NBA star CJ McCollum is keeping his hotel room a frigid temperature to create a wine cellar for the 84 bottles he ordered to the Disney bubble
- Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum has turned his Disney bubble room into a wine cellar.
- McCollum reportedly ordered 84 bottles of wine to his room, which he keeps in the 50s to keep the wine fresh.
- McCollum is one of several wine connoisseurs in the bubble who have enjoyed their free time to share bottles and relax.
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Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum may be living through the harshest conditions of anyone in the NBA bubble in Disney World — though it's self-inflicted.
According to ESPN's Baxter Holmes, McCollum has kept his hotel room in the bubble a frigid mid- to upper-50s when he's away to keep the 84 bottles of wine he ordered to the bubble fresh. When he's in the room, he raises the temperature to about 60.
McCollum is one of the NBA's avid wine consumers. As Holmes detailed, to pass the time in the bubble, in which players have no family members and little else to do outside basketball, many have ordered wine and enjoyed sharing bottles at night.
McCollum is reportedly something similar to the Blazers' sommelier. He ordered mostly wine from local Oregon vineyards where he is a member and ordered extra cases to give away.
"If you're in my hotel and you happen to be by the pool, you'll be able to partake in whatever I'm drinking that day," McCollum told Holmes. "So if it's during the daytime, it'll probably be some bubbly. If it's at nighttime, it's probably pinot."
McCollum had posted a photo of his setup early on in the bubble.
cj’s night cap ???? @CJMcCollum pic.twitter.com/NwK1soeVhX
— NBA Bubble Life (@NBABubbleLife) July 19, 2020
He also ordered some of his own label, McCollum Heritage 91.
McCollum told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he named the wine after the street he grew up on in Canton, Ohio, and the birth year of both he and his fiancee.
McCollum's teammate Carmelo Anthony is also a renowned wine connoisseur and brought vintage wines from Europe into the bubble, some of which he gave away.
On Thursday, ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth reported during Game 2 between the Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers that when the Blazers recently switched hotels, there were apparently numerous bottles of wine left behind. Hubbarth joked to announcers Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson that if they were looking for free drinks, they should check out the Yacht Club, the Blazers' previous hotel.
McCollum told Holmes that sharing wine with fellow players has been a nice way to relax in the bubble.
"I think it's become more common practice, especially associated with dinner — a way to catch up, a way to reflect and relax after a long day of working out and obviously being restricted to the bubble."
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- NBA Rookie of the Year favorite Ja Morant talks a wild first year, life in the bubble, and the uncertainty of next season
- Inside the NBA bubble — what the NBA's great experiment looks like and how they have avoided a COVID-19 outbreak
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