Interview
This interview is with Aaron Kirschnick of Galaxy Wine Company. In this interview, Aaron discusses his work selling wine in almost every medium and the story that inspired his Pinot Noir Rosé, Mano Coronuto Wine.
Aaron talks about starting out in restaurants on the culinary side where he started learning about wine. When the hours were not sustainable, Aaron decided to pursue his interest in wine, starting out at a wine importing company. After a serious health scare, Aaron felt he needed a change but wanted to stay in wine. Aaron transitioned into sales and has worked in almost every aspect of wine sales including retail, wholesale, and direct to consumer, eventually landing at Galaxy. Aaron plans to stay at Galaxy until he potentially goes off on his own, pursing his personal wine dreams.
Aaron discusses the story behind creating his own wine in the hopes of helping other people. In May of 2025, Aaron was diagnosed with throat cancer. During his time at the hospital receiving treatment, he watched his fellow patients struggle with the financial burden of chemotherapy, and wanted to help. Thus, Aaron created Mano Cornuto Wines that raises money for the Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation. When Aaron was too sick to produce the wine, the industry stepped in and produced 3 barrels of wine for his cause the first year. Now that Aaron is cancer-free, he plans to be more hands-on as the project continues.
Later in the interview, Aaron talks about the future of the Oregon wine industry. Aaron believes that people with passion and a story sell wine and those stories won’t go away. Aaron is optimistic for Oregon wine and thinks there is still room for growth. He hopes to see more varietals in the valley as the industry evolves.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Linfield University in McMinnville on August 11, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Tyler Bradley of Galaxy Wine Company. In this interview, Tyler talks about his time at Linfield University and how a part-time tasting room job turned into a full-fledged wine career. He discusses his first big wine job in Idaho, and taking on a role he wasn’t ready for. As he was growing in the job, he also had to deal with the COVID pandemic and he talks about how that changed his work.
After that, Tyler discusses coming back to Oregon and working at Les Caves and in distribution before landing his current job with Galaxy. He talks about all the lessons and skills he has learned, about the work he’s currently doing, and about what comes next.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Linfield University’s Nicholson Library in McMinnville on March 2, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Caryn Benke of Galaxy Wine Company. In this interview, Caryn talks about her array of experiences within the restaurant and wine industry and how her involvement has granted her the ability to contextualize her academic learning of history, religion, and art.
Caryn shares about the many hats that she has worn over her career and how valuable these roles have been in allowing her to better understand all facets of the industry from producer, consumer, and distributor.
Later in the interview, Caryn shares the tactics she uses to keep consumers curious and the ways that she continues to educate her audience about wine. She also shares prospective avenues of experience from working closer with individual wineries and working harvest.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Linfield University on June 5, 2025.
Interview
This interview is with Jeff Mar, a Regional Salesperson for Galaxy Wine Company. Jeff talks about his round about way into the wine industry and the unique challenges of selling wine. He also talks about the impact of distribution on the Oregon Wine industry.
This interview is conducted by Rich Schmidt at Nicholson Library in Linfield College on March 24, 2017.