YOU HAD ME AT HELL NO

Dave relies on Sam to bring pragmatic creativity to vague ideas, making them not just happen, but become better. Sometimes that means taking a specific vision and seeing it through with unwavering attention to detail. On rare occasions, it’s doing what’s required of  only the most trusted confidants, calling out a bad idea.

Part of what makes Sam so gifted at the job of assisting an artist like Dave, is that she is an artist in her own right. She not only understands the process, but can anticipate it. Her art in our Napa Valley tasting room might be the piece attributed to her, but her fingerprints are all over the OSC. 
The fur coats from the Machete shoot? Those belonged to Sam’s mom.
The film on the 8 Years labels? Sliced off of some of Sam’s old family reels.
Sourcing hundreds of antique scissors? Who else?

Sam’s blazing red neon artwork in the tasting room was inspired by her book of photography, Advice From John, which captures the funny, poetic, blasphemous, and insightful scrawls across bathroom walls. Sam has a gift for making creative projects fun; spending years taking photos in dive bars across the country is proof. She’s compared these compact little messages to the original social media posts (with much less sophisticated content moderation). ‘You had me at hell no’ captures perfectly what has made Sam the embodiment of what makes the Orin Swift team so special, ‘You Had Me At Hell No’ is that bad idea you just can’t say no to because you know it’s going to be fun.  It’s that double black diamond at the end of a long ski day. It’s day-drinking into the night on a Sunday.  It’s that last shot of tequila on the dance floor, heck sometimes it’s even the first shot of tequila.  But usually those are the things that make for the best stories in the long run.” They might also serve as inspiration for an upcoming wine release in 2025…  13 years working alongside Dave at OSC is not a normal 13 years. It can feel like both a lifetime, and like you’re just getting started. The ability to bring expertise and experience but not let it get in the way of excitement and openness is what makes Sam not only an indispensable assistant, but also a lifelong friend, trusted confidant, and artistic collaborator.

Come see Sam’s art, and book, at the Orin Swift Tasting Room and see if you can spot her mom’s fur coat on a bottle of Machete.