Stephen Curry spends a day in Napa sampling his bourbon brand Gentleman's Cut, relaxing at local spots, and highlighting his Eat. Learn. Play foundation, which has invested over $90 million in Oakland meals and tutoring. His business partner John Schwartz co-created the bourbon after years of wine work together.
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It was a chance to spend not just a moment with Stephen Curry, but a day in the offseason. One packed with stops at a grocery store, a hotel, a bar, and a fundraising dinner. It is a work day, but it is more than that. It is a chance to get a glimpse at the why.
I'm doing a lot of great things and blessed to be able to do them, but they all kind of connect in a way. Everything that we do has a mission and purpose behind it. And like the idea of being able to do a fundraiser, Eat, Learn, Play, continue the work that me and Ayesha have started. Like, it all makes sense, and we're super excited that the Bay shows up everywhere we go.
When it comes to Curry, the Bay indeed shows up. Hey!
We'll go out, we have a table set up for you in the middle of the store, blocked off.
This afternoon visit to the Whole Foods in Napa was supposed to be a surprise.
I've been here about 6:15, didn't know exactly what's gonna happen.
6:15 this morning?
This morning, yeah.
Okay, how did you hear?
Uh, through the grapevine.
This visit is about making sure his bourbon brand Gentleman's Cut gets exposure. He is a fan of his bourbon, and so that's a real grin you see when he peeks behind the butcher counter and sees the meat that's been marinated in the brand.
I know we cut it for you and put it right under the counter, man.
He'll take it home, but he won't cook it. What about that butcher area? You gonna try that?
I had never, yeah, I'm definitely gonna do that. I haven't seen that. I've never seen that before, dried 20 or aged, what, 26 days in the gentleman's cut. So that was new. My wife can throw down, obviously, in the kitchen, anywhere with whatever ingredient.
So I'm— You gonna go back and tell her?
I'm not gonna mess it up. I'm gonna let her rock.
Yeah, I asked if they were gonna let you cut any meat back there. They said nope.
It might be against my contract.
It's something to watch the flurry that always surrounds him. I want to thank you for playing because you bring joy into our life every time you play.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate you following me. But watch long enough and you will see this father of 4 clearly has a soft spot for kids. Show them your jersey. Oh my goodness. Steph's the man. And so it's a balance with family, basketball, rest, and everything else.
For sure, there's a balance throughout the year. And the idea that, like, I'm still work, you know, making sure the main thing is the main thing when it comes to basketball and your prep. And like you said, getting some rest, spending time with my family, you know, being a human being at some points are just, but these, like, opportunities are opportunities. They're exciting.
There are not a lot of breaks, not a lot of quiet in between. The video stop at the Archer Hotel, the drink or two at 1331 Cocktails in downtown Napa.
The most successful bar in Napa, and they do a lot with gentlemen's stuff.
But he always had an easy smile for everyone and clearly didn't want to sit alone at the bar.
Nice to see you. Nice to see you, absolutely.
Cheers.
Absolutely. Appreciate y'all coming up on stage. So I had 2 of them so far.
Which one did you like?
They're both, like, different and great all in the same.
And 3, 2, 1. And even though the next step was calling— Hi, how are you? —if a kid asks, he still stops for just one more picture. Those around him know that's just him.
He is very personable. He loves kids, and he always, you know, does the photos, signs the jerseys.
Curry's business partner, John Schwartz, has known the Currys for over a decade. In 2013, he and Ayesha Curry made a wine, Domaine Curry, and now he and Stephen Curry are making a bourbon.
When Stephen and Ayesha would come to my house, she would gravitate towards my great wines in my cellar, and Stephen would drink all my great bourbons that I was producing. So I finally said, "Hey, why don't we just make a bourbon together?" And we've been working on it for many years, and we launched 3 years ago, and we are now the f— one of the fastest-growing bourbons in the U.S. and around the world.
Every project of Curry's seems to have a story behind it and a relationship that is years old. The Currys' Eat. Learn. Play Foundation serves the children of Oakland.
We just celebrated our 6-year anniversary, but we still feel like we're just getting started. But we have to date invested over $90 million back into Oakland students and their schools, providing tens of millions of meals, free literacy tutoring for 5,000 students.
Chris Helfrich is the CEO, and Curry met him when he was in college.
For sure, no accidents in life. When I met Chris Helfrich back, first time I met him was when I was in college. It's like you said, I went to northwest Tanzania on a mission trip over there to distribute a bunch of bed nets to a refugee camp out there. He left and took another job in between and then came back to help me and Ayesha start Eat, Learn, Play, and what, 6, what it feels like short years later, we're able to have a lot to show for what our foundation's been able to do. So you gotta be surrounded with good people, you gotta be mission-aligned, and so far it's been amazing.
And so while there are always new hands to shake projects to tackle and championships to win. When the day ended at Cole's Chop House for a fundraising dinner for Eat. Learn. Play, it was easy to see something else. It was a day that ended as it began, with him surrounded by people, his people, his good people. A day with Stephen Curry is a glimpse of the friendships and the world that has grown for years with him. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] and around him.
It's surreal. It's surreal for sure. Because like you said, I have a lot of passions and interests, and then the ability to have everything kind of amplify each other in a way that makes it all kind of worthwhile and fun. These moments are like, and even your question is kind of a cool opportunity to reflect a little bit.
