Dear Friends,

Tradition is defined as the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. At Orin Swift, we are huge fans of tradition. We feel it has become a lost art. When done right, tradition engenders pride and respect. Tradition can take the form of anything from a rite of passage, to a solemn responsibility. It can be simple or grand. Many of us enjoy family traditions, and all of us combine to form the fabric of national tradition. At Orin Swift, we have been fortunate to be a part of many traditions, of these there is one unique tradition that we have had the opportunity to be a part of not once, but twice. That tradition involves the great American pastime of baseball and the friends we have met within it.

Wine opens many doors, some good, some bad, and some simply unexpected. Around 2012 we struck up a friendship with Jonny Gomes. At the time, Jonny was playing left field for the Oakland Athletics. He liked wine and we liked baseball.

Fast forward a year and Jonny is playing for the Boston Red Sox, hitting a critical three-run homer to win game four of the World Series. The Sox go on to win the Series. Next thing I know, I’m talking to Jonny and he’s explaining the tradition of each player giving a gift to the entire team to commemorate the win.

“Can you make us a wine?”

The answer was an obvious yes. We ended up making a wine we called Boston Strong. We bottled it in magnums and Jonny gave it as gifts to all his fellow teammates, as well as the entire staff of the Red Sox organization, per tradition. Of course, one of his fellow teammates was Jon Lester.

Jonny and I have kept in touch. We chewed tobacco together when the Giants won the World Series in San Francisco and he has hosted me at his home in Scottsdale, AZ. I was honored when he asked me to continue the tradition and make a wine for his good friend, Jon Lester, after the Chicago Cubs won the Series in 2016.

That wine is what we are offering you, and it is affectionately called “Happy Birthday Billy”. It is named after William Sianis, who cursed the Cubs and sent a telegram declaring that curse to Philip K. Wrigley following his ejection from the 1945 World Series. It is the same wine that following an age-old tradition, Jon Lester gave to his teammates commemorating their decisive victory over the Cleveland Indians in 2016.

Our thanks go out to Jonny Gomes and Jon Lester for allowing us to be a part of this tradition not once, but twice. We are so proud to be a part of a group that still relies on the fundamental belief that puts the team in front of individuals and tradition and truth before all.

Enjoy, Dave Phinney