I love wine, so what?

Apparently Kobe’s new nickname is Vino. Apparently someone (“my man” – unidentified after that) gave it to him. And apparently he’s been trying to use it all over the place.

His old nickname was Black Mambo, and that one was self-given. I don’t really even know what it’s supposed to mean and don’t care. This new one is supposed to refer to how Kobe gets better with age, like wine. But people should really caveat that with “some” wine. Many kinds of wine are meant to be drunk young, like most rosé and a ton of whites including Vinho Verde, a style of wine from Portugal that literally means “green wine” and is meant to be drunk within a year or two of being bottled.

So anyway, I guess Kobe was rumored to be retiring? Really have no idea. But he shoved the nickname into another tweet last night:

Really?? Me. Retire?? Soon, but not yet Vino still has work to do #35 #OG #kbvff — Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 20, 2013

Aside from the “ages like fine wine” cliché and its potential for dissing wines not meant to be aged, the nickname makes sense to me:

1) his game is nuanced At least according to this guy, since I couldn’t tell you the first thing about basketball players’ style or Kobe’s. But if it is nuanced, then the wine (and his game) should be the kind that’s able to improve with age.

2) you need good vino to pair with kobe steak Kobe is tender and almost delicate, but you also need something that’ll stand up to the meat. Bordeaux feels right here – you have the power of Cab but balanced with velvety Merlot. Its also nuanced and can age, so a perfect representation for Vino Bryant.