Yao Ming hopes for a slam dunk with his new wine

Napa Valley, CA, United States (AHN) – Yao Ming stands 7-foot 6-inches tall. He was an imposing presence on the court during with nine seasons with the Houston Rockets.,

Now retired, the 31-year-old former NBA star is not sitting around whining. Well, actually he is.

Mr. Yao has hung up his basketball shoes and is currently living in his native Shanghai. This week, he is set to launch is own California winery geared exclusively for the Chinese market called Yao Family Wines.

Yao is considered a connoisseur of vino and a true trailblazer on the Chinese wine scene where wine was served for decades–egads–over ice.

Distributed by French beverage giant Pernnod Ricard SA, the bottles in the first 5,000 case run will be labeled at the top end of the market.

The wine, made from cabernet sauvignon grapes harvest ed in 2009 from California’s Napa Valley has a tall price, just like its creator, at $289 a bottle.

A second wine, called Yao Family Reserve, will be released before the end of 2011, and will carry any even more robust price in its small 500 case production.

Wine consumption in China doubled from 2005 to 2009. Most of the wine imported to the country came from France. Yao Ming, a true hero in the Asian nation, spotted an opportunity in the growing Chinese wine industry and stomped on it.

Yao Family Wines does not currently own are vineyards in California, but is aiming to claim some over the next few years.

Salute!