Bota Box crowns Natalie Harwood; boxed wine spotlighted as Big Game tailgate pairing

Tailgate crown: Bota Box elevates wine as a game‑day pairing

Bota Box crowns Natalie Harwood of Columbia, South Carolina, as the winner of its 2025 "Wing It with Bota" national pairing contest on Feb. 8, 2026, when her Black Cherry Smoke RedVolution wings, paired with Bota Box RedVolution, wins two tickets to Sunday’s Big Game. The live finale takes place on the mainstage at Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Harwood cooks and pours in front of a televised audience and a judging panel led by celebrity chef Guy Fieri and NFL figures NaVorro Bowman and Eric Kendricks.

The contest, launched by Bota Box in fall 2025, draws hundreds of game‑day recipes submitted nationwide and narrows to three finalists who present live. Judges evaluate which pairing delivers the best balance of bold, craveable flavors; Bowman, identified in the release as a Bay Area sports legend and former four‑time All‑Pro NFL linebacker, and Kendricks, noted as a 10‑year NFL veteran with the San Francisco 49ers, join Fieri onstage to assess flavor, balance and crowd appeal. Harwood’s smoky, black‑cherry glazed RedVolution recipe is selected for its complementary profile and is spotlighted ahead of kickoff.

Bota Box frames the outcome as part of a broader push to reposition boxed wine as a versatile, on‑the‑go option for casual entertaining and sports occasions. The brand highlights its award‑winning wine quality and portability in 3‑liter and 500‑milliliter "Mini" formats, using the contest to demonstrate that wine can stand up to bold, saucy foods typically reserved for beer. The showcase on Flavortown’s mainstage brings boxed wine into mainstream tailgate culture and aims to spark consumer experimentation with unconventional pairings.

Marketing push targets mainstream tailgate culture

The contest functions as a marketing vehicle that ties product attributes—portability, value and size options—directly to a high‑visibility cultural moment. By staging a live cookoff at a widely publicized tailgate event and offering a Big Game prize, Bota Box amplifies product relevance for groups and outdoor gatherings where boxed formats offer logistical advantages over bottled wine.

Celebrity and sports endorsements amplify reach

Celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s involvement and the presence of NFL personalities lend mainstream credibility and media draw, positioning the brand beyond niche boxed‑wine audiences. The Flavortown finale ahead of the Big Game delivers national exposure and reinforces Bota Box’s message that wine can be an everyday, game‑day beverage choice.