San Francisco Giants fans have a slew of wine choices at Oracle Park. (Image: Kathryn Reed)
Wine and baseball? Who knew it could be a winning combination.
Such was the outcome on Memorial Day when the Giants won 14-4 as I sipped a can of wine.
It had been way too long since I witnessed such an offensive onslaught in person. The weather was perfect, the entertainment outstanding, and the adult beverage refreshing.
I opted for wine instead of beer because I had read Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, is beefing up its wine game.
Last fall the Giants hired master sommelier Evan Goldstein. (There are only 269 master sommeliers in the world.) This was a first in Major League Baseball. The Giants reportedly were the first to even serve wine at a stadium when they introduced the fermented grape in 1977 at Candlestick Park.
Goldstein’s goal, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, is to increase wine sales from 80,000 glasses a year to 100,000 this season.
Learning that wine and baseball fit like a glove. (Image: Kathryn Reed)
While beer still seemed to be the adult beverage of choice based on the number of kiosks and cups in hands, Oracle Park has a wine bar on every level. I didn’t walk around enough on this particular day to see what, if any, differences might be between them.
What I found was wine was available at multiple locations. Or course the choices were not abundant at each kiosk.
I opted for a can of She Can. I liked the name. I had never had wine in a can before. Never had wine at a baseball game before.
The California white—that’s what it’s called—was refreshing on this warm day. And a can, well, that’s like two pours so that was a nice bonus. It made the $15.25 more palatable. Wine on tap was $14, but I don’t know what was on tap. A carafe would have set me back $57.
While the sommelier intends to do some pairings in the future—not sure that will be for the average fan or those who pay more for their tickets or for players. I had organic tater tots with my wine. (I used to be an ardent fan of garlic fries, but have finally said they aren’t good anymore and cost way too much money.)
Clearly, ballparks are not meant to be healthy experiences. OK, they can be, but I choose for them not to be.
I don’t know if I will make my rounds through the wine choices at my next games. I might go back to beer just because that is my ritual. But a night game, well, a robust red might just be more appealing than a cold beer. Oh, the hard decisions in life.
Whatever I’m drinking, let’s just hope the Giants win.
