{"id":189895,"date":"2026-02-23T11:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/189895\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:41:09","slug":"the-san-francisco-giants-evan-goldstein-is-the-worlds-first-master-sommelier-for-a-professional-sports-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/189895\/","title":{"rendered":"The San Francisco Giants\u2019 Evan Goldstein is the world\u2019s first master sommelier for a professional sports team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like a fine wine, Evan Goldstein\u2019s San Francisco Giants partnership was planted and matured in California\u2019s wine country for decades.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco native grew up going to Giants games at Candlestick Park, \u201cback when they gave out a real bat on bat day,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

On Opening Day 1977, Candlestick became the first MLB stadium to offer fans in-stadium wine service. Although that might be more coincidence than influence, Goldstein\u2019s immersion into the world of wine began before he was old enough to buy it legally in the United States. Goldstein worked at high-end restaurants in Paris and Napa Valley, before returning to San Francisco in 1984 to open a restaurant with his mother, two-time James Beard Foundation Award winner Joyce Goldstein.<\/p>\n

He passed the prestigious master sommelier examination in 1987 at age 26, just the eighth American to do so and the youngest at the time (there are currently 279 active master sommeliers in the world).<\/p>\n

In 1997, as vice president of public relations for Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines, he partnered with Mario Alioto, a longtime friend and Giants vice president of marketing, to stage a pregame Wine Tasting by the Bay at the ballpark, in which 900 fans paid $15 each to sample regional wines. When the Giants moved to Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in 2000, so did their wine culture.<\/p>\n

Goldstein continued to work with Alioto, who stepped down last year after 50 years with the club,<\/a> on various events, such as tastings at the ballpark, and sponsors\u2019 dinners, but was not involved with the ballpark\u2019s wine menu selections.<\/p>\n

\"\"Goldstein, with Karissa Cruse, executive director of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, and Alex Pavlovic, Giants insider at NBC Sports Bay Area, works with Sonoma County Winegrowers to curate offerings for the Giants’ wine club. San Francisco Giants <\/p>\n

But in the spring of 2022, the self-described workaholic, who lives 30 minutes from the ballpark, had a conversation with Jason Pearl, the team\u2019s chief revenue officer, that Goldstein said was about \u201cadding more layers to the relationship.\u201d That discussion fermented over the summer and, in September 2022, the Giants became the only sports team in the world to have a formal partnership with a master sommelier.<\/p>\n

Goldstein brings to the table \u2014 often literally \u2014 his extensive wine network, opening the doors for the Giants to partner with new brands and develop new ways to engage with fans.<\/p>\n

Goldstein also works with the team and its food and beverage operator, Aramark, to strategize the wines and food pairings featured at Oracle Park; events in Scottsdale, Ariz., during Giants\u2019 spring training; and numerous other team initiatives.<\/p>\n

After a successful trial run late last summer, for example, the Giants have rolled out a unique wine club, curated by Goldstein in a partnership with the Sonoma County Winegrowers.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Giants Wine Club includes three wine shipments a year, food pairing suggestions from Goldstein and other baseball-related perks. Giant Wine Club <\/p>\n

For $555 to $1,530 per year, depending on the tier, California residents can receive up to 18 Sonoma County wines, over three shipments each year, along with Goldstein\u2019s food pairing suggestions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are not many wine clubs in the country, or any that I know of, where members can go on a baseball field to shag balls,\u201d said Goldstein gleefully, noting that membership includes multiple baseball-related benefits. \u201cTypically, when you sign up for a wine club, you get a couple bottles from the same winery a couple times a year, and then its rinse and repeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sonoma County Winegrowers has sponsored the Giants\u2019 annual FanFest, a four-city preseason tour, since Goldstein joined the club. <\/p>\n

Today, Oracle Park has an abundance of wine options.<\/p>\n

Napa Valley\u2019s Caymus Vineyards put its name on a wine bar in the Blue Shield Field Club prior to last season and has added a second named bar on the Alaska Airlines Club level for 2026. Beyond the bars, Caymus was the only winemaker to sponsor an MLB game-day giveaway event, teaming with the Giants to hand out 40,000 Rafael Devers T-shirts. Another Napa Valley brand \u2014 House of Far Niente \u2014 last year became title sponsor of the Vintage \u201958 Wine Bar on the Promenade level behind home plate.<\/p>\n

\"\"Caymus was the only winemaker to sponsor a giveaway in MLB, teaming with the Giants to hand out 40,000 Rafael Devers T-shirts. San Francisco Giants <\/p>\n

There are also two wine carts on the Promenade and one on the View level, and multiple wine-on-tap locations.<\/p>\n

Goldstein said he especially enjoys collaborating with players and executives interested in wine or the wine business.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy man-crush was Tom Seaver,\u201d he said of the late Hall of Famer. \u201cWhen he opened his vineyard on Diamond Mountain [two hours north of Oracle Park in 1997], he was really MLB\u2019s first wine guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldstein has worked with Red Stitch Wine Group, whose ownership includes former Giants Rich Aurilia and Dave Roberts, now manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Baker Family Wines, founded by former Giants manager Dusty Baker.<\/p>\n

Goldstein acknowledged that even in the country\u2019s wine capital, the industry is facing competition from other alcohol categories that \u201care beating each other up for share of mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, he said, there\u2019s the history of perception driven by the industry itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wine industry has really hurt itself for years by viewing itself as so hoity-toity, and has neglected the fact that there are loads of fans out there that love wine,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I can get someone to consider a pinot noir to go with their hot dog or sausage, instead of an IPA, then I\u2019ve done my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

EVAN\u2019S PAIRINGS<\/p>\n

How master sommelier Evan Goldstein would match wine with San Francisco Giants ballpark fare:<\/p>\n

Cracker Jack: \u201cBubbly and sweet [if the wine is not at least as sweet as the Cracker Jack, it will taste sour]. Or to flavor-layer and pick up on the caramel\/nutty elements, go with a sweet, fortified wine, such as a brown or cream sherry, a tawny port style or a sweeter-style Madeira.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peanuts: If boiled is the choice of the day (I am more about the roasted and salted), you\u2019ll want a bright white wine that can cut richness and echo the soft salinity that comes from the brine, so a fino sherry, a young pinot grigio or a youthful and completely unoaked chardonnay.<\/p>\n

Louisiana Hot Link at Oracle Park: \u201cA Beaujolais or off-dry Riesling are the ticket for this spicy, smoky sausage with a juicy snap.\u201d<\/p>\n

7th inning stretch: \u201cSomething that makes you want to get off your feet and sing, of course. For me, that\u2019s an easy, quaffable red: a juicy merlot, snappy pinot noir or creamy grenache.\u201d<\/p>\n

To celebrate winning a no-hitter: The best bottle of bubbly your wallet can afford!<\/p>\n

To bemoan being no-hit: Something strong, like an old vine zinfandel, an Italian Barolo, or Aussie shiraz, to fortify you from the pain. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like a fine wine, Evan Goldstein\u2019s San Francisco Giants partnership was planted and matured in California\u2019s wine country…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[89118,1334,10420,9739,101,4820,103,102,104,106,105,89119],"class_list":{"0":"post-189895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-aramark-sports-and-entertainment","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-oracle-park","11":"tag-print","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-giants","14":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","15":"tag-san-francisco-news","16":"tag-sf","17":"tag-sf-headlines","18":"tag-sf-news","19":"tag-upfront"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}