TAMPA, Fla. -- The meeting took place in a posh suite at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, Calif., a contingent of Yankees executives pitching Gerrit Cole on the promise of wearing their pinstripes for the next nine seasons. They had done their homework; when manager Aaron Boone presented the coveted hurler with the exact bottle of wine from his anniversary dinner, it served as a clear exhibition of the organization’s attention to detail.

The meeting moved along as Cole admired those bottles of 2004 and 2005 Masseto Merlot, rated as one of the finest red wines in the world and the same vintages that he and his wife, Amy, had enjoyed during a recent trip to Florence, Italy. Boone, general manager Brian Cashman, pitching coach Matt Blake and retired hurler Andy Pettitte all took turns speaking as the hurler’s mind raced -- how had they known?

“They were the only team that did that,” Cole recalled at George M. Steinbrenner Field during Spring Training. “It was special. It wasn't the end-all, be-all, but the tone was set that it was going to be more of a personal-touch meeting. I think it’s pretty fascinating; this is a big machine that we have working here, and the fact that they put that attention to detail was meaningful, for sure.”

(Photos for this article courtesy of Uncork for a Cause)

As the Bombers prepared a nine-year, $324 million offer, accompanied by a 30-pound contraption that included an iPad loaded with tidbits of information the couple might need on relocating to New York, they had called upon a secret weapon in visiting clubhouse manager Lou Cucuzza Jr. Cole and Cucuzza have shared numerous conversations about their shared Italian heritage and love of wine over the years, including that recommended vino.

"To see the look on his and Amy's face, it was great," Boone said. "It was something that, I think, carried some sentimental meaning to them, so I think he was a little perplexed about how we figured that out. We give Lou Cucuzza all the credit for that.”

Cole said that his passion for fine wines began at home; his father, Mark, recently became a certified sommelier and his mother, Sharon, would frequently host big Italian dinners each week.

“My parents always had a glass of wine with dinner,” Cole said. “My dad would have my sister [Erin] and I cook with him on the weekends; we'd make some bigger meals. He was always into pairing wines and stuff. When I signed, I built them a wine room off the house and kind of accelerated his passion from there. I think the history of it is really fascinating in the sense that it's just grape juice, and we've been doing it for thousands of years.”

Though Cole classifies it as a hobby, he clearly knows his stuff, rattling off the world’s prestigious wine-making regions like they were names in an opposing lineup. On several occasions during Spring Training, Cole visited a popular wine store about two miles from Steinbrenner Field, relaxing by searching for favored labels and years to add to his collection.

“I've gotten to know a good handful of producers,” Cole said. “As technical as you can get with some of the ways we can grow grapes, especially in the U.S., some of the best wines in the world are still made by the hands of small organic farmers in the middle of Burgundy or in the middle of Bordeaux. It’s always a good topic of conversation. We're always looking for something else to talk about other than just baseball.”

For example, Cole said that he calls upon retired first baseman Justin Morneau for choices from California’s Napa Valley and French wines, adding that Astros pitcher Zack Greinke opened his eyes to Burgundy and pinot noir. The Pirates’ Jameson Taillon has been known to swap recommendations for daily drinkers, and Cole said that Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ expressed interest this spring.

“It’s kind of a community; we all share ideas, and everybody usually asks me what my dad's opinion is, because he's versed in everything,” Cole said.

As Cole continues to uncork fastballs in the front yard of his Connecticut home, waiting for the opportunity to throw his first regular-season pitch in a Yankees uniform, he said that the Yankees’ December gift remains unopened. Amy is pregnant with the couple’s first child, and Cole promised to keep the Masseto sealed until they can savor it together.

“She told me to hold off,” Cole said. “We'll probably open it at some point this year.”