Scotty McCreery might have a Top 20 single with “Cab In A Solo,” but for him, wine is much more than song topic. The hit single  is a nod to McCreery’s love of wine, which is often his drink of choice, even on stage.

“It depends on the night,” McCreery reveals to Wine Spectator. “If it’s an intimate theater setting, I’m probably laying low as I’m talking to the crowd more. If I’m at a big festival, I’ll have a drink on stage with me. I’ve been known to have a big ol’ Solo cup of Cab on stage. What’s in the cup kind of depends on the vibe.”

For McCreery, falling in love with wine was a slow progression, a byproduct of his hands-on role in his own career.

“It was a natural result of doing what I do—business dinners and meetings,” McCreery says. “Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, it wasn’t something I was around a lot. It took a while to get a taste for it, but little by little, it was what I ordered at dinner. ‘Do I want a beer? No, I’ll go for the good wine.’ I started with sweet wines and eventually got up to big, bold Cabernets.”

In a genre of music that has often celebrated beer and whiskey, the 30-year-old is proud to be part of a new and growing trend in country music.

“I think wine is getting bigger and bigger in country [music],” McCreery states. “I’ve heard of artists who don’t have beer or whiskey on their bus, only wine. I’m in a fantasy football league with Darius Rucker and Jimi Westbrook from Little Big Town, and the big question around our draft night every year is who’s bringing the wine. It’s a big group of 12 to 15 people; whoever loses the year before has to provide the wine for everybody.”

McCreery is also offering more information on his forthcoming new album. The country music hitmaker has already dropped “Slow Dance,’ “Can’t Pass the Bar” and “Cab In A Solo,” all songs that are a good indication of what his next, very country record, will sound like.

“I really tried to go back to what I grew up with and what I love: traditional country music,” McCreery says “I’m 30 years old, but I feel like I could have really thrived in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. But I grew up in the ’90s, listening to Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Joe Diffie. I love the classic sound, the guitar, the fiddle, where the storytelling is the center of the song and it’s tied up with a bow at the end. To me, the heart of country music is the storytelling.”

McCreery kicks off his Cab In A Solo Tour on January 26. Find music and tour dates at ScottyMcCreery.com.