What Ryan Reynolds Knows About Selling Wine

{{ snippet.ovc-forward }}

Believe it or not, I sometimes struggle with how to open the newsletter every week. So this week, I asked for some help. In the tech community, all the rage this week has been about a project called chatGPT from OpenAI. Here is the text prompt I entered:

As the snow starts to fall and the holidays quickly approach, it's time to start thinking about how we're going to celebrate the end of another year. The Oregon Wine community has been hard at work this year, producing some truly exceptional wines that are perfect for enjoying during the holiday season. Whether you're looking to host a festive dinner party or simply relax with a glass of wine in front of the fire, there's no better way to ring in the new year than with a bottle of Oregon's finest. So as you're making your plans and prepping for the end of the year, be sure to include some delicious Oregon wines on your list!

Robots are taking over faster than anticipated. So I think it’s time to stock up on wine and hide!

We are two weeks away from Christmas Eve! Are you struggling with what to buy for your wine partner, friend, arch nemesis, or something nice for yourself? Here are a few ideas to get the gift-giving juices flowing!

• ​Karen MacNeil’s 3rd Edition of The Wine Bible​
• ​Jane Anson’s Inside Bordeaux​
• ​Vin Amour wine carrying case​
• ​Uncultivated a book about cider, but it could easily be about wine​
• ​This wine key​
• And of course, I have to promote my t-shirts also (Life is too Short for Bad Wine and Saber the Moment​

You have no idea who Melanie Rosales is, but she is Piper’s mom, the winemaker, and the founder of Prive Vineyard. I bring this up because Melanie is nominated for the Iowa Rock n’ Roll Music Hall of Fame!​

Are you curious to watch David Lett talk about the Booming Wine Industry from May of 1992.​

Jancis Robinson launched a podcast! (Apple and Spotify)

Brick House is being honored by Robert Parker for its Long-Standing Commitment to Environmental Quality​

Samantha Cole Johnson from Jancis Robinson has an excellent write-up on J.K. Carriere.​

Are you looking for events? I have moved them to a separate newsletter coming out twice a month on the 1st and 15th, starting January 1st. So sign up here if you stay in the loop!

I am going to go out on a limb and assume you know Ryan Reynolds, the actor who plays Deadpool, has amazing marketing videos on YouTube, owns Mint Mobile, and is co-founder of a Welsh Football team and the Aviation Gin Company. I remember the first time I noticed Ryan Reynolds was in Deadpool. I refused to watch it because it looked dumb and didn’t fit into the Marvel universe to me. Since then, I have grown to enjoy Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds. He has a unique way of capturing your attention while being human.

One thing I didn’t know about Ryan Reynolds was he was engaged to Alanis Morissette. Did you know her song “Torch” was written about him? Man, Alanis’s voice is stellar even now. I also didn’t know she recently came out with a meditation album. It sounds incredible with AirPods in and will join us for the remainder of the newsletter. Yes, I know you can't hear it, but I did provide a link for your listening pleasure.

Getting back on track the teeniest bit. I wish I could say today’s newsletter is me meeting Ryan Reynolds, but sigh, it is not. Today isn’t about Ryan Reynolds being a part of Oregon Wine Country or wine. I am here to bring nothing but disappointment today with a little trip I took to Aviation Gin just outside the Pearl District of Downtown Portland.

Why? Why must I disappoint you, being so close to Christmas? Well, I have only one word for that question, and that, my friend, is selfishness. I am sad to admit before my visit to Aviation Gin, I have only consumed one other Gin outside of the mixture that goes into a Long Island. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the other Gin and wanted something to compare. So when I heard Aviation Gin’s facility was open to tours, I had to go!

If this brings you too much disappointment, I understand if you stop reading the remainder of the newsletter. I do ask you don’t unsubscribe, though. I have one more email for the year, and some killer newsletters are coming your way in 2023. Everything is already planned out and ready by the end of March, if you can believe that. I am a little befuddled myself being ahead of the eight ball already. However, I am sure I will return to my old routines when April rolls around.

Anyway, here is my visit to Aviation Gin. I hope you enjoy it!

I arrived about 15 minutes early for the tour and got a chance to walk around a bit to take it all in. Upon checking in, they give you one of those bracelets that is impossible to take off without destroying, but this one was a little different. Three little tabs tore off every time you had a beverage. Their limit is 5 (super small drinks). Two drinks come with the tour, and you can buy three more afterward.

The amount of swag didn’t surprise me, but it was also lovely to see. I might have left with a shirt and a hoodie.

I don’t want to give the whole tour away, but it was fascinating how it started with the last published bartending book before prohibition, "Recipes for Mixed Drinks” by Hugo R. Ensslin. One of the founders of Aviation (either Christian Krogstad or Ryan Magarian) was way deep into cocktails. One day he asked a bartender what his favorite drink was. The bartender replied, “An Aviation,” and proceeded to make the drink.

In 2006, a journey was started based on the Aviation cocktail to create a killer Gin produced by House Spirits Distillery (also makes Westward Oregon Malt Whiskey), which was sold to Davos Brands in New York in 2016. However, it was in 2018 when Ryan Reynolds sat down to have his favorite beverage, a Negroni when he was first introduced to Aviation Gin.

From the narrative during the tour, when Ryan Reynolds tasted the Negroni with Aviation Gin, it was different in a good way. He asked what Gin was used. Of course, the answer was "Aviation." Otherwise, I wouldn't have anything to write today. At that point, he went down a rabbit hole into the company to become an investor. He also wanted his picture on the wall to look like Hugo’s. For some reason, I don’t have a picture to share. What kind of storyteller am I?

Before I get much further into the tour, I want to mention my knowledge of Gin wouldn’t even begin to fill a thimble. If you know how Gin is made and all the things, you will probably find this next part boring. Feel free to grab another cup of coffee and catch up with the rest of us in a few paragraphs.

I had no clue Gin was vodka and then infused with botanicals. The botanicals used in Aviation Gin are sarsaparilla, lavender, anise, coriander, cardamom, and orange peel. We did a little sniff test of the botanicals, and what is interesting to me is that they use cricket bats to activate the juniper. They used to use 2x4s. While there, I blindly accepted this fact, but I feel they do something else to the berries before smacking them. Briefly looking around for Gin recipes, I see nothing about Hulk Hogan giving Andre the Giant a smackdown to bring out the essence of juniper. When you visit, ask, "Do you do anything to the juniper before the steeping process?” I would be curious about the answer.

So many distractions this week…..

Once the juniper and other botanicals are ready, they go into a steeping bag like you would use to make tea. After steeping, there is a whole process of heads and tails which I need more clarification on. It is at this point the alcohol is currently 142 proof and is cut with water to dilute down to 84 proof.

On to the production line.

There were a handful of people working the bottling line. The bottles and packing material are manufactured overseas. So, they end up shipping the bottles with water in the same cases they will be shipped out into the world. Looking around the warehouse, you notice some instances where the label on the box is upside down. This means the bottles have water and are used for the bottling line. Obviously, if the labels are right side up, they are ready to go out the door full of Gin.

A tour of the Aviation Gin facility would not be a tour without a visit to Ryan Reynold’s office, and of course, there has to be some humor involved. So we got a friendly recorded greeting of Ryan with a freaky portrait, making it look like he was talking.

There is a pleasant surprise to this portion of the tour, and I will continue to let the surprise be unknown. All I can say is that it’s totally worth the helium-filled earrings that highly resemble shower curtain rings. Thank you, Del Griffith, and your spirit will never be forgotten!

There is no way to wrap up the tour but to taste some Aviation Gin. We started with about 2 oz pour of the Gin by itself. Let me restate my knowledge of Gin is next to nothing. My thoughts on tasting the Gin straight caught me way off guard. It was intense and to the point, but it was a slow and pleasant finish.

We were also given an Aviation (the drink recipe) sampler beverage. It was very yummy and pleasant all around. It reminded me of lavender martinis I used to enjoy many moons ago. Here is the recipe for an Aviation.

Somehow I did not take a picture of the Aviation. I did remeber the Gin Gin Mule I had afterward. However, I did ask about Ryan’s Nitro Negroni. I got a small sample, and I was not a fan. I found it to be too sour for my liking.

If you are curious about Aviation Gin but are not interested in the tour, they have a bar for you to enjoy some tasty cocktails. Here’s a list of what they were serving while I was there. As always, here is the link to their website for tour reservations, and when you visit, please be sure to say, “Ryan sent me” because, well, I don’t need to say why. You understand if you have read the newsletter enough times!

​

With Gratitude,

A.J.

​