BERNIE WILLIAMS INTERVIEW: Yankees Legend Talks Saratoga, Baseball, Music, and Wine

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The list of things Bernie Williams hasn’t accomplished in his 56-year-old life grows shorter by the day; four-time World Series champion, Latin Grammy Award-nominated jazz musician, five-time MLB All-Star with his number retired by the New York Yankees, “Seinfeld” guest star, winemaker.

If you’re a Yankees fan, you’re likely familiar with all these feats, save one: since when does Bernie Williams make wine?

In 2021, Williams stumbled upon the Millbrook Winery in Upstate New York while cruising around on his motorcycle. His visit led to a chat with David Bova, the winery’s vice president and general manager, which in turn led to a collaboration: a 2022 vintage called “Bernie’s Blend.”   The red wine is a mixture of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc. Williams also had a hand in blending the winery’s 2023 chardonnay and 2021 pinot noir varietals.

These wine bottles are wrapped in a custom label created by Williams’ daughter, Beatriz Williams, a Brooklyn-based artist. The artwork features a symbolic guitar held by two sets of hands, representing the passing of musical knowledge from one generation to the next.

It’s a fitting piece of symbolism. Williams has not only collaborated with Millbrook on the wines, but he’s also returning to the vineyard for a summer jazz concert on Saturday, June 28 at 6 p.m. $10 from every concert ticket sold (as well as a portion of wine sales that evening) will be donated to the music programs at Dutchess Community College. Members of the school’s jazz ensemble will also open for Williams and join his band during the concert’s second act.

Ahead of this event, Saratoga TODAY was able to chat with Williams about a range of topics, including Saratoga, baseball, wine, and music. Without further ado, here is our Q&A with the Yankees legend, edited for length and clarity.

Saratoga TODAY: Your manager said Saratoga is one of your favorite cities, and I know you’ve visited a few times. Can you tell me what you like about the city, and if you have any fond memories of your time here?

Bernie Williams: I’ve been there a few times. I used to go more often. I remember bringing one of my daughters there for basketball tournaments. After that, I remember playing a couple of music gigs downtown. The one thing that I enjoyed the most about Saratoga is going to the Roosevelt Baths and getting some treatments there. The water there is just amazing. And especially in the summer, there’s a lot of things to do and have a great time.

ST: Pretty much everyone knows you were a baseball player and that you’re a musician, but I don’t think a lot of people knew that you were also a wine guy. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into wine?

BW: Well, the whole wine situation with Millbrook was not planned at all. I mean, we literally stumbled upon the winery one Sunday afternoon. We were just kind of cruising around in my motorcycle, and we ran into the winery and decided to stop. We really fell in love with the place. It was so beautiful and [I] ended up talking to the manager at the time, which put us in contact with the marketing department, and then next thing I knew, I was blending my own wine and playing a concert there. [laughs] So it was something that was not really premeditated. It was something that kind of happened over time. I definitely have developed a great appreciation for the process [of making wine], and the people that have that responsibility, because there’s a lot of things that have to come into place. Some of them are within our control and some of them are not. So it’s kind of like where work meets art, as far as being able to find a place where you can find that level of appreciation about making a good bottle and [making] something that could last for years and still be drinkable.

ST: If you could share a bottle of wine with any member of the New York Yankees, living or dead, who would it be and why?

BW: I probably think somebody like Joe DiMaggio. His whole persona beyond the baseball field was a cool thing. I would say Babe Ruth, but if I would have chosen that, I probably would’ve had to hang out until three or four in the morning. [laughs] I think Joe DiMaggio, I would pick his brain about playing centerfield. He carried himself with so much class that I think it would be cool to have a bottle of wine with him.

ST: This concert is going to benefit music education programs. Can you tell me why you think it’s important for younger people to be educated about music?

BW: I think it’s really important for young people to be educated about music, first of all, to have a greater appreciation for the process of making good music. It’s something that a lot of people take for granted, but it’s a very intricate process and it’s an art form. It might be a little polarizing to say this, but I just don’t think that young people these days have an opportunity to really experience the process of making music and they may not have an appreciation for how hard it is to make music that touches your heart and your spirit. You don’t have to become an instrumentalist, but you can definitely be able to appreciate how hard it is to be able to do that and be in a better position to support live arts and live music. It seems to be sort of a lost art. I do know for a fact that especially young kids that are exposed to music, it enhances their learning capabilities. They do better in other subjects like math and writing and all the things that have to do with the creative part of the mind. I think music and having the opportunity to learn music, it’s a really important part of that process.

Tickets for the June 28 Bernie Williams concert are now on sale at the Millbrook Winery website (https://www.millbrookwine.com/bernie-williams/). The winery is less than 2 hours away from Saratoga.