In the world of winemaking, there’s tradition, finesse, and subtlety. And then there’s Hellfire Wine. This is not your delicate, sip-by-the-fire, swirl-in-the-glass kind of wine. No, this is a wine born from fire, grit, and the unwavering stubbornness of an Apache pilot who refused to accept that jalapeño wine was a terrible idea.
But before we get into the wine, let’s start with the missile.
The Apache (AH-64 A/D/E) and the Hellfire
When you’re flying an AH-64 Apache, you’re sitting in a warship with teeth. This machine doesn’t just fly—it hunts. And one of its most iconic weapons is the AGM-114 Hellfire missile (source). At 105 pounds and four feet long, it’s got its own engine, and when you pull the trigger, that thing doesn’t just leave the aircraft—it launches, climbing with a 10G bias before slamming toward its target with a smoke trail that shakes the cockpit.
There is no feeling quite like firing a Hellfire missile. It’s an explosion of power, precision, and adrenaline. If you’ve ever fired a gun and felt that first jolt of power in your hands, imagine that multiplied by a thousand—except you’re flying, and the explosion is tearing through the sky ahead of you.
That moment—that rush, that power, that heat—that’s what I wanted in a wine.
The Vision: A Wine That Hits Like a Missile
I had just wrapped up a long day at work at Fort Leavenworth (source), staring down the final stretch of my military career, when the idea hit me. I wanted to create a wine that hit you like a Hellfire missile—bold, unexpected, powerful, and unforgettable.
So, like any rational person, I went to the Leavenworth Farmers Market (source) and bought 40 pounds of jalapeños.
Now, here’s a little insight into how my brain works: I don’t do things halfway. I don’t test the waters. If I’m in, I’m all in. And at that moment, I was all in on making the boldest, most intense, most unapologetically powerful jalapeño wine in existence.
Back at home, I went full mad scientist—grilling, smoking, sautéing, juicing, blending. Every possible way to extract the purest, richest jalapeño essence. My goal wasn’t just heat—I wanted the flavor, the soul of the pepper, to shine through and fuse perfectly with the right grapes.
Meanwhile, my wife, Dr. Gina Montalbano Zesiger, was at work, being the responsible one in this partnership.
Gina Walks Into The Fire
Now, Gina has her own version of this story, and if she edits this, she’ll probably insert a disclaimer, but since she’s not writing this, you’re getting my version.
She comes home after a long day as a principal (source) expecting peace. Instead, she pulls into the driveway and immediately smells something—something fiery, something… concerning. She steps out of the car, and it hits her: pure capsaicin floating in the air.
At first, she thinks I’m making Mexican food. But then she opens the door.
Boom.
Imagine stepping into a room filled with pepper spray. That was our kitchen. Gina staggers backward, eyes burning, coughing, trying to process what fresh hell I had unleashed in our home. And then, through her watering eyes, she sees the disaster—jalapeño seeds everywhere, juice splattered on the counters, cutting boards loaded with chopped peppers, and me, standing in the middle of it all, grinning like a lunatic.
“What the f*** is this?!” she yells.
Excited, I tell her, “I’m making jalapeño wine!”
Her response?
“Clean all this s**t up! Nobody is ever going to drink this! You’re out of your damn mind, Bryan!”*
Now, I want to be very clear: Gina is always right. She’s the brains, the logic, the person who keeps our lives from spiraling into chaos. But in this one, rare, beautiful moment—she was wrong. Hellfire wine is now, one of our best sellers.
Hellfire was born that day.
The Evolution of Hellfire
Before Hellfire, before Z&M Twisted Vines Winery (source), I was just a guy in a fifth-wheel trailer at Fort Polk, Louisiana (source), freshly divorced, discovering YouTube, and convinced I was going to get rich making homemade wine.
Some guy on the internet said you could make great wine with Walmart juice, yeast packets, and sugar.
I thought, Holy cow, this is it. I’m going to be a bootlegger. This is my empire.
So, I bought 25 jugs of juice and 25 packets of yeast, rigged balloons and condoms over the tops to trap the gas, and waited for my fortune to ferment.
When the time came, I proudly took a bottle to the one woman in my life whose opinion I trusted above all others—my mom.
She took a sip, swallowed, looked at me with a face of pure disappointment, and said:
“Son, you did make wine. But this wine would take the hair off a woman’s chest. You’re not going to make money from this—unless you plan to use it in ways it was not intended to be used.”
And that was the moment I learned that winemaking requires more than just throwing yeast into juice.
From the Battlefield to the Bottle
Hellfire Wine is more than just a drink. It’s a statement. It’s the story of an Apache pilot bringing the heat of battle to the beauty of wine. It’s the story of relentless passion, of not taking “no” for an answer, of proving that even the wildest ideas can become something extraordinary.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s the story of the one time I was right—and Gina was wrong.
Where to Find Hellfire Wine
Available exclusively at Z&M Twisted Vines Winery (source)
Served at our vineyard and tasting rooms in Leavenworth, KS (source)
Featured in Kansas wineries & agritourism events (source)
For more on Z&M Twisted Vines and our other bold, veteran-crafted wines, check out our blog and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates!