Darius Rucker Is a Wine Aficionado Who Can’t Get Enough of Taylor Swift

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Darius Rucker knows his way around a hit song — and he knows the perfect wine pairing to accompany each tune.

In an exclusive interview with Newsweek Entertainment, the Grammy winner — who recently partnered with As One Cru Wines — was eager to discuss his new collaboration while revealing his favorite summery sips. And with numerous No. 1 hits under his belt as a solo artist and multiple smashes as the frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, there were more than enough tracks to choose from before narrowing it down to three.

For “Only Wanna Be With You,” one of Hootie & The Blowfish’s biggest and catchiest ’90s jams, Rucker had to go with As One Cru Wine’s 2021 Pinot Noir pairing.

“It’s so light and refreshing and fruity,” the “Let Her Cry” singer, who called himself a “big wine drinker,” shared with Newsweek Entertainment. “I think that would go really well with ‘Only Wanna Be With You’ for sure.”

As for “Wagon Wheel” — Rucker’s Grammy Award-winning take on Old Crow Medicine Show’s southern anthem — it’s “gotta be the Cab [As One Cru’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon]!” he declared, explaining that “it’s big [and] it’s bold” — just like the windows-down hit.

Rucker’s latest single, “Never Been Over” (featuring Jennifer Nettles), is also a good match for the Cabernet.

“The Cab is also one of those ones you sit with your significant other or just somebody on a nice day and have a nice glass of Cab,” Rucker mused.

The rocker’s personal choice for the summer is the Pinot — preferably with his significant other.

“My girlfriend I sit and drink a lot of the Pinot because it’s just so smooth and refreshing and I love it,” he shared, revealing that As One Cru’s upcoming wine selection will also be the perfect warm-weather pairing.

“I think every [wine] we have right now and even the stuff that we’re about to come up with — the Sauvignon Blanc [and more] — I think it’s gonna be great for summer,” Rucker noted.

Speaking of summer, Rucker is also here for what is perhaps the biggest 2024 summer staple: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

“I love to see what she’s doing. She’s doing it the right way,” the “Hold My Hand” singer — who Swift called one of her favorite musicians during a 2011 onstage collaboration — said of the Tortured Poets Department artist. “She’s doing it with great music and great shows.”

Rucker, who saw Swift perform when she was “just a baby” on the 2007 Brad Paisley tour — she was 16 years old at the time — knew “that night” she was destined for greatness. “I told her, ‘You’re gonna be a superstar,'” he recalled. “it was just obvious.”

Plus, Rucker — who knows a thing or two about a genre crossover — sees how Swift sticks to her storytelling roots, even after all these years. “She’s writing country songs and they’re big pop hits and they’re awesome,” shared the musician, whose favorite Swift track “is still ‘Tim McGraw.'”

“I’m just so happy for her I can’t stand it,” he added.