Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, we have wine pairings for three films which either invite you, command you, or discourage you from drinking. Which is which? You tell me.
One of the better things about 2021 was the Todd Haynes documentary, The Velvet Underground. The movie shows the unbelievably quick rise and fall of the rock group of the same name.
The group formed in 1964, around the nucleus of Lou Reed and John Cale. With Andy Warhol as their one-time manager, they enjoyed much 1960s notoriety for their songs, which were written to rub middle America the wrong way. As a result, they enjoyed no Top 40 hits, but became mainstays on the burgeoning album rock format on FM radio.
"Sweet Jane," "Rock and Roll," "I'm Waiting for the Man," "Heroin" and "Venus in Furs" were not hummable hits. Well, maybe "Sweet Jane" was. And "Rock and Roll." And, OK, I have found myself humming "I'm Waiting for the Man" many times. "Heroin," not so much. Same for "Venus in Furs." It all depends on how you want to hum.
By the time 1970's Loaded came out, the band had pretty much run its course. One of the lesser members tried to carry on the name, but without Lou Reed it was just another band. Loaded would have been a fantastic swan song. It's one of the finest albums of the rock era, said Rolling Stone, back when they wrote about, you know, music.
What better wine pairing for The Velvet Underground could we find than The Velvet Underground? The Sonoma bourbon barrel red blend is full of intense flavor, like the band. Its lushness takes it out of the lo-fi realm, but at 17% alcohol and the whiskey-laced flavor, it probably would go well with both "Rock and Roll" and "Sweet Jane." It's a $25 bottle.
Todd Haynes was no stranger to rock and roll, as the previous film demonstrates. Before that, in 1998, he wrote and directed Velvet Goldmine, a musical drama about a glam rocker who was loosely based on David Bowie. It was maybe not so loosely based, as touchstones like Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Slade, Bowie's first wife Angie, and even a fictional band called Venus in Furs populate the script. All it needs are some tunes from Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars to be full-blown glam.
However, Bowie did not cooperate, refusing to make his songs available to Haynes. He didn't like Haynes' request, and he didn't much like the movie, either. One of our TFH team members has pointed out to me that Haynes saved the day by finding some "faux-glam" songs which work well in the film.
Wisconsin's Spurgeon Vineyards gets close to a namesake wine with Velvet Gold. It is a sweet, white grape wine described as having a "grapey" taste. That's low praise, but it only costs a little more than a dozen dollars, plus whatever goldmine you have to put forth for shipping.
The talk of 1986 was, at least in movies, David Lynch's magnum opus of weirdness, Blue Velvet. My close friend Tom took his girlfriend to see it during its opening weekend. He called me on Monday, advising me to see it, while warning me not to take a date. "Don't let the title fool you," he said. "It's not a date movie."
It is a disturbing film, but after seeing Lynch's Eraserhead, I expected nothing less. Many critics panned Blue Velvet, citing its extreme violence, brutal sexuality, and dreamlike quality. Their views have largely mellowed over the years. Now the film is hailed as a masterpiece. Maybe the critics were inhaling whatever Frank Booth was having.
Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth is the most unhinged and deranged character of the Hopper pantheon. His psychotic violence and reliance on some sort of gas, which he huffs from an oxygen mask, are both horrifying and spellbinding. If you think to yourself, "Hey, I once knew a guy like that," you are lucky to still be alive.
Swiss wine may be harder to find than the true owner of a Swiss bank account. I didn't know they grew grapes there, I thought money was their cash crop. Switzerland's Mythopia Wines makes a Pinot Noir named Blue Velvet, which, for my money, is a good place to stop and spend $100 bucks or so. You won't find it on the wine list at This Is It, but you won't find a wine list there, either. Just order a Pabst! Blue! Ribbon!
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