NFF College Hall of Fame inductee and standout Georgia defensive back remains a legend some 24 years after he played his last game for Hall of Fame coach Vince Dooley’s Georgia Bulldogs in Jan. 1984.

Fast forward from the final (and possibly biggest) game of his collegiate career, and one can see why the scholastic and Academic All-America defender (3.8 cumulative grade point average on genetics) has been a major success in his postgraduate career.

Hoage, a 13-year veteran of the NFL and dutiful family man, closed his career in Phoenix with the Cardinals but sought Templeton, Calif., as a permanent home for his daughter’s equestrian career and schools for his son Christopher, who has a congenital spinal disease. It also happened to be in the hear of California’s wine country.

The highly-intelligent veteran of 17 college and pro seasons (he was a 1980-83 standout for Dooley’s Dawgs at DB) first tried building homes in his post-football career and even learned to weld. He still harbors a desire to start a second (or third or fourth, depending on perspective) career by going to Stanford or another California medical school and becoming a physician or specialist.

He also flies his own plane, which has been a big plus in his current profession – winemaking in the rich soils of the Paso Robles and Templeton areas. His wife Jennifer and Terry took up that trade after he attempted homebuilding and literally learned the construction business from the ground up in Arizona.

Hoage is a true “Renaissance Man” who markets his own brands, tends a 20-acre vineyard, runs a 3,000-square foot winery, and now produces over 2,000 barrels a year after a modest start with 100 in his first full year, 2005.

His brands range from Hedge Syrah (a sports reference to the famed hedges at Sanford Stadium in Athens) to other boutique specialties, which his wife or Terry names.

He has picked up vintages from Santa Barbara to Paso Robles through a network of friends and vintners, and the Hoage family has been a literal hit throughout the region. Terry’s personality and football fame carry quite a bit of weight with suppliers, marketers and win critics.

Terry Hoage Vineyards is gaining nationwide popularity through both Hoage’s name and the great taste of the products, but he continues his multiple business talents. The Huntsville, Texas, native and final signee for Georgia’s 1980 squad has been overachieving since his days in youth football. He remains a 1984 Cotton Bowl Classic legend for leading Georgia to a 10-9 upset over unbeaten and then-No. 2 Texas. The win confirmed his status as an All-America and cost the Longhorns the national championship.

His current interests also include scientific research, new vine pruning methods, engineering, fermentation, and amateur medicine.

Is there anything this football and work-related multi-tasker cannot do or try to do?

“I did teach myself to weld,” he said with a chuckle, “and the great thing about my current status is that I can be killing gophers in the afternoon and leading wine tastings at night.”

A classic recent example of his handy-persona is the building of a new barn on his property.

His parents and three other relatives had a barn they dismantled in Texas and sent the dimensions to Hoage. He poured the concrete footings and laid out the frame from a schematic plan. Amazingly, the family members labeled ach piece of wood and roof and shipped them in flats to Paso Robles.

As expected, Terry Hoage “crossword puzzled” the facility to exact proportions on his California property and began story agricultural products.

“Hey, I’m still considering med school,” he smilingly added. “There’s a lot of life yet to live.”

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