Pardon me if I sound a little giddy today, but I live in Cleveland (a.k.a. Believeland), and the town is wacko-nuts this week after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship for the first time in franchise history. And by wacko-nuts, I mean an estimated 1.3 million fans  – more than three times the city’s population – left their air conditioning in 90° temps for a glimpse of King James on parade.

In case you’ve been living in Uzbekistan, LeBron “I’m-just-a-kid-from-Akron-Ohio” James is the pivotal reason (pun intended) why Cleveland brought home its first championship trophy in any pro sport since 1964. LeBron, a 4-time MVP, is more than a basketball player; he’s an orchestrator, a natural leader, and from all indications a gentleman and attentive dad. Sure it takes a team to bring home the trophy, but it was LeBron’s mastery, more than any other single factor, that left the Golden State Warriors in Cleveland’s rear-view mirror. He grounded the Cavs in an almost supernatural way, and we mortals had never witnessed such extraordinary leadership on one of our teams. We were all in.

James started training for this moment when he was still a kid playing for Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, skipping college after he graduated to join the Cavaliers’ roster. But the move didn’t diminish his respect for education: since then, he’s picked up the tab for dozens of inner-city kids, spending millions of his own money for their schooling.

Ohio’s favorite son is ambidextrous, a lefty who usually shoots with his right hand. During the parade, it looked as if all the Cavs were using their right hands to swig their Moët Nectar Impérial Rosé, a pale-coral Champagne that will sell for $5,000 per jewel-trimmed bottle in Cleveland nightclubs.

We don’t have any $5,000 Champagne handy, but we did celebrate with a wicked Rosé discovery – Blackbird Vineyards Arriviste Rosé 2012.

That dark-salmon color on your screen is real, and the aroma and taste are just as striking – like a dry cherry soda mixed with a shot of excellent vodka. In fact, the wine tastes stronger than its 12.9 percent alcohol. In another year, I expect the berry and booze to smooth together a bit more. But that’s not a flaw; this wine, produced by the saignée method of “bleeding” free-run juice, is ready for summer. It’s on the pricey side at $25/split, but the city’s first championship trophy in 52 years is worth a splurge.

And if LeBron James wants to reinvent himself as the country’s newest celebrity winemaker, I am all in.

Wine Lingo of the Day:  Maceration =  steeping the juice of red grapes with their skins, a process that gives Rosé its pink color. A winemaker can choose to macerate for a few hours or a few days, depending on the color desired; in general, the longer the maceration period, the deeper the color.

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 [Big thanks to Emily Straffen for permission to use her photo of LeBron James, taken at the Cavaliers celebration parade.]

Now for the World Series…

Mary