The late Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, recently filed for four new trademark applications for a wine named after the NBA legend. According to TMZ Sports, Vanessa submitted documents on Nov. 5 to secure trademarks for several phrases, including “Mamba Vino,” “Mamba Vino 2024,” “Mamba Vino 8,” and “Mamba Vino 24.”
The applicant is listed as Kobe Bryant, LLC, which is run by Vanessa. This isn’t the only business move made by Vanessa recently, TMZ reported. Last month, she filed a trademark for digital collectible items, websites, training camps, broadcasting platforms, podcasts, TV shows, movies, documentaries, music, sports cards, food and drink containers, and t-shirts.
All four of her recent filings include one of Bryant’s nicknames, “Vino.” In 2013, during the last few years in Bryant’s career, he tweeted about the nickname being given to him. Named after wine, he was given the name “Vino” because many people believed his game got better with age.“Omg. My man just gave me a new nickname and I love it! Ha #vino,” he tweeted.
OMG . MY MAN JUST GAVE ME A NEW NICKNAME AND I LOVE IT! HA #VINO
— KOBE BRYANT (@KOBEBRYANT) MARCH 1, 2013
Following Kobe’s retirement in 2016, Adidas released a “Kobe Vino Pack” as a tribute to his love for wine and his gracefully aging game. The shoes featured cork alongside the sides with red wine accents.
CORK & #WINE
ULTIMATE #WINELOVER SHOES@ADIDAS @KOBEBRYANT #VINO PACKHTTPS://T.CO/XFVHMUPHTO
JUST WD LOVE SOME 😍🍷😍 PIC.TWITTER.COM/HDDJHUURYF— JULIEN MIQUEL #WINE (@JMIQUELWINE) MAY 11, 2016
The phrases listed in the recent trademark filings also pay homage to the numbers the basketball star wore on the court, eight and 24—both of which have been retired by the Lakers and hang in the rafters at the Staples Center.
If Vanessa does enter the wine industry, she’ll be joining the ranks of many former athletes, including Drew Bledsoe, Yao Ming, Jeff Gordon, Wayne Gretzky and Terrell Owens.
Just last week, the Bryant estate became $400 million dollars richer after Coca-Cola bought BodyArmor, in which Bryant was invested. In 2018, when Coke initially invested in BodyArmor, he was the company’s third-largest shareholder. After investing in March 2014, Bryant acquired 10% of the company.
