Wine Goes To The Movies with
My wife and I have endured neighbors with bagpipes, drums on the solstice, children that never stopped crying and sound systems that caused the windows to rattle like a magnitude five earthquake. Every time we watch "Rear Window" we drop to our knees and thank the Power of the Universe that we have never had to say, "the neighbors bought a calliope." Pop some Champagne for that blessing.
I’m not knocking Alfred Hitchcock’s choices. The only thing I ever directed was a local television commercial that ended up looking like the cutting room scraps of “Plan 9 From Outer Space” - if, indeed, there were any scraps of that film left over.
I have dabbled in music programming during my patchwork career, though, and it has always struck me that Hitch probably never listened to the radio. The music that serves as a constant companion to the action in “Rear Window” leaves me wondering why those people still lived in that neighborhood. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly sharing a snifter of brandy is certainly Hitchcockian, but the cacophony they endure during an open-window New York summer would have most people drinking right from the bottle. If you run out, start downing mouthwash.
My current neighbor is a composer, and we are often treated to his lovely meanderings on the piano. He never pulls a Ross Bagdasarian, though, by slamming his hands down on the keys and crying in artistic anguish.
We are keeping a close eye on his flower garden, though.
Although friends don’t make their friends listen to calliope music, they just may have an all-calliope all-the-time music channel in the tasting room at Calliope Wines. They point out that “calliope” is Greek for “beautiful voice,” but that depends on what hour of the morning it is when the calliope music starts. Calliope is also the Greek Muse of Eloquence and Poetry. Think about that the next time you’re on a merry-go-round.
Can You Make Out Any Other Wines?
Put down the binoculars and pick up a bottle from Spyglass Ridge Winery. They specialize in Pennsylvania Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin.
Michigan’s Good Neighbor Organic makes wine, cider and hard liquor in Leelanau County. A good neighbor, indeed.
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