In 2003, NFL legend Drew Bledsoe quietly purchased 80 acres of Washington vineyard land; years later, his Doubleback winery had grown to 450 acres and 70 employees, earning a Wine Spectator Top 100 ranking

Most NFL quarterbacks spend their final seasons worried about their completion percentage. Drew Bledsoe was thinking about cabernet sauvignon. While still under contract with the Buffalo Bills in 2003, he bought 80 acres of vineyard land in Walla Walla, Washington, the small farming town he grew up in. Nobody made much of it at the time. Years later, that quiet land purchase had grown into Doubleback, a winery sitting on 450 acres with 70 full-time employees and a Wine Spectator Top 100 ranking under its belt.Why did Drew Bledsoe start a winery after his NFL career?Drew Bledsoe's path to wine did not start at retirement. It started much earlier, in a farmland town that most people outside Washington state would not recognize on a map. Growing up in Walla Walla, he was surrounded by agriculture. The valley's summers were hot, the nights cool, and the soil had a texture that winemakers had been quietly excited about for years.He had started developing a taste for wine during his NFL years, sharing bottles with teammates and their families after games. It grew from a casual interest into something more deliberate. By 2003, with retirement somewhere on the horizon, he made his first move, purchasing the land that would eventually become the McQueen Vineyard."When you look at facing retirement in your mid-30s, and all of a sudden the outlet for that passion and work ethic goes away, you can't just sit back in a rocking chair and be retired at 35," Bledsoe said. "I'm not a good enough golfer to play golf every day."That honesty says a lot. Bledsoe was not chasing a vanity project or a tax write-off. He was looking for something that demanded the same competitive energy that football had required of him for 14 years. Wine, it turned out, had plenty of that.How did Doubleback winery become one of Washington's most respected labels?When Drew Bledsoe officially retired in 2007, he returned to Walla Walla and launched Doubleback the following year alongside his wife Maura. The name was deliberate. It was a reference to coming home, to circling back to the place that shaped him before professional football pulled him away. He brought in winemaker Josh McDaniels, who had been working at the respected Figgins Family Wine Estates, to lead production.The early skepticism from the wine community was predictable. Greg Harrington, owner of Gramercy Cellars and one of Walla Walla's most recognized winemakers, admitted he was not exactly impressed when he first heard a former pro athlete was setting up shop nearby. "My first thought was, 'Yeah, just what we need,'" Harrington said. "Some former pro athlete who knows nothing about wine."That skepticism did not last. Doubleback's first vintage, a 2007 cabernet sauvignon blend, landed a Wine Spectator Top 100 ranking straight out of the gate. Bottles were priced between $90 and $120, and they sold. The winery was not trying to compete on affordability. It was competing on quality, and the critics noticed.Bledsoe later expanded with Bledsoe Family Winery, a sister label designed to offer more variety at a lower price point. Then came Bledsoe/McDaniels, a collaboration focused on small-lot, single-vineyard wines. What started as one plot of land had quietly grown into a multi-label wine operation.How big has Drew Bledsoe's wine business grown since he left the NFL?The numbers tell a story Drew Bledsoe himself still finds difficult to fully explain. From a single planted vineyard to more than 450 acres and 70 employees, the growth has not been accidental. He has added estate vineyards across the Walla Walla Valley, acquired the àMaurice Vineyard in the Upper Mill Creek area, and extended his reach into Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills, where 80 acres now grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc."Early on, we were not thinking that we were going to have three wineries and have 60 employees," Bledsoe admitted. "We were just going to be a cool little boutique winery and hopefully make some good wine."There is something worth noting in that. Bledsoe has never oversold what Doubleback is. He has not put his name on cheap merchandise or chased mass distribution. The investment into the business, which he described as running into the seven figures, was treated with the same seriousness he gave his playing career. It shows in the reputation the label has built."It's been super rewarding to see something grow from a single vineyard that we planted with our hands to a company that has 70 employees and over 450 acres of vineyards," he said.NFL quarterbacks are often defined by what they did under pressure on Sunday afternoons. Bledsoe spent 14 seasons doing exactly that. But the second chapter he built in a Washington farming town, one row of vines at a time, might be the more lasting legacy.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.