It’s been almost a quarter century since Drew Bledsoe was selected first overall by Bill Parcells’ Patriots in the 1993 NFL draft. And it’s been 15 years since Bledsoe was traded away from New England during the 2002 draft. In between those events, he helped to guide the Patriots out of an underachieving past to the doorstep of a golden age.
Bledsoe retired from football after the 2006 season at the age of 34. Since that time, he’s focused much of his attention on a new challenge: the business of wine. For almost exactly a decade, Bledsoe has owned Doubleback Winery in his hometown, Walla Walla, Washington.