're talking about. Seriously! Thank you!"

Who knows, vinter could soon be a resume check for the basketball mogul. (Another NBA legend, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, owns an Oregon winery.) For now, he can thank Oregon for supplying at least some of the elixir that he says fuels his superior athleticism.

"I mean, listen," James told Yahoo, "I'm playing the best basketball of my life and I'm drinking some wine pretty much every day, so, hey, whatever it is, I'll take it."

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