Copyright Star Tribune
If you’re looking to pair Tater Tot Hot Dish with a wine, Ryan Reynolds says a glass of chardonnay is best. Then maybe a glass of milk, if it’s spicy. Just nothing too fancy. “I would say pretty much any one of them that comes in the box,” the “Deadpool” star told the Star Tribune on Monday. Like Reynolds’ new wine brand, Ugly Estates, which is packaged in a plain cardboard box and now on shelves only in Minnesota. Its packaging makes it easy to overlook, but perhaps more approachable to drink. To Reynolds, Ugly Estates is an underdog wine, which he says makes it a perfect pairing for Minnesota, an underdog state. “You want to go to places that will get it,” Reynolds said. “I don’t think Martha’s Vineyard is going to really embrace this the way Minnesota might.” The wine — a chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon — comes from Gallo Winery, the California behemoth behind bestselling brands Barefoot and André. But Reynolds is in search of customers who might get a laugh out of bringing a boxed wine to a fancy party. “Funny people come out of Minnesota. Funny people come out of eastern Canada,” said the Vancouver native. “When you’re freezing your butt off in the winter months, you’re huddled together. And when you’re huddled together, you’re sparking ideas.” Reynolds said he’s been to Minnesota just twice. Still, he’s found himself with a spiritual connection to the state. Reynolds said his childhood Vikings hat became his most worn. And he’s planning trips to see the Timberwolves and Vikings, if not to hang out with their owners, which Reynolds said are some “really interesting” people. “I come from Canada. They love making fun of our accent, and they love going after the Minnesota accent and doing a little caricature,” Reynolds said. “When I’m watching ‘Fargo’ or something like that, I’m like, ‘I don’t hear it the way you do.’ I just hear my mom the way she talks.” With Ugly Estates, Reynolds joins an expanding list of celebrities who have launched wine brands. But Reynolds is quick to separate himself from Brad Pitt or Francis Ford Coppola, who both own the winemaking operations, too. The storytelling, Reynolds said, drew him to Ugly Estates. The ethos of Ugly Estates matches his successful stakes in Aviation American Gin and Mint Mobile, which he sold for $610 million and $1.3 billion, respectively. The marketing push for Ugly Estates lets Reynolds spin a story similar to Mint Mobile, which gained notoriety for its irreverent ad campaign that emphasized the no-frills, affordable model. “It was ugly wine, good wine, but done in a way that is super affordable,” Reynolds said. “You lean right into the mischief of it, as opposed to away from it.” As with his other businesses, Reynolds has tied the wine to his self-deprecating Hollywood persona. Ugly Estates’ commercial features Peggy, a “Pugese” mix that won the title of Britain’s ugliest dog, before appearing alongside Reynolds in the 2024 blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The ad proclaims that Ugly Estates doesn’t hire attractive spokespeople. “I personally love an underdog story,” Reynolds said. “If you can look at my résumé, you’ll notice that it’s mostly underdog characters or underdog sports teams.” Although Reynolds said his interest in Ugly Estates was about more than breaking into the wine industry, the Midwestern wine market isn’t a bad place to be. Even as nationwide alcohol consumption has declined overall, people are drinking almost 50% more wine than they did in the 1970s, according to a 2024 study from the U.S. Department of Health. And the South and Midwest, long bastions of beer drinkers, have seen wine consumption surge in the past two decades as beer falls out of favor. Reynolds took to the South before coming to Minnesota, debuting Ugly Estates in Texas earlier this year. Now, consumers can only find it on the shelves of more than 100 retailers across Minnesota, including Cub Foods and MGM Wine & Spirits. The 1-liter boxes — cardboard Tetra-Paks that are recyclable and waterproof — include more wine than standard bottles and retail for $14.99. The slogan: “33% more wine, 100% less snob.” “I’m really proud of the marketing that we do, but also I’m more proud of how you build businesses through emotional investment,” Reynolds said. “You build storytelling through emotional investment.
