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NBPA Announces Partnership with Maison Noir Wines and Award-Winning Sommelier André Hueston Mack to Produce Limited-Edition Wines

NBPA Announces Partnership with Maison Noir Wines and Award-Winning Sommelier André Hueston Mack to Produce Limited-Edition Wines

NEW YORK, NY, September 1, 2021 - The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced today a partnership with Maison Noir Wines, a Black-owned wine company founded by award-winning sommelier André Hueston Mack. Through this partnership, Maison Noir Wines will work with THINK450, the content and partnership arm of the NBPA, to produce limited-edition wines, bringing together NBPA members’ ever-growing interest in the wine category with one of the top wine producers in the United States.

As part of the collaboration between the NBPA and Maison Noir Wines, NBPA members will also have the opportunity to engage in wine development, attend virtual tasting events and participate in public conversations with industry leaders in the wine & beverage industry among others.

The limited-edition wines are slated to launch in the fall of 2022.

“With the growing interest in winemaking among NBPA members, this partnership with Maison Noir Wines is a natural fit with our players’ interests,” said Payne Brown, President of THINK450. “This is a great opportunity to bring the players’ collective brand into the wine industry while also providing a platform for our players to learn and better understand the wine business.”

"I’ve always believed that wine was a conduit to bringing people and passions together, and this new partnership with the NBPA has my worlds colliding,” said André Hueston Mack, the Founder of Maison Noir Wines. “Basketball and wine—a pairing that I’m excited to share with the world."

Please direct all media inquiries to communications@nbpa.com.

About the NBPA

The National Basketball Players Association is the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Established in 1954, the NBPA’s mission is to protect and support the rights and talents of our players, magnify the power of their collective will, and amplify their voices as leaders who will transcend sport and society globally.

The NBPA advocates on behalf of the best interests of all NBA players, including the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the filing of grievances on behalf of the players, or counseling players on benefits, educational and post-NBA career opportunities. Business opportunities are generated by THINK450, the for-profit subsidiary of the NBPA charged with managing the players’ group licensing rights.

Dedicated to preserving the legacy of its members, the NBPA Foundation provides support and assistance to persons, communities and organizations around the world that seek to improve the lives of those in need.

About THINK450

THINK450 is the innovation and partnership engine of the NBPA, dedicated to uncovering shared interests between the 450 players and leading brands to build more engaging partnerships. Together with its partners, THINK450 creates original ideas that engage fans, stir them to action, and earn brands the right to participate in cultural conversations. For more information, visit THINK450.com.

About Maison Noir Wines

Maison Noir Wines was founded in 2007 by iconoclastic sommelier André Hueston Mack, a Per Se and French Laundry alumni, incorporating his trademark attitude and personal perspective on wine subculture. The wines are unique and distinctive garage wines (micro-négociant) which source the best fruit possible in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon to produce wines showing the individuality of their respective sites and terroirs.

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