Tailgating with a legend

<p>If Carmen Policy, Mike Ditka or Charles Woodson can't make it to your tailgate feast this football season, you can at least take a bottle of their wines. There are a surprisingly large number of former National Football League players in the wine game these days, driven by the search for the high life, the fulfillment of a new dream or the means to raise funds for a beloved charity. </p><p>Bell Wine Cellars, Napa Valley: Alex Spanos, who owns the San Diego Chargers, is a partner in this Yountville winery along with founder and winemaker Anthony Bell. Along with the myriad offerings is Legacy 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, a limited-edition wine made to celebrate the Chargers' 50-year anniversary. A tasting room is open daily by appointment 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.</p><p>6200 Washington St., Yountville, 944-1673, www.bellwine.com.</p><p>Casa Piena, Napa Valley: Former San Francisco 49ers's exec Carmen Policy started thinking about building a family winery with wife Gail in the 1990s, but waited until 2003 to find the right site and plant 10 acres in Yountville where they grow cabernet sauvignon and a tiny bit of cabernet franc. The 2006 vintage is the winery's inaugural; the 2007 has just been released. Casa Piena translates from the Italian to “Full House,” significant in that the Policys have five children. Sought-after consultant Thomas Brown makes the wines and Napa star vineyard manager Jim Barbour tends the vines. They have scored remarkably high with wine critics and can be hard to find.</p><p>www.casapiena.com.</p><p>Mike Ditka Wines, Mendocino County: Kick Ass Red is just one of the wines the Mendocino Wine Company puts together for former feared NFL tight end and coach Mike Ditka (a longtime fan of Silver Oak and Jordan cabs). It's a blend of zinfandel, syrah, petite sirah and viognier. They also make a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, pinot grigio and chardonnay that appear to be hits (no pun intended) with frenzied football fans. Maybe it's the winery's motto: Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm.</p><p>501 Parducci Road, Ukiah, (888) 987-4987, www.mikeditkawines.com.</p><p>Mirror Wine Company, Napa Valley: While playing quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, Rick Mirer had the chance to meet winemaker Jeff Smith of Hourglass, a highly respected producer of Napa cabernet sauvignon and crazy Raiders fan, and the two quickly became friends. One thing led to another and soon Mirer was hiring Smith's friend and fellow winemaker Rob Lawson to make a wine or two for Mirer. The Mirror Wine Company was born. A producer of cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc, Mirror wines have been highly rated and sought after. Join a mailing list to get the wines, or look for them on area wine lists.</p><p>1360 Main St., Suite A, St. Helena, 968-5052, www.mirrorwine.com.</p><p>Terry Hoage Vineyards, Paso Robles: Terry Hoage was a standout defensive back at the University of Georgia before spending 13 years in the NFL (New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, SF 49ers, Houston Oilers and Arizona Cardinals) and winning the 1992 Super Bowl as a Redskin. In 2002 he and his wife, Jennifer, bought some land in western Paso Robles and started slowly planting it to Rhone varieties. They enlisted the help of rising star winemaker Justin Smith of Saxum Vineyards, who made the Hoage wines for the first few years until passing the reins to the couple in 2005. They make some deliciously interesting wines, including a picpoul blanc, grenache, several syrahs and a grenache-syrah blend. Look also for 5 Blocks, a blend of syrah, grenache, mourvedre and cinsault. A tasting room is open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.</p><p>870 Arbor Road, Paso Robles, (805) 238-2083, www.terryhoagevineyards.com.</p><p>TwentyFour Wines, Napa Valley: Cornerback Charles Woodson is a former Oakland Raider, where he wore the number 24. Currently playing for the Super Bowl-winning Green Bay Packers, he is the quiet force behind this operation, a vineyard south of Calistoga planted to cabernet sauvignon. He first got interested in Napa wines as a Raider; the team's training camp is held in Napa every year. He has released both a 2005 and 2006 vintage cabernet sauvignon with Gustavo Gonzalez, associate winemaker at Robert Mondavi, making the wines. A donation of $10 from every bottle sold goes to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan, Woodson's alma mater (where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1997). Locally the wines are on the list at Angele and Morimoto in Napa and on the shelves at V Wine Cellar in Yountville.</p><p>Charles Woodson Wines, 2471 Solano Ave., Box 239, Napa, 337-7201, www.twentyfourwines.com.</p><p>Vermeil Wines, Napa Valley: Super Bowl-winning coach Dick Vermeil (Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs) was raised in Calistoga and had in his family history large vineyard holdings as well as home winemaking. He took that history into his own hands in 1999, playing around with grapes from his great-grandfather's land, now farmed by the Frediani family; winemaker Paul Smith makes the wines. Vermeil dedicates his cabernet sauvignon to the memory of his two great-grandfathers, Jean Louis Vermeil and Garibaldi Iaccheri, who owned a lot of land in Calistoga back in the day. In addition to the cab, look for Vermeil's Cabernet Franc, Frediani Vineyard, as well as the Frediani “1956 Block” Zinfandel. The winery tasting room is open Sunday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.</p><p>1255 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, 341-3054, www.vermeilwines.com.</p><p>Virginie Boone is a freelance wine writer based in Sonoma County. She can be reached at virginieboone@yahoo.com.</p>