Following the whirlwind excitement of securing an NBA championship, New York Knicks starting shooting guard Josh Hart traded the hardwood for the historic vineyards of Europe, embarking on a well-earned 10-day vacation alongside his wife, Shannon, and a close group of friends. For Hart, whose post-season schedule was packed with media obligations, championship parades, and widespread celebrations, the getaway provided a much-needed opportunity to decompress and indulge in a long-standing personal passion: the world of fine wine.
While the itinerary included glamorous stops in Capri, Rome, and Paris, the undisputed highlight of the trip for the basketball star was a four-day immersion in Bordeaux, France. Hart’s appreciation for wine developed during his tenure playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, a period when he began exploring the beverage while sharing bottles on team flights with notable teammates like LeBron James and Rajon Rondo. What started as an airborne pastime eventually blossomed into a dedicated connoisseurship, making Bordeaux a dream destination for the athlete.
Describing the experience as akin to traveling through a living history book, Hart was particularly captivated by the region’s deep-rooted heritage. He marveled at the ancient cellars housing rare vintages dating back to the 1880s, as well as the historic wine caves covered in natural mildew and mold—an aesthetic he found deeply enchanting. Across the duration of his stay in the region, Hart and his travel companions visited approximately seven distinct wineries, taking in the intricate processes and rich traditions that define French winemaking.
Among the standout visits was a tour of Château Lynch-Bages, a renowned estate where the group enjoyed a leisurely lunch followed by a unique and memorable experience orchestrated by co-owner Kinou Cazes-Hachemian. Recognizing Hart’s genuine enthusiasm for wine, Cazes-Hachemian arranged a semi-blind tasting session, an activity she frequently shares with passionate visitors. Unlike a standard blind tasting where tasters are completely in the dark about the selection, a semi-blind test provides participants with the list of poured wines, though the exact order of service remains a mystery.
The staff at Château Lynch-Bages prepared six distinct glasses, labeled simply from one to six, and handed out scorecards to the guests. Participants were tasked with tasting each pour and correctly identifying which wine corresponded to the number on their sheet. The lineup featured prestigious selections, including a 2018 Château Haut-Bataille and a 2010 Lynch-Bages. The collection also included a single white wine, the Blanc de Lynch-Bages 2025, which Hart noted was easy enough for everyone in the group to identify correctly.
The exercise brought a sense of playful redemption for Hart. He recalled an incident from five or six years earlier, during the nascent stages of his wine education, when his wife Shannon tested him with a much simpler blind tasting featuring just two bottles: a 2016 Château Pontet-Canet and a selection from Nine Suns in Napa Valley. Having misidentified the pours on that occasion, Hart had endured years of good-natured teasing from his wife, who never let him live down the early misstep.
This time around, however, Hart proved his expertise. He achieved a flawless 100 percent score on the semi-blind test at Château Lynch-Bages, successfully identifying every wine in the lineup and even outperforming Cazes-Hachemian herself. To commemorate the rare feat, the estate gifted him a commemorative pin bearing the phrase "Keep Calm and Drink Lynch-Bages"—a lighthearted acknowledgment from the staff that the basketball player’s triumph would be a frequent topic of conversation for years to come.
Reflecting on the broader European excursion, Hart expressed immense satisfaction with the culinary and cultural discoveries shared with his wife and friends. The deep historical significance, the warmth of the local hospitality, the engaging conversations, and the exceptional lunches and dinners left an indelible impression. Looking ahead, Hart and Shannon have already begun discussing plans for their next European wine expedition, eyeing potential trips to Burgundy and Champagne for the following year. Even so, the Knicks guard admitted that the pull of Bordeaux remains strong enough that he would happily board a flight back to the region immediately.
