Full Transcript
Doug Shafer:
Hey everybody, welcome back. Doug Shafer. Another episode of The Taste. Um, you know, the cool thing about the wine business is, y- A, you get to grow grapes and make wine, which is really fun. But you meet so many people from different worlds. Artists, musicians, actors, athletes in all sorts of sports. And today we've got a great one. A special guest, a great NFL player and now making great wine, Charles Woodson, welcome.
Charles Woodson:
Hey, thanks for having me on, man. It's my pleasure.
Doug Shafer:
And before we go anywhere just, uh, 'cause this is late, well, mid-February, just a few weeks ago announced that you are now, you are in the Pro Football Hall of Fla- Fame Class of 2020, 2021. Congratulations, man.
Charles Woodson:
Man, how about that?
Doug Shafer:
It-
Charles Woodson:
I mean, that is, uh, (laughs) that, that, that is something, you know, that, that you dream of as, as, as kids really, man, that, uh, you know, be mentioned in the, in, in the same sentence with some of the greatest that ever played the game, man, so I'm, I'm certainly proud, man, and, uh, happy to be, um, a Hall of Famer.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, it's so cool. And I, I gotta tell you, full disclosure here, I'm a Chicago boy. Been a Bear fan-
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
...forev- been a Bear fan forever and I've been working with this kid, my winemaker, for 35 years, Mr. Elias Fernandez, who is diehard Raider fan. So I gotta tell you, man-
Charles Woodson:
Oh, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... I've been hearing about you for years. Every God damn Monday morning I walk in, Elias is talking about-
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
... the damn Raiders, you know, as they beat the Bears again.
Charles Woodson:
That's what I'm talking about. Uh (laughs). That's what I'm talking about.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, man.
Charles Woodson:
Well, you know, when I, when I said my speech after the, um, uh, Chicago Bears game when, when I was with the Packers and we beat-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... the Chicago Bears, and I mentioned President Obama, I shoulda mentioned your name, too.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah, well, I can't, no (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
That's a good one. Oh, I tell you. It's tough being a Bear fan. Anyway, um, listen. Uh, your story is pretty cool but it's lots of ping pong between, back and forth between football and wine and we'll, we'll, we'll process through all that today. But first of all, let's go all the way back. Talk, talk to me. Where were you born, where were you raised, what's, where were you?
Charles Woodson:
Fremont, Ohio, so I'm from, I'm from the Midwest. Uh, Northwest Ohio, a small town, probably, roughly a little more than, when I was growing up, a little more than probably 12,000 people. We, we've grown since then. I think we're around 16,000 now, so we're growing, man, so Fremont, Ohio's where I'm from.
Doug Shafer:
That's cool. That's cool. So that's, uh, I think it's, uh, east of Cleveland, right? Is that right?
Charles Woodson:
Yup. No, west, west of Cleveland. West of Cleveland.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, west, west. You're right. You're right.
Charles Woodson:
West of, west -
Doug Shafer:
Towards, out towards, yeah, Lorraine and then towards Fremont and then towards the-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, I got it.
Charles Woodson:
Tole- Toledo, Sandusky.
Doug Shafer:
Toledo. Right.
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
I remember doing a winemaker dinner out at the Catawba Island. Is that something? What's that sound? Catawba, Catabwa? Just north of there-
Charles Woodson:
Cata-
Doug Shafer:
... in the middle of- in the middle of winter. And it was-
Charles Woodson:
Oh, wow.
Doug Shafer:
... it was like at a yacht-
Charles Woodson:
That's rough.
Doug Shafer:
... it was, like, this abandoned yacht club and they had this dinner and then they, I stayed there and I was the only one in this rickety old building and the wind's blowing in off the lake. I was, it was like-
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
... it was like a scene from The Shining.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
I was freaked out. Oh well.
Charles Woodson:
Did they have you out there, uh, did, did you ice fish or something to catch, catch the food for the wine dinner or what? (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
No, I, I just, I just, I blew in and blew out, man. It was like, I'm getting outta here.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
It's cold. (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
Yeah. That's a rough time to be in that part of the country for sure.
Doug Shafer:
Me, too, yup. So, family. Brothers, sisters, what was that all about?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, so I grew up, um, with, um, three, three, uh, kids in my household. So my older brother, older sister, um, and my mother. So, it was, um, the four of us. Um, I had other brothers and sisters, you know-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... I have, uh, you know, my father's relationships, but I grew up in a house with an older brother and older sister.
Doug Shafer:
Got it. And, uh, I've re- you know, I've done s- I've done some research on you. Um, your mom sounds like a pretty special woman. Tell me about her.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, absolutely, man. She was a great mother. Um, as I mentioned, she was, um, you know, a single parent raising, you know, three kids, you know, two boys and one girl. And, um, you know, she was a, you know, hard worker, you know, always did whatever she had to do, man, to s- to p- to provide, um, for her kids, you know, by way of working long hours and working two j- three jobs, or whatever she needed to do. Um, she did those things, man, so my mom was a very strong, uh, woman, man, and I give her a lot of credit for, you know, the way myself, my brother, and my sister turned out.
Doug Shafer:
Well, amen to that, man. You know, moms, I'm with you. Moms are, they're special. They, they (laughs)-
Charles Woodson:
Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
... I mean, you know, and you can't get away with anything, can you? (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
No, no, not, not at all. They got a sixth sense, man, and they can, uh, they can see behind their heads sometimes. Trust me. I know.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
I remember that. It's like, you know, I'm I'm messing, I'm doing something really gnar- gnarly with my brothers and all of a sudden mom shows up. It's like, it's like, how she'd know we were doing this, you know, out in the backyard?
Charles Woodson:
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, yeah.
Charles Woodson:
They know it all. They know it all.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs). And so, growing up in Fremont, um, I, I'm sure, well, I'm assuming football for sure, but other interests, other sports? What was that all about?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, I grew up playing, um, of course, uh, football. I started out playing flag football at a early age. Um, I was in to basketball. Um, played Little League baseball in the summers. Uh dibbled and dabbled in track a little bit.
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Charles Woodson:
Um, but, but, so that was it, man. Uh, but always, always outside, always, you know, playing with, with all of the neighborhood kids, man. We, we stayed pretty active as far as, you know, our, our leisure time and getting out and, and playing any sport that we, any ball we can get our hand on. You know, we were gonna be playing something so we, we, we had a fun, uh, you know, community with guys and, and, you know, the kids and the parents would all get out and kinda get tog- and, and do things together. You know, we, we-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... had a lot of fun outside, outdoors.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah. I remember that 'cause I grew up in, near Chicago and I, you know, I remember those summer nights were it's like you're playing, you're doing something. You were playing ball, baseball or something and, and-
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
... you know, and the weather's great. Especially when the sun goes down, it cools off a little bit.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
And it's just, it's ge- it's getting dark and you still keep playing. You can hardly see and then all of a sudden the m- you know, parents start yelling for kids to come home and it's like, you know, "One more inning.” (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, no doubt. You hear that, you know, I, I remember being in the middle of a, some, some pretty, um, wild and epic kickball games-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... and then I'd hear, I'd, I'd hear, I'd hear my mom off in the distance, “Charles,” you know, and I'm like, “No, not right now, not right now.” So-
Doug Shafer:
We're ones, we're one behind, the bases are loaded and I'm up (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
Yeah. Okay, and I'm up (laughs). And I'm up.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
Exactly.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, I love it. And, uh, so high school football. I, this is, well, talk to me about this. 1994 you're named Mr. Football for o- the State of Ohio. How'd that happen? What's that all about?
Charles Woodson:
Well, you gotta play some good football-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... you know? I (laughs), you know, uh, yeah, man. Um, so, you know, high school was, is, you know, like a lot of, uh, uh, towns in this, in, in America, you know, we, we're all about our football. And our, our town was no different. You know, that was the, kinda the center of what we did, you know, during that time of year, you know, in high school stadium right in the middle of town. Man, Friday Night Lights was a big deal. And I, I grew up playing the game, loving it, and, uh, got to high school and, uh, had some motivation behind my older brother who was, um, you know, a star player in our high school. He was a running back and I was a featured running back on a team as well. Um, and so, you know, I had, um, you know, some goals set, you know, to go out there and perform a- and, of course, you know, be the best player I could be and win football games, but also, you know, chasing my brother. And, uh, in the midst of that, I was able to, of course, you know, gain some recognition o- of, you know, everyone around the state a- as being the top player in the state and, and winning Mr. Football.
Doug Shafer:
Which is so cool. And now, this is this one I, I've been dying to ask you this one. So, I'm a Midwestern boy and, uh, I, I had a bunch of friends who s- had some connections to Michigan. So I kinda grew up being a, you know, I couldn't root for Northwestern. Sorry, no knock on Northwestern, but, you know, tough school to r- root for football.
Charles Woodson:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
But, so Michigan was my team. UM, man. Wolverines, right?
Charles Woodson:
Okay. Okay. Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
And, and the big rival, Ohio State. Didn't like Ohio State, right?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah. Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
And so, you're Mr. Football in Ohio and you go to Michigan instead of Ohio State. What about that one? How'd that happen?
Charles Woodson:
Well it's interesting that, that you, you put it the way you put it 'cause you said that, you know, you were a Michigan fan and that meant that you weren't an Ohio State fan.
Doug Shafer:
Right (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
So let me, let me take it, let me take it back to gr- growing up a- as a, as a kid. My older brother was a big Michigan fan. He fell in love with Michigan as a, as a, as a young kid. And so, you know, he was my first, like, childhood sports, you know, idol, right there in my house. He was a, he was the guy I looked up to-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and he liked Michigan, Michigan. So, I started like, to like Michigan.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
So as I, as I grew up, you know, my love for Michigan grew. Used to love watching, you know, guys like Tony Bowles and Trip Wellborn and Jerry Bunch, Desmond Howard, you know- I f- I fell in love with Michigan. And so, just as you put it, when it came down to, you know, recruiting and choosing where I was gonna go, I really took it to heart that, hey, if I'm a Michigan fan, I can't also be (laughs) an Ohio State fan.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
I can't be visi- you know, I can't go down to Ohio State, like, that doesn't make sense. So, you know, as it turns out, I took visits to, you know, Miami, the Hurricanes ... Miami, Florida, Notre Dame, and Michigan, and, uh, Ohio State was out. And really, the reason was because I really took the whole rivalry thing to heart.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
And so that was kinda the reason why I went up to Michigan.
Doug Shafer:
Well, I, yeah. I know, I, I, I did, too. It's like, you know, Ohio State, boo, boo (laughs). I mean, I mean, I was, I'm just a Chicago boy.
Charles Woodson:
Right, right.
Doug Shafer:
And I'm like, I've got, uh, the li- the line is drawn. How funny.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
But God, uh, didn't you get like a ton of pressure locally in all the, all your hometown folks?
Charles Woodson:
Well ac- you know, actually, where I'm, where I am, um, in Northwest Ohio, you know, there's a good bit of, uh, Michigan fans there as well-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... so it wasn't, uh, it wasn't too bad i- in my immediate area.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
But, I mean, around Ohio, you know, people were like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
You know, we, we, we got, you know, (laughs) we got the Mr. Football in the state and he's not even gonna consider, you know, going down to Ohio State?
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
You know, like, uh, nope.
Doug Shafer:
God. Was Woody Hayes coach at that point, at Ohio State?
Charles Woodson:
No, that was, uh-
Doug Shafer:
It was after him.
Charles Woodson:
... Cooper.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Charles Woodson:
John Cooper.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, wow. All right. Well, thanks, man. I was really curious about that one.
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) Yeah. Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
But the, but the, but I'm glad you went to Michigan.
Charles Woodson:
Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
Um, and uh, finishing up in Michigan 1997, uh, God, I think you and Peyton Manning were on the same stage together for the Heisman, Heisman announcement, right? I remember Manning was predicted to win that one. Was that how they, how, tell me about the Heisman Trophy deal.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, uh, yeah, so the, um, for the Heisman, they took, um, four guys up.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
Um, so myself, um, Randy Moss, Peyton Manning, and, uh, Ryan Leaf.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And, uh, you know, so that was, you know, pretty crazy. Ju- we, we were just coming off of the, you know, college football awards down in Miami actually. Not in Miami, in Orlando. And, um, so you know, we were all prepared to go up to New York and, you know, I, I know most of us were feeling and most people were feeling that, you know, this was an award, you know, that was gonna be given to Peyton Manning. Basically they had given to him before the season started.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
You know, he'd come back-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... for his, uh, senior year and it was like, it was, it was all Peyton. So, you know, we, we, we're just going up there. We're, we're a part of the four, you know, that are going up there-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and so, hey, you know, we'll go up there, couple days in New York City-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... have a, have a good run at it and, and, and get back home and get ready for the Rose Bowl.
Doug Shafer:
Right (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
And, you know, (laughs) it just, just so, just so happens that, you know, they get up to it, get up there to announce and, and they say, from Michigan-
Doug Shafer:
Aw.
Charles Woodson:
... and it was like, whoa. R- really? So, you know, kinda, kinda stunned a little bit and, uh, you know, I always tell people, you know, there was a, a, a moment, you know, right before I get up, uh, where Randy Moss, he's sitting on my right, you know, he hits me with a quick little-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... a little subtle elbow, like-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... you need to get up.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
You know, it was like, sh- sh- okay.
Doug Shafer:
Well, oh yeah (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, yeah, let me get up, let me get up (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Charles Woodson:
So you know, I had to get up and I, you know, I didn't prepare a speech. I didn't even think about to be honest, man.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I, I just had to get up there and, you know, ac- accept the award the best way I could. So, yeah, that was, that was it, man.
Doug Shafer:
Oh. That's so cool. Because, you know, I do, I do remember that. 'Cause Peyton was g- it was, he was the lock. He was, uh-
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
... and, and it's usually offensive players 'cause I, correct me if I'm wrong. Are you the first one to ever get it who was all, mostly defense? Not an offensive player?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, I'm, uh, yeah, yeah, I'm it.
Doug Shafer:
You're it.
Charles Woodson:
I'm it. And you're talking to him, man.
Doug Shafer:
God. Man, y- you know-
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
... Charles, it's like riding left here, man. You know, Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy, defense, you know. God, it's just a, this just is, this is really fun. Thanks for doing this. I wish you were here, I wish here drinking some wine or having a beer or something. Anyway-
Charles Woodson:
Oh, that'd be, that'd be fun. That'd be fun.
Doug Shafer:
Well, okay, well, okay, well...
Charles Woodson:
So, we'll, we'll put, we'll put that on the books.
Doug Shafer:
Put that in the books, man. I'm buying. Anyway, so-
Charles Woodson:
Here we go.
Doug Shafer:
... Heisman Trophy, college is over. Um, drafted by the Raiders. Talk to me about that whole experience and, you know, from Michigan going to the West Coast, the Raiders, Al Davis, the whole deal. What was that like?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, it was, you know, it was, uh, you know, an interesting time, you know, because, you know, the, the, the draft is coming up so you're, you're putting in your work. You know, you're training, you know, getting ready for your, your pro day. You know, you're trying to go out there and im- im- im- you know, impress all of the scouts that are coming out there. Um, and so, you know, you know, you kinda get a feel, uh, because of what you heard about what teams need-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... you know, what they're gonna go after. And, uh, you know, my name, you know, you know, s- was popping up with the Oakland Raiders and, you know, them having a pick and needing a corner, you know, trying to shore up their defense. And, uh, so you know, it's, it's an excitable time. You know, I, I remember, uh, I think I took a visit down to Jacksonville. Um, I took, I went out to Oakland and, uh, I wanna say maybe one more. Um, and so, you know, y- you going, you gotta go in through that process. And then, you know, there was some talk that, I believe there were some rumblings that Jacksonville was gonna make a move- ... and maybe trade up, maybe, they were gonna trade up and take me. So, all of a sudden now I, you know, I kinda go from, you know, uh, hey, I'm going to Oakland, I'm gonna be the fourth pick, to all of a sudden Jacksonville's thinking about making a move. Maybe they're moving up to take me or maybe they're moving up to take somebody else.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
You don't know (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
Right, yeah. You don't know.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, all of a sudden now you're a little anxious like, holy cow, I could be sitting there are the draft-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... you know, for (laughs), you know, for an entire day (laughs). You know, you never know.
Doug Shafer:
Well, you never know. Yeah, well look what happened at the Heisman ceremony.
Charles Woodson:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
You know, yeah, same deal.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah. I mean, you don't know because, you know, once a team, you know, once people start coming off the board and a team gets what they need, if the next 10 teams don't need your position, then you could sit for the next, you know, uh, 10 spots. And so, at that time, you know, it was 15 minute rounds and they took all 15 minutes, too, so it could be a long day.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Charles Woodson:
Um, so, so, you know, e- eventually on, you know, I'm up there. Um, uh, they took, I think it was, uh, me, Peyton, Ryan Leaf and, um, maybe Curtis Anthony. Curtis Eanis might've been there as well.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
He was the fifth pick. And so we were all up there and, you know, the, the call came in. You know, and it was the Raiders and, uh, you know, I couldn't, of course, couldn't have been any more excited than to be drafted. Uh, first of all, being drafted high-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... so I, I, I got that outta the way. I'm the fourth pick. But then to go to, you know, the Oakland Raiders which I would, I would, you know, confess that I, I wasn't, I didn't know a whole lot about the Raiders. Of course I, you know, I knew the mystique of the Raiders, I knew the, I knew Al Davis-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... you know, silver and black.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
You know, used to listen to, you know, listen to NWA as a kid, seeing them in all the Raiders gear-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... so, I mean, I knew about the Raiders but I didn't necessarily know the Raiders.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
Um, so, you know, getting out there and, and, and truly, you know, kinda getting immersed i- i- into the Raider Nation and, and, uh, the Raider organization, man, and then every day, you know, seeing guys around like Willy Brown ... uh, Freddy Bilet- Biletnikoff-
Doug Shafer:
The, oh.
Charles Woodson:
... Jim Otto, you know, um -
Doug Shafer:
Otto and Biletnikoff, yeah.
Charles Woodson:
Um, Cl- Cliff, Cliff Bra- yeah, Cliff Branch. Um, I mean, all kinda guys. And George Atkinson, I mean ... all of these guys that, that you end up, you know, talking to d- during your first initial time there and then you start just, you know, really talking to them and they're telling you stories of old Raiders and this and that-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
... and then it's like, oh man. This is, this is what it's all about, you know what I mean? So, just, just another, you know, unbelievable moment i- i- in the moments that I've had in my life, man. So very blessed and fortunate that I was able to go fourth pick overall to the Oakland Raiders.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, that's so cool. And, think about the stories you mean. 'Cause I've, you know, I've read a bunch of stuff about Stabler, you know, Kenny Stabler and, and, you know, he was just, he was, he was wild. You know, it was kinda like the Wild West.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
You know, they were out, you know, partying hard and then they'd go to sleep and get up, sleep a couple hours, get up and play the game. (laughs) And, um, that was-
Charles Woodson:
That, that was, that was, that was truly, that was truly old school.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah (laughs) right.
Charles Woodson:
You know, um, the, the Raiders were known for, you know, bringing some guys in that, you know, apparently other people didn't want ... and they allot- tho- they allowed those guys to live as they lived. You know, but, hey, come show up on Sunday and those, that's what they did (laughs) and, and they-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... they went all the way up until, you know, the kickoff (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
Oh, man.
Charles Woodson:
Sometimes the weekend lasted till kickoff, but then-
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Charles Woodson:
... after the game, they probably went right back to doing whatever. So, that was the ... that was the old school, old school football, old school Raiders, for sure.
Doug Shafer:
It's cr- crazy but you kinda gotta love it. You gotta, even though it's nuts, you gotta respect it in a crazy way, you know? Geez.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, no doubt. 'Cause they, 'cause they won.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I mean, you know, they, they, they were winners, man. They did it their way and, and they won.
Doug Shafer:
They did. They did. So, Raiders, Oakland, training camp's up here in Napa, 'cause I'm trying to get, I'm trying to piece this together. Talk to me about the wine thing. When did you start getting into wine? Was it before you came out here or after?
Charles Woodson:
No, no. No, I, I, I, I didn't know, I didn't, I didn't even think about wine-
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Charles Woodson:
... you know, as a, you know, a young, you know, teenager, young man, before I got out to, uh, Napa Valley. So, um, yeah, I, I probably maybe drank some type of wine as, you know (laughs)-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... growing up in, in, in, in college and whatever, but nothing that I r- you know, I wasn't into it. You know, we, we drank, you know, other beverages, you know, other type of liquor and that type of thing. So I was, I was not into wine, um, was never interested or, or really looking forward to, you know, being interested. And so I get out to Napa Valley and, uh, you know, first time I'm riding up there, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, looking around and you, you see all of these vineyards, these, these rolling hills and the mountains, and I was like, wow, you know, this is pretty, this is pretty neat, you know, to see all this.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
You know, we d- we don't, I didn't see too much of that growing up, of course, and ... you know, where I lived. And then, you know, kinda once that happened, once I kinda got, you know, up there and kinda used to being in Napa, then I just started, you know, kinda venturing out a little bit.
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Charles Woodson:
You know, so during, during lunch time, during dinner time, you know, rather than always going and eating what the team was eating, you know, I would, I would go out. You know, I would go to Don Giovanni's, I would go to Rutherford's Grill, um, I would go to Brix if I can get all the way up there-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... um, you know, and, and just a, just a few other places, um, that I, that I, that I visit. Trancas Grill, you know? So I got, I got out, you know? I was get, got out, I was eating great food.
Doug Shafer:
Right (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
Um, and then the one thing, the one thing I noticed was that, you know, every time I went out, you know, no matter what time of day, um, people were sitting down with a bottle of wine. And, uh, the one thing that, uh, I would notice is that, you know, especially at dinner time, people would come in with their own bottles-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... so, um, m- maybe pay a corkage fee if, if the restaurant demanded that. But it was, it was, it was, uh, it was a centerpiece, you know, to a evening-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and to a gathering or some type of family affair. You know, you'd see a bottle or two sitting in the middle of people and they'd all be sitting there and then they'd, you know, cork the, cork the bottle, pour the wine. People would swirl and sniff and I'm looking at, you know, from afar, like, what the h- what the hell are they doing?
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) yeah.
Charles Woodson:
You know what I'm saying? (laughs) you know, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm coming, you know, I'm fresh out of college and we, we'd drink. You know, we didn't ... we weren't swir- we weren't swirling and sniffing-
Doug Shafer:
No, no. We drank. Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
We'd drink, you know, so, I mean, that, that just kind of, uh, it just, it, it, you know, it w- it was something that caught my attention-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and I thought, you know what? I, I need to really, like, kinda maybe dig into this and see what's really going on. So, you know, I kinda dibbled and dabbled a little bit a- and, and, uh, drink the wine, drank some wine, and then, all of a sudden, man, I feel like you just, I think I was overwhelmed by it. I was, like, man, this is, this is something I wanna be a part of.
Doug Shafer:
Huh.
Charles Woodson:
And so, that's ki- that's kinda how it started.
Doug Shafer:
That's cool. And I heard, uh, I think, uh, I think, uh, you had a run-in with, uh, Robert Mondavi, I think, when you were visiting Mondavi one time? It that what happened? Hm.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, one, one, yeah, one time I got t- I got to meet him. Um-
Doug Shafer:
Cool.
Charles Woodson:
You know, really, you know, kinda quick in passing. And, uh, you know, he was, you know, sitting down and he was, he was with a- another group of folks and, uh, a friend of mine said, Hey, man, Mr. Mondavi, this is Charles Woodson." And so, you know, we said a couple, couple of pleasantries and I just remember that he had, um, he a, a glass of wine and he only had, you know, probably less than a ounce of wine in this glass, maybe, maybe a ounce and a half, maybe. And then, and then he poured some water in the wine, you know, and kinda filled it up. And I was like, “Whoa, you know, what're you doing?” And he's like, “Well, um, I, I know I have to drink water but I need to, I need to have some wine in my water to drink it”-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... and so that's how he drank, that's how he drank water to stay hydrated and put a little wine it. So I was like, okay, l- I, I, I'm digging this (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
You know, I've never, I've never heard that one. I throw ice cubes-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... in glasses of wine all the time, but the water is a good idea. That way, you know-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, yup.
Doug Shafer:
... instead of having two separate glasses, you just have one. You just take care of it.
Charles Woodson:
Hey, man, j- just, just hydrate, just and put no more water in there than the wine you got and, boom.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
You, you, you got it worked out.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, I like that. Oh, I'm gonna use that one.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yup.
Doug Shafer:
All right, but meanwhile, jumping back. You got your first year in the NFL. Another (laughs), geez, man, you and your awards. So, you know, Rookie Year, what do you win? You got what?
Charles Woodson:
Uh, Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, I mean, boom.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
It just, the hits keep coming with you.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
It's just crazy. So-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... career's going crazy, um, going great, everything's working. And, but then all of a sudden you start, I think you start making some wine back in 2001? Was then when you started making a little bit of-
Charles Woodson:
Yup, yup, yup. We made uh-
Doug Shafer:
... what, tell me about that.
Charles Woodson:
We made a barrel of, uh, Merlot.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Charles Woodson:
2001.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Charles Woodson:
And, um, you know, it was just gonna be, it was just kind of a, you know, a hobby, you know, something to do.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
Uh, make a barrel of wine, you know, bottle it, you know, maybe, you know, give it away to some friends or maybe donate it to charity or whatnot. And, like, that was kind of the first, you know, introduction to, you know, having my own, you know, label.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And, you know, it, it, it turned out really great and I was like, oh, man, I think this is really cool. You know?
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
And so, I was like, you know, it, it, it, it took a while to actually, you know, that was 2001 so it, it took to th- uh, 2005 ended up being, like, our first vintage.
Doug Shafer:
Got it.
Charles Woodson:
... with Charles Woodson wines, but, you know, 2001 was the, you know, the first time we dibbled and dabbled with a barrel.
Doug Shafer:
And that, uh, that was your first brand. That was called 24, right?
Charles Woodson:
That was 20- that was 24, yup.
Doug Shafer:
24. And I'm, I'm guessing the name from your number?
Charles Woodson:
That's exactly where it came from.
Doug Shafer:
There you go.
Charles Woodson:
That's, that's it. (laughs) okay.
Doug Shafer:
See, look, you know, every once, every once in a while I can put two and two together. That's all right.
Charles Woodson:
You gotta take those, take those clues and run with it.
Doug Shafer:
You know, that's super. So you were getting going. 2005 was official kickoff, but um, meanwhile though, you know, you know, pe- you've given so much money away and I'm, whether it's through your wine business or not, your philanthropy has been amazing. Can you talk to me a little bit about that? Just this, um, the Children's Hospital back in Ann Arbor and some other organizations you support? I'm curious about that.
Charles Woodson:
Yes. Yeah, well, the, the Children's Hospital is something that, um, you know, the guys that go to Michigan, you know, we, we're all kind of, uh, you know, endeared to the, uh, CS Mott Children's Hospital there. I know that something that was started, I believe with, um, Lloyd Carr, could've been before him, but Lloyd Carr would, would have, you know, guys go to the hospital, you know, on a weekly basis. So, um, you know, you, you'd go there and, you know, you'd, you, you know, they'd, they'd split us up and, you know, one group might go on one floor, next group on another, other floor. So, you know, kinda go around, visit, you know, see some kids, see their families, and, uh, you know, Coach Carr just wanted us to, uh, really just appreciate, you know, where we were at and, uh, just to understand that, hey, man, um, you know, while we're down here practicing and, you know, you think you've had it hard, um, you, you see what some, some, you know, people are really going through-
Doug Shafer:
Hm.
Charles Woodson:
... and just to kinda put things into perspective. And so, over the years, you know, I had, you know, two of my teammates, Steve Hutchison and, and Brian Griese who put together, um, a golf tournament and kinda used it as like a reunion to where guys would come, um, during the summer. So we'd go up there and part of their tournament is on a Saturday morning, we would get up and all the guys that came would go to the hospital. And so, uh, I went there one day and, uh, I always tell people, you know, you don't, you don't, you don't get it until you get it. Right?
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, yeah.
Charles Woodson:
So, one day, one day I'm walking in that hospital and, and it just hit me. You know, I was looking at these young kids and I was just thinking to myself, wow, um, you know, sometimes, you know, you can take it for granted, you know, not, not deliberately, but you do, um, that, you know, you could just, I could just come and go as I want. You know, I remember growing up as a kid, you know, I had, you know, you, I injured myself but it was, it was, it was the injuries that we all get, you know?
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
It, you know, a sprained ankle, you know, had tur- turf burns and ... you know, different things like that, but, you know, when you look at these kids and, and the, sometimes in a position to where they can't go outside. Maybe they can't leave the room ... um, you know, y- y- they may be only allowed one person in at a time. You know, you just, just a lot of different things, man, that, you know, th- they shouldn't have to go through that, you know what I mean?
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And so, that's when I decided to, you know, monetarily get involved and, uh, you know, pledge some money and then also continue to use my name as, um, you know, for awareness, um, of what we're trying to do. So, we, we as a, we as a team, I say as a team, you know, myself and, you know, the guys I mentioned and then the whole entire Michigan family, man, you know, w- was able to raise a ton of money, you know, along with our sponsors and all of the people who supported us each and every year. So, uh, certainly very proud of that and, and thank you for asking about that.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, man, you should be because, uh, you know, I'm not gonna quote numbers, but it's millions and millions of dollars over the years. And, uh, you know, directly to you and your buddies' efforts so, um, thank you for that. And how, you know, how cool the coach back in Michigan 'cause you guys are just college kids. You know, you're 19, 18, 20-
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
... years old, you know, young-
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
... young and dumb, you know, and, uh-
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
... you know, I say that, you know, with, 'cause we were all young and dumb at that age.
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
But tell me, too, how, what great foresight to expose you guys to that early on to say, you know, and it's either gonna stick or not, but at least you, it was a, a great move, a really smart move.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, no doubt.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
And then you know, you gotta think as a, you know, your parents who, who are sending you to school, you know, you want them to be around someone like a Coach Carr. You know, somebody, somebody that truly cares and, and, um, somebody whose trying to make that positive impact on you so, you know-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... I certainly appreciated it and I know the guys that I played with appreciated it, too.
Doug Shafer:
I gotta, did your mom like Coach Carr? (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, okay. I just wanted to make sure.
Charles Woodson:
Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) Yeah, yeah. If she, if she didn't, then I, I don't know if I woulda went (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
You, you, you might, you might, you might've been in Miami baby. Uh (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) I might've been in Miami. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) I love it. All right, I got one for you. So, it, '05, '06, you're making wine. Um, all of a sudden, new NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodall comes along. I don't know if he was new then or not, but he says that football players can't endorse alcohol brands. How'd that go over (laughs)?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, n- uh, man. Not, not very well, you know? (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I know that, I know that was a, yeah, that was a, that was a shocker.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I mean, especially, you know, since I was just getting into the business.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And, uh, you know, I just remember, you know, saying to myself that, you know, I'm not en- I'm not, I'm not endorsing alcohol per se, but this is, this is my company, so you know, you, you, you can't, you can't stop, you know, someone from being an entre- entrepreneur. You know, so, I continued to make wine and, uh, you know, it, what's, what's funny is that, you know, I, I would, you know, do these events and, you know, people might come by and they wanna do interviews and, you know, I would tell them, and, you know, me, I'm thinking, you know, maybe I'm a little naive, but I'm thinking, hey man, don't mention the fact that, you know, I'm not supposed to be talking about wine and da-da-da-da-da because of this and that. And so, how do you think every article, um, started off?
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Just, just, (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
Well, Charles is not supposed to be doing this because of the NFL but basically he's doing it anyway (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
Oh, man, that's so f- Of course, because that's the, that's the hook. Oh, God.
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) So I'm like, so I'm like, geez, like, like, wow, man. I'm like, why do y'all do that? You know-
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Charles Woodson:
... so, I just, I tried my best to just kind of, uh, you know, move under the radar as, as much as I could.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Y-
Charles Woodson:
But, I mean, like I said, it was, it was something that I, that I, that I loved, um, that I ha- wanted to be a part of, and again, it wa- it was my company so, um, I didn't, I didn't see no way I was gonna stop.
Doug Shafer:
Well I was gonna say, but they were g- did you get fined and stuff like that or did they, they kinda back off a little bit?
Charles Woodson:
No, no, no, yeah, th- they, they kinda backed off a little bit.
Doug Shafer:
Good.
Charles Woodson:
Um, and like I said, I didn't, I didn't, um, I didn't go out to throw it in the NFL's face so I wasn't, you know, like, vocal about it, like, oh man, da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
Doug Shafer:
Right, right.
Charles Woodson:
You know, I just, I just, I just moved, I just moved along basically.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I just moved along. And so-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, I love that comment you made, you know, flying under the radar. Y- m- you know, I'm sorry, Mr. Woodson-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... you, you can't fly under the radar. There's no way. (laughs) you know?
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) Right.
Doug Shafer:
That's was a good tr- good try, though (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
Well, I, well, I flew low.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, you flew low, okay.
Charles Woodson:
I don't know if I was under the radar, but I was flying low. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
Cool. All right. So, back to football. '06, um, you go from the Raiders to the Packers. Tell me about that one. That was a s- that was a big move-
Charles Woodson:
Yup, so obviously my, my, my time had run out in Oakland. Um, I had just come off my, uh, second franchise and, uh, tag and they decided that, um, they didn't wanna bring me back. And so, uh, it was off to free agency. And so I go in the free agency. Um, of course, you know, with high hopes that, you know, I was gonna have a, a round of teams to kinda pick and choose from. And, no. It (laughs) it didn't end up being like that for me. Um, so, you know, I talked to, you know, I was kinda talking to Tampa at the time because, you know, Gruen was down there. Our old GM, Bruce Allen, was down there.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And I, you know, I really thought it would be a foregone conclusion that I'd be in Tampa. And then, you know, then I kinda, you know, started to get excited. I'm like, oh, man, that would be perfect because my mom was in Orlando at the time. Tampa Bay is a hour drive. I'm like, man, this is gonna be awesome. Uh, turns out, Tampa didn't really want me or somebody didn't want me. I don't know who it was. I, I hate to say Gruen didn't want me. I, I, he better-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... that better not be the case. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
But, but so, you know, I kinda move along, you know, trying to talk to some teams and then all of a sudden, you know, Green Bay came calling and, you know, before you know it, you know, I had taken a visit to Green Bay and then, you know, we, I had been talking to my agent, and all of a sudden, you know, they start talking numbers and it, it became real, more real and more real that, you know what, the only place that really is showing interest is Green Bay. And next day, you know, boom. I was signed in Green Bay and off to, off to Green Bay, Wisconsin I went.
Doug Shafer:
Man, what you just described. That's gotta be really tough because, yeah, it's a, it's a young man's game, and, yeah, we all, I'm sure you guys go into it knowing there's only so many years you play and blah, blah, blah. But still, you know, you're a Pro Bowler et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and all of a sudden, you know, they're taking a pass on you. I mean, how do you, how do you deal with that in your head and your gut, you know, as far as like, not just being, you know, you just wanna be mad at the world. It's like, what do you mean, I'm not good enough?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
You know what I mean? I mean-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... I'm just trying to put myself in your place. It would be like, I'd be really pissed off (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
Uh, uh, yeah, I wa- I was. And that's, that's, that's exactly, that's exactly, you know, h- how I took it, you know?
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I wa- I couldn't, I couldn't imagine that, you know, all of these teams out here that, hey, I watch football, too. So (laughs) I know a lot of teams-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and what they need and, uh, you know, I'm out here sitting in free agency and, you know, I have my agent calling all of these different people and each one of them said, “Hey, uh, yeah, we're not looking for a corner right now.” And I'm thinking, what? Yes, you are. (laughs) you know what I'm saying?
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
What do you mean you're not looking for a corner? Uh, so, yeah, it was, it was, man it was frustrating 'cause I, I mean, I just, I was, I was beyond, you know, in disbelief that I didn't really have any suitors, you know? I, I remember, you know, too, uh, looking, you know, you see all the tickers, you know, of, of, you know, the top free agents that are out there. And I think, man, I remember seeing one time, man, I, I don't even think my, they mentioned my name in the top. And I'm like, what in the hell is going on around here, you know?
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah. Oh, God. Well, yeah.
Charles Woodson:
And so I, I don't know what was going on, I don't know, you know, who said what and, and what wa- But, man, nobody was, nobody was touching me, man, so it was, it was a crazy time. It really was.
Doug Shafer:
Well, I'm actually kinda pissed off now when I think about it so -
Charles Woodson:
Yeah (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
So, I mean (laughs), well, well, but, but look at you. So you go to Green Bay. You probably don't have the best attitude in the world or you, you figured something out. So how did you, how did you turn it around in your head? How'd you do that?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, I, I think well, uh, two ways. You know, first it was football. You know, once, once I started, you know, really playing-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
And, um, you know, out there making plays, you know, then, of course, the game, you know, started to be fun again. Uh, but then I think it was the guys that I was around. Man, you know, the guys in my back field, you know, that I was hanging with every day, you know, Al Harris, Nick Collins, you know, Tremont Williams and, you know, the, the guys that we had on that back end, man, we, we were all pretty tight, pretty close. Uh, I had a former player, George Koontz, man, who was very instrumental. Uh, he was one of the first guys I talked to when I, when I was, you know, a, a free agent, and took a visit up to Green Bay and I just remember, you know, him, you know, saying to me, "Hey, Charles, man, I think you're gonna, you, you'll do great in Green Bay.” And all I remember is sitting in the car with him, with, in the car with him like, "Man, I'm not coming to Green Bay.” (laughs)-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... and so, you know, so, we, uh, yeah, so, we, you know, me and him, man, we, we had a, you know, really great relationship, man, and he started, you know, really kinda introducing me to the people that he knew around Wisconsin and, and that community. And, uh, you know, I kinda started, you know, getting our around Green Bay, you know, going and sitting out at restaurants and that sort of thing. And then all of a sudden, you know, I just, I just, eventually I just kinda relaxed.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
You know, and it was like, okay, I, I'm here. (laughs) you know? Like, I, I ain't going nowhere. I, I, I, I'm, you know, I signed this deal, you know, I'm, I'm into the, you know, season. I'm out here making plays. Now I'm having fun again. All right, man, let's do this. And so, that's, that's kind the way it went.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah. And fast forward a couple years and, uh, not that revenge is the wrong word, but, uh, hey NFL, look what you missed. Because what happened in 2009?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, 2009, Defensive Player of the Year.
Doug Shafer:
Defensive Player of the Year. So it's like-
Charles Woodson:
Y- y- yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... all those teams that passed on you, man. It's like, yeah, really? Look at that. That's gotta feel-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
... I'm sorry. That's making me feel really good. How does it make you feel? (laughs)
Charles Woodson:
Right. And it, and they, they told me I was, I was old, you know, at least five years prior.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) So.
Doug Shafer:
I love it.
Charles Woodson:
So, yeah, man.
Doug Shafer:
Way to go.
Charles Woodson:
And, uh-
Doug Shafer:
That's so cool.
Charles Woodson:
... yeah.
Doug Shafer:
And then, so, P- Packers were great and then, uh, 2010 season, what was it? February or January 2011, you guys won the Super Bowl, right? I, beat the big, beat the Steelers?
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yup. Beat the Steelers down in, um, in Dallas. Um, which is kind a crazy because of, you know, what Texas is going through right now with all of the, uh, you know-
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Charles Woodson:
... the co- cold weather, and snow, you know, things that are kinda uncur- characteristic down there. The same thing happened the week, uh, that we went to the Super Bowl in Dallas.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
I mean, it snowed and there was, you know, like, single digit temperatures. It's, it w- it felt like we had, you know, brang Green Bay to Dallas. It really did. So it, it was kind of, you know, to sit back and talk about it now that, what they're going through, um, is ex- exactly what happened the week, you know, we went down there to Dallas for the Super Bowl.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Charles Woodson:
So, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
I remember that.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, so that year, man, we, we, we, we put it together. You know, finally put it together and, um, made our run. Made a great run at the end of the season. We had to l- we had to win two regular season games at the end, um, against New York and the Chicago Bears, um, and then we were the s- lowest seed, we were the sixth seed, so we had to go on the road every game. We had to go to Philly. Next was to At- uh, Atlanta, and then we went to Chicago. Play, play Chicago in the championship game and, you know, won it, and, you know, here I was, man, back, back to the Super Bowl for the second time and, you know, this time, deter- determined to win it this time for sure.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, yeah. And so, meanwhi- so meanwhile, you're busy. You know, I mean, you're busy, you're in Green Bay, you're playing football, but you're still, you're, I'm bouncing back to wine right now. So still, your 24 brand's still cranking along, right? I mean, you're, you're-
Charles Woodson:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
... making wine every year? At that point?
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
Yup, yup.
Doug Shafer:
Cool. And then, uh, so would you like come out here just during pre-season and check on the wine, or would you come out off-season and visit and check out the wines and do all that stuff?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, I'd be out there. I, I was always there in the off-season.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Charles Woodson:
You know, I'd be back and forth from, uh, at the time I was living in Atlanta, Georgia, um, so, you know, I'd be back and forth all the time. Um, during the season, if I could, you know, get out there maybe on a, uh, on bi- week, I would go out there during the season. But, uh, mostly off-season I'd be back and forth.
Doug Shafer:
Okay. And ser- would you come out and like get involved in blending and all that stuff and be a part of that?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, that was, you know, our, our winemaker was, uh, Gustavo Gonzalez-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... um, you prob- you probably know Gustavo.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
But, yeah, so, um, that was, that was really, you know, uh, the fun part-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... was, you know, really to see him in action.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
You know, 'cause he's, he's, you know, he's the winemaker so he's who you put your trust in to make sure that, you know, what you put in that bottle was gonna be (laughs) you know, the real deal. And to kinda see him kind of, you know, play around different samples and, you know, all right, we're gonna put, uh, 20% of, of this barrel, um, 10% of this one, 5% of, you'd be, you sitting, looking back, like, what, how, what? What are you talking about?
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
You're not ev- you're not even mea- you're not even measuring this stuff, man. And then, you know, he'd put this sample together and you taste it and you'd say, all right, you know, this is kind of, um, this is what you could get for this particular blend. Then he'd blend something else, and then you start tasting all of these different, you know, um, different, different, um, percentages of, of, you know, the, the cab of, and, and different type of barrels that we were using and putting them together-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and then getting to a point where you're like, oh yeah. That's it right there, Gustavo. So-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... yeah, man, that was, that, that, that part of it was, was really fun.
Doug Shafer:
That's the fun part. Um, were you ever, did you ever, during that time, were you able to come out during harvest or that was probably pretty tough 'cause that's season?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, I, I was able to, um, not to jump ahead of you, but when I came back to Oakland, um, which was, which was great-
Charles Woodson:
I went out and one of the, uh, strength and conditioning coaches went out with me one day, and we went out, we went out for harvest.
Doug Shafer:
Oh, cool.
Charles Woodson:
And, uh, that was, uh, that was an incredible experience as well. You, just, just watch, just watching the guys in action, man, and, and how they go through those rows and, and, and with the speed in which they do it-
Doug Shafer:
Oh-
Charles Woodson:
... and with those little, those little hook knives, so, which-
Doug Shafer:
Those (laughs), yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... I, I, I, I gra- I grabbed one and, uh, I went to cut it and, and everybody looked and said, "Ah, you know what? Maybe you should put those down."
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) yeah.
Charles Woodson:
"Maybe you should, maybe you should grab the little snippers." So. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
I have, I have had the same experience.
Charles Woodson:
(laughs)
Doug Shafer:
Um, I start out with the guys every time, and we, I, not too often. Every once in a while I'd go out and try to pick for a while and they just laugh at me. It's like, c'mon, man, forget about it. You can't keep up.
Charles Woodson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Doug Shafer:
So that's right, so (laughs), so we have that in common, my friend.
Charles Woodson:
Oh, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
So, yeah, so thir- so, talk to me about that last move. So back from the Packers to the Raiders in '13. What, um, what happened then? What was that all about?
Charles Woodson:
Yup. So, um, my, my time had, had run its course in an- in another place and (laughs), and Green Bay was, uh, they were done with me.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
And so now, here I am, uh, back in free agency again.
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Charles Woodson:
And, uh, so this time, right outta the box, I take a visit to San Francisco and out there, you have Jim Harbaugh out there, um, you know, we had, we had just played, um, San Francisco, uh, in the playoffs. And so, you know, they, they, they beat us so, they, they had, they had watched and they, you know, felt I could still play. And then so here I am thinking again, you know, Jim Harbaugh's out there-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... shit, I'm gonna be in Sa- I'm, I'm gonna a 49er.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
So, so, so check this. So I go out there to San Francisco-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... and, uh, you know, meet with everybody and, you know, chumming it up. I'm like, this is a foregone conclusion. I'm not, I'm probably not gonna leave here without getting a deal. And, uh, you know what? I end up, they end up making another flight and I'm on my way outta there. So I'm like, dang, okay. So we kinda talked back and forth. I'm talking to my agent, like, hey man, you know, let's talk about numbers and this and that. And I'll be damned, if two days, it was maybe two days later, they signed another damn safety.
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Charles Woodson:
So they were gonna bring me in as a safety and they signed another safety. And I thought to myself-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Oh, geez.
Charles Woodson:
... are we about to, are we about to do this again? So-
Doug Shafer:
This isn't fair. Uh, dang-
Charles Woodson:
... so then, this, this, is just crazy.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
So then I go, so then I go to Denver and, uh, you know, meet with, you know, Elway, and, um-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... the, you know, other coaches there. And I'm like, yup, well, I'll probably, probably be a Denver Bronco.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
And so then, so then, guess what? (laughs) They made flight arrangements again so now I'm leaving Denver. (laughs) And so I'm like, okay, that's cool. All right. Whatever. So I get a call from, uh, Zack Crockett who I played with and, uh, he was a scout, he's a scout for, uh, the Raiders.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And, um, you know, he was a former teammate of mine. We played together in Oakland. And he, he called me. He was like, "Man, what's you doing?" I said, "Man, you know, I'm just, you know, just trying to, you know, see what's, see what's happening man, see where I'm gonna play at next." He was like, "C'mon man, you know you need to come on home."
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
You know, and I, and I was like, "What?"
Doug Shafer:
Oh, wow.
Charles Woodson:
He's like, "Man, c'mon on ho-" He was like, "C'mon on home, man. You need to stop playing."
Doug Shafer:
Oh, wow.
Charles Woodson:
And I was like, 'Y-you think so? You think, you think the Raiders will want me back out there?" You know, I'm, I'm like, 'cause I, I promise you, I didn't think about going back to Oakland.
Doug Shafer:
Interesting.
Charles Woodson:
And s- and so, um, I said, "Well, okay. Um, you know, l- l- l- l- you know, let's talk to Reggie." And, and so I just, I just need to talk to him just to, you know, let him know where I'm at and what I had just gone through in the previous two places. And, uh, me and Reg talked and then Reg was like, "You know what? See, well, just, you know, just come on out, man. Let's, come on out and, uh, sit down with us," and I was like, "All right, man, uh, cool."
Doug Shafer:
Huh.
Charles Woodson:
Made arrangements. Boom, so I'm, I'm going out to Oakland.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
And then, all of a sudden I start hearing, you know, that there, there's this buzz, of course, that I'm coming out there. And, I hear that people are gonna be at the facilities waiting on me. And, and I was, like, mm, that's interesting, you know, 'cause like I said, I didn't, I never thought about going back and then I didn't really know, you know, how the fans were gonna react to hearing that I was coming back out there to visit. And so, I was just, I was just, I was really kinda, um, taken aback by that, you know-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... that people were gonna be waiting, you know, outside the, the, uh, facility. So my flight ended up being delayed, I believe. And so, you know, there was a huge crowd in the morning and then it kinda dissipated a little bit 'cause I, I probably didn't get there until, you know, five or six hours after I was supposed to. Or something like, something like that. But, man, I get out the airport and ride up to the facilities, man, and there's all these Raiders fan out there-
Doug Shafer:
Going -
Charles Woodson:
... you know, wel- welcome back, come back-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... da-da-da-da-da. And I, and I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm tripping out 'cause I honestly didn't know what to expect. And so, you know, I remember going through the people, you know, getting out, you know, saying hello, you know, slapping fives. Then I go in the building and, uh, social media, some, some, uh, body showed me, show me something on so- social media where people are like, "Hey man, all C. Wood n- needs to is, he ain't leaving without signing this deal, so don't even think about it." (laughs) So.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
So I'm sitting there thinking to myself, man, w- we might be able to get something done 'cause I think these Raiders fans are serious, man. They ain't gonna let me get outta here without a deal. So, that's kinda how that went down, man.
Doug Shafer:
Oh. Oh, man.
Charles Woodson:
That's how I, I became a Raider again.
Doug Shafer:
Charles, I remember it. Everybody was just stoked around here. I mean, just so excited. I'm s- I'm, I'm s- s- I'm sorry that you didn't realize how much you were loved around here, buddy. That's pretty cool. So you came back.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, they, it was cool. Yup. Yup.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah. Came back and played, played a couple years and then, um, 2015 was, was retirement time if, if my notes are correct, right.
Charles Woodson:
Yup, yup. Played, uh, played three more years. Um, was able to make a Pro Bowl in the last year. 18 years, made a Pro Bowl my last year.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Charles Woodson:
Um, but during that year, uh, the first game of the season I, uh, separated my shoulder.
Doug Shafer:
Mm.
Charles Woodson:
Um, then the s- and the third game, I sustained a Grade II MCL sprain.
Doug Shafer:
Uh.
Charles Woodson:
So, I started that season, man, just beat up.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
I mean, just beat up. So every, you know, every week, every game, you know, I was mentally, I had mentally had to get over that hurdle to just get out and run. You know, my knee felt like it was, you know, my, bottom half of my leg looked like it was, felt like it wobbly and it, and didn't have any stability. But I would get it taped up, trainers would tape me up and, and, and do the best they could. I had this shoulder harness on-
Doug Shafer:
Uh.
Charles Woodson:
... and I was just trying to move around during practice just to kinda, and just to move a little bit.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And, uh, you know, our, our coach, Jack Del Rio, man, was really cool about it as far as, you know, going out, getting a few reps and then going into our indoor building and doing whatever I could rehab-wise to get myself ready. But I think what, what happened over time, man, is, is as I kept getting over that mental hurdle, um, you know, t- to play with these injuries, I think it, it finally wore on me-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... and, um, we, we were down in Detroit, uh, getting ready to play them. And I woke up that morning of the game and, uh, you know, I said to myself, "You know what? If they, if they canceled the game today, I wouldn't be mad."
Doug Shafer:
Hm.
Charles Woodson:
And that's when I knew I was done 'cause I'd, I'd never woken up on a Sunday morning or whatever day we were playing and said, "I don't wanna play football."
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
Now, I, I'd woken up on practice sometimes and said that, but (laughs)-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
... but never, but never a game, man. And that's when I knew, you know what, phew. It's over.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah. Well-
Charles Woodson:
Yup
Doug Shafer:
... and, and good for you for recognizing it. It's, um, yeah, I'm with you. Um, I can, I can see that. When it's, when it's there, it's there. And there you go.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yup.
Doug Shafer:
So, that chapter closes, but meanwhile, I think right around, let me think. I don't know if it was right around that time or if, within a year or two you started a new wine brand. I think you, you, I'm not sure if 24 is still going on, but you start a new one. Um, talk, talk to me about that one.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yeah, Intercept, Intercept Wine.
Doug Shafer:
Got it.
Charles Woodson:
Um, that's, that's, that's the brand.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Charles Woodson:
Uh, right now. And, and so, o- you know, over the years, um, you know, 24 was a high-end brand, probably re- retail for $85.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
And a lot, a lot of those fans, you know, probably a lot of the fans that were, you know, welcoming me back, you know, to the facilities, you know, they would always say, "Hey, man, we love your brand," and they supported it greatly. Trust me, they did.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
Um, but they said, "Hey, you know, we, we, we need something, you know, more affordable, you know, still high quality but we need something a little more affordable." And I would hear that a lot, um, but I would always hear people say, "Hey you need to come out with a Pinot," and-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... these different things and so, you know, I had been thinking about it and, uh, you know, then I was a- approached by someone who said, "Hey, man. I know you're thinking about, you know, doing something different. Um, I may have, you know, some leads for you." So I talked to, uh, a couple of different folks and then, you know, I got to, uh, Jeff O'Neill Vintners. And, you know, we, you know, sat down and talked together. Man, I sat down with his team and a partnership was born outta that. And so we went, we went to work, you know, working on, um, sitting down with my winemaker, Amanda Gorder -
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Charles Woodson:
... going through different samples of different, um, the different varietals that they had. So, you know, couple two, three, four, you know, different samples of the Chard, of the Pinot, the red blend and the Cab, and, uh, tasted through all of them and, and let them know kinda what, you know, my preference is, what style I like, you know, what I was gonna be, uh, very enthusiastic about telling people about. You know, because I, I need to be able to enjoy it just as much as anybody whose gonna drink it, you know, any consumers. So, um, we sat down and did that and then we, hey, man, after that, we were, we were off and running.
Doug Shafer:
That's cool. So it's, it's called Intercept, and, uh, what do you guys, what do you guys make, what flavors?
Charles Woodson:
We make the, uh, Chardonnay. We make, uh, Pinot, um, a red blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon.
Doug Shafer:
Nice, nice.
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
And so you lau- you launched this puppy, um, I think just back -
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, we, we just-
Doug Shafer:
Just launched it.
Charles Woodson:
... yeah, we just launched, this is 2021, two, the e- right at the end of '19?
Doug Shafer:
Yeah. I think that's about right.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
And so, you're, you're jazzed. You got a new winemaking team, you got affordable wines for your fans who still love you. It's late '19, opening new states, spreading the word, then, then CO- then COVID comes along.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Then COVID hits. Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
What, what'd you do? What'd you, what'd you and your team do, man? What, how'd you handle that?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, we, we, we had to, we had to do what everybody else did, man, we had to adapt.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
Um, so, you know, of c- of course, uh, on premise took a huge hit-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
You know, uh, restaurants were shut down so, I mean, y- you just can't get in there. I mean, there's, there's really nothing you can do in that regard. So, I'm sure, uh, much like you, you gotta put your focus in other places. Um, direct to consumer ended up becoming huge for us.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
Um, being able to, you know, deliver. Um, retail, you know, places, um, you know, like, uh, you know, ABC, uh, Fine Wine and Spirits down here.
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Charles Woodson:
Those places were still able to be op- open so we were able to, um, still connect with, uh, those retailers that could still sell wine and people who were still somewhat working, you know, in that capacity. So, we just hit the ground running, you know, that way, and just adapted.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Charles Woodson:
And then, you know, a lot, lot of Zoom calls. Um, you know-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
... a lot of calls like, like we're doing now. You know, just to, just keep yourself relevant and keep yourself, uh, ready and available.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
You know, to when things turn back around so the, you know, the entire 2020, man, we were still pushing, uh, the Intercept brand and I just believe we, we came out of it stronger and we, we're gonna be looking for a huge 2021.
Doug Shafer:
Great. Good to hear, man. Uh, anything, anything new coming, any new varietals or you're sticking with what your guys are making right now?
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, we're just staying for the time being. Um, you know, we, we've got national distribution with Intercept, um, so that is, uh, in and of itself, man, is pretty remarkable just like you said-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
... especially coming out of, uh, 2020.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
So we feel, we feel like we've, we've kinda got this one, uh, kinda where we want it right now. You know, still looking for growth, um, but I think, you know, probably in the next year or so, you know, I, I, I, I really get some feedback from the fans. I mean, they gave me the feedback the first time-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Charles Woodson:
... and I kinda see, you know, what, what they would like to see.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah, yeah.
Charles Woodson:
I think, I think that's always a good place to start.
Doug Shafer:
I think you're spot on. Yes, let's talk to your folks 'cause they'll, they'll talk to you.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah. Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
They're, they're not shy. I found, I found-
Charles Woodson:
No, they're not. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
... our cu- I found my customers are not shy (laughs).
Charles Woodson:
Not at all.
Doug Shafer:
Um, I've been having a gas 'cause we're, um, I'm at the winery most of the days, but people are coming and going, kind of skeleton staff so I'm, I'm picking up the phone quite often-
Charles Woodson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Doug Shafer:
... where I never used to so it's been, it's been kinda fun 'cause I'll, I'll an- at first I just said, you know, "Hello, Shafer Vineyards." Now I say, "Hi, Shafer Vineyards. This is Doug," and somebody'll go, "Is this Doug Shafer?" I said, "Yeah."
Charles Woodson:
(laughs) Yeah. They know.
Doug Shafer:
They go, they go, they go, "What are you answering the," they go, they go, "What are you answering the phone for?" I said, "Well, you know, you know, I, I run the place. It was, somebody's gotta answer the phone."
Charles Woodson:
Yeah (laughs).
Doug Shafer:
And, but I've had some great conversations with people. They're like, "Hey, you got a minute?" I said, "Sure, I got, I do have plenty of time right now." So, um, I've had some great chats and it's been, uh, it's been enlightening, you know, because all of a sudden it's like-
Charles Woodson:
No doubt
Doug Shafer:
... hm. They're looking for this, they're looking for that. So that's cool.
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
Good.
Charles Woodson:
Yup. Yup.
Doug Shafer:
Uh, if people wanna find Intercept wines, what's the best way? Is it, is there an online site or a web store-
Charles Woodson:
Yup.
Doug Shafer:
... or what, what's the best thing?
Charles Woodson:
C- c- cwinterceptwines.com.
Doug Shafer:
Got it.
Charles Woodson:
So if go on there, um, you can see, of course, what we have and then also we have a locator there where you can type in your zip code and, uh, it'll tell you where we are, whether retail, restaurant, uh, in your area. And we do, you know, ship, uh, to most states. Of course, there's a few that, um, you know, you're not allowed to ship in to.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Charles Woodson:
Uh, but yeah. So go to that cwinterceptwines.com.
Doug Shafer:
Okay. All right, man. Thanks so much. Now listen, um, before we take off, I want to wish you an early congratulations, uh, for next August in Canton, Ohio, on your induction into the Hall of Fame, August 2021. And, uh, I did a little research on my Google Maps this morning and, uh, Canton, Ohio is about 100 miles from Fremont where it all started.
Charles Woodson:
Yeah, it ain't-
Doug Shafer:
Isn't that cool?
Charles Woodson:
... it ain't far. It ain't far, man.
Doug Shafer:
I, I think that-
Charles Woodson:
From Fremont, Ohio to Canton, baby. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
Baby, full circle. I think that is so cool. So I just wanna say congratulations, Charles.
Charles Woodson:
Yes, indeed.
Doug Shafer:
And thanks so much for doing this.
Charles Woodson:
Thank you.
Doug Shafer:
It's been a real treat. Thanks for sharing your story.
Charles Woodson:
Absolutely. Thanks, Doug. Thanks for having me, man.
Doug Shafer:
Be good and, uh, lunch is on me next time we can finally get together somewhere, all right?
Charles Woodson:
I can't wait.
Doug Shafer:
Okay, buddy. Take care. All right. Bye-bye.
Charles Woodson:
All right. Good talk. Yup.