Slumming It With Low-Alcohol Wines

There is, these days, if the publicists are to be believed, a move toward "mindful drinking," seeking out healthier alcohol alternatives. You can say I cling to the old ways, but I see no need to try and make alcohol healthier. You want healthy? Give up drinking. There. I said it. I quit smoking, gave up cannabis and cut way back on coffee. There is a limit to how unpleasant I want the rest of my life to be. Please leave the alcohol in my wine. 

There are those who will insist that they want to moderate their alcohol consumption. These are the people who call us "boss," ride a scooter to work, and reply to everything we say with "perrrfect." Studies show that 64% of these younger folks are on the lookout for that healthier alcohol option and 34% of all wine drinkers want ways to moderate their alcohol intake. I suppose no one has suggested "put down the glass," so let me toss that into the ring as a logical answer to the problem.

Someone saw those numbers and decided that something needed to be done about them. The thing they decided to do was to make low-alcohol wine. Arlow Wine jumped at the chance to cater to the people who simply cannot stop at one glass. Now you can have two glasses, with the same alcohol as one glass of high-octane wine. You get double the regret, though.

Arlow, I'm told, is the first truly low-alcohol wine made in the US. Arlow's wines promise "full flavor, complex profiles, and all the enjoyment of wine, with just 6.5% abv." As if that were not enough enticement, Arlow is lower in calories at just 70 per glass, lower in sulfites and has little to no sugar added. 

I was given three samples of these new wines to try. After drinking the rosé, I wanted to pour out all three and give up on the article. But I persisted in the taste test. Here are my findings.

Arlow Rosé

This wine has a vibrant salmon-orange color to it. The nose gives aromas of cherry and strawberry with a fairly intense herbal slant. An occasional whiff of Jolly Rancher comes through, too. The palate is almost completely taken over by the herbal aspect found in the nose. There is little to no acidity. It tastes like an adult Kool-Aid instead of a wine. The low alcohol allows one to drink a lot of it, but one doesn't really want to. 

Arlow Sauvignon Blanc 

This wine is tinted lightly golden. The aromas are very much what I expect from New World Sauvignon Blanc. The most dominant is a strident grassiness, which is joined by citrus and minerals. The palate gives lemon, lime, grapefruit, and minerality combined with a decent acidity. The flavor has an almost sweet note to it, which offsets the rather blunt fruit and herbal offering. The finish is not too long, but is pleasant enough while it’s there. 

Arlow Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine is peculiar. The color is medium dark purple. The nose is where the peculiar part begins. There is an extremely earthy, musty scent arising from the glass, almost foxy, as if it were a North American hybrid grape, but not quite. It is not a particularly bad smell, but it certainly bears none of the hallmarks of Cabernet Sauvignon wines I have ever had. The palate offers no apparent oak spice, and it tastes relatively fresh, so maybe this is a rare example of an oakless Cab. The tannins are almost nonexistent and there is not much acidity present. As with the Arlow Rosé, this is adult Kool-Aid, suitable to be chilled and served in plastic cups by the pool. Don't waste any food in a pairing with this wine. 

If you think I'm being too harsh in my criticism, let me say that I am normally an easy audience for wine. My scores tend to be higher than most for the same wines and I am reasonably agreeable when a bottle fails to live up to hopes and expectations. I can nearly always find something positive to say about a wine, and I think that points to how much good wine is being made these days. These low-alcohol entries are easily among the worst wines I have tasted this year, maybe this decade. For 6.5% abv, I’ll take a beer instead, thanks. 

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From Rioja To The Picnic Table

Yes, a red wine can appear next to the BBQ grill and serve a thirsty crowd well on a hot day. To get the most from chilling a red wine, look for one that is low or moderate in alcohol, one that hasn't been aged in oak for more than a year or is oakless altogether, and one whose tannins are easy on the tongue. 

This still youthful 2019 El Coto Crianza was aged in oak for 12 months and in the bottle for another year and a half, which earns the wine its designation of "crianza." This is a full varietal wine, 100% Tempranillo. The alcohol level sits at a comfortable 13.5% abv and the retail price is cozy, too, just $17.

I tasted this vintage a year ago, and not much has changed. It is a dark wine, one which lets very little light pass through. The nose displays more fruit than oak, which is a good sign if you plan to chill it and serve it outside. Blackberry, raspberry, cassis, anise all shine brightly, with light notes of clove and cinnamon. The palate is clean and fresh, with the dark fruit taking a bow. The tannins have softened somewhat over the past year, but are still maybe a little firm for an outdoor meal under the sun, but the acidity is brisk and refreshing. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Bad Movies We Love

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌ ‌This week, go slumming with some movies that were more in line for Raspberries than Oscars. To take off the edge, we have wine pairings for each.

Plan 9 from Outer Space was directed by Ed Wood, dated as 1959, but released two years earlier under another title, then repackaged for the Southern drive-in circuit. Plan 9 has been hailed as The Worst Movie Ever Made. I've kept my eyes open over the years, and I'll tell you, it's hard to argue against that award.

Aliens try to prevent earthlings from creating a weapon that would end humanity. Why they're so worried about us is a question that gets answered by a song and dance involving sunlight particles exploding. Let's not get too bogged down in fact checking here. Their plan is to resurrect the Earth's dead to create havoc. That right there sounds like a doomsday weapon to me, but Ed Wood had a different POV.

Bela Lugosi is in the movie, but only in footage that Mr. Wood shot before Mr. Lugosi died, then spliced in. The reel was probably filed away next to the one labeled, "Something has upset the buffalo!"

I'm guessing this film may have been the one that spawned Mystery Science Theater, since Plan 9 is the prototype of a bad movie people watch in groups for laughs. Usually while drinking. There is some genuine camp to be found, like Vampira, Criswell, and Zombie Lugosi himself. 

Bela's family keeps his name alive with Bela Lugosi Wines. They happen to make White Zombie Chardonnay, which fits in well with the plan to raise the earth's dead people. It is crafted from Santa Barbara County grapes, which doesn't matter at all to Lugosi at this point, or to a zombie, but should be important to you.  

Deathsport, a sci-fi from 1978, was partially directed by TFH guru Allan Arkush. He was called in to clean up the mess left by the previous visionary, who left the picture due to any of a number of reasons. Everyone was either drunk or high, the set at Vasquez Rocks was too far to drive, nobody wanted to work unless the Playboy Playmate was on the set, or they hated David Carradine. Probably a lot of the last one.

The film was a follow-up to Death Race 2000, only done more hastily, with more booze and drugs, and with a Playboy Playmate and David Carradine. Arkush describes directing the movie as a nightmare in real life. He had to interrupt his prep for Rock and Roll High School in order to try and salvage Deathsport, and I can only say that I'm so glad that it didn't knock that film off the rails. My life would be much poorer today had Arkush and Joe Dante not made R&RHS. 

The dystopian Deathsport story has too many fantasy names for people and places for my taste, but you gotta love exploding motorcycles. These death machines were utilized in the big sport of the day, combat to the death that would free the criminal who won. Please don't mention to any felons who happen to be running for president that this may be an option. First, he would probably lose. Second, nobody wants to see him on a motorcycle.

There is a winery in Moorpark, CA called Cavaletti Vineyards, which produces a wine named Dystopia. It's an old-style blend of Tempranillo, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Graciano and Syrah grapes raised in Los Angeles, Santa Ynez and Ventura County. $45 bucks will get you closer to the end of the world.

1977's Mighty Peking Man is a Hong Kong monster movie. It came out while the world was still basking in the glow of the previous year's King Kong remake. The titular monster is also known as Goliathon, which sounds more like an all-day feature of biblical cartoons. "Mommy, can we stay up and watch the Davey and Goliathon tonight?" "No, dear. That sort of thing puts your father out of the mood."

This MPM monster borrowed a few tricks from the master, Godzilla. He tears up towns, throws things and generally causes commotion as he tromps through the Himalayas. He even uses elephants as bodyguards, although why a giant monster needs a herd of bodyguards is still a mystery. 

A giant Hong Kong monster movie deserves a giant Paso Robles monster wine. Technically, it's Big Red Monster wine, a $20 Zinfandel. They say the palate is big and bold, much like the mighty monster himself. 

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Sincerely Sauvignon

The Mellot family has grown grapes and made wine in the Sancerre region for more than five centuries. This 2022 Joseph Mellot Sincérité Sauvignon Blanc is labeled as Vin de France, rather than Loire Valley. The VDF designation indicates that the winemaker was free to use grapes from anywhere in France, rather than be restricted to a single appellation. 

This is a full varietal wine, 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, but is not a Sancerre. The grapes were sourced from areas which include Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. The vintage notes describe a mild winter, an early spring, a scorching hot summer and a rainy autumn. Alcohol kicks at 12.5% abv and the retail price is only $19.

This wine is tinted pale yellow. The nose is gentle and fragrant, it does not come on strong like a New World Sauv Blanc. There is restrained minerality and a restful, floral salinity about the aromas. The palate has lemon, lime and only a hint of grapefruit up front, but all that citrus lays low and allows the smooth salinity to call its shot. Acidity is fresh, almost not noticed. I will have this as an aperitif or chilled on the porch on a hot summer day. 

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White Tempranillo - A Twist From Rioja

The wines of Spain's Rioja region are varied and always a delight.  From crisp, young whites to fresh rosados to bright and cheery young reds and those with some age and oak influence, the wines of Rioja never fail to impress while showing off their terroir.

The Rioja region lies between mountain ranges in the north-central part of Spain and is separated into three main sub-regions, Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa.  Tempranillo is the main red grape, although you will often see Graciano, Garnacha (Grenache) and Mazuelo.  For white wines, Viura is popular, with Malvasia playing a supporting role. 

The Perez Cuevas family of Bodegas Ontañón has worked the land of Rioja for four generations. Starting with a patch south of the Ebro River near the small town of Quel, they have accumulated more property through the decades. They now grow grapes on the high ground of the Sierra Yerga Mountains and are one of the biggest family vineyard owners in the country.

Ruben Perez Cuevas and José Miguel Avizcuri collaborate as winemakers and used fruit from the El Aniceto vineyard for the full varietal 2022 Ontañón Tempranillo Blanco. This white version of Tempranillo is a mutation of the red Tempranillo variety, discovered by a grape grower in the 1990s and officially recognized in 2007. This bottle has an alcohol content of 13.5% abv and sells for around $20 or less.

This wine is tinted straw yellow and has a mineral-laden nose which also offers a tropical fruit basket of aromas. Pineapple, mango, lemon, orange and apple all waft up from the glass.  The palate shows the minerals up front, with a salinity that runs through the sip. Acidity is decent, if not ripping, and the wine finishes long with savory notes staying afloat to the end. I would love this with peel-and-eat shrimp, but it’s also great with a handful of peanuts.  

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Blood Of The Vines - Spy Vs Spy

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 don disguises and use fake passports to look over three films about spies.

Kudos to the TFH gurus for labeling this week's selections with the title of the Mad Magazine feature, Spy vs Spy. It was a favorite part of the mag for me, something I would flip through the pages to find before reading anything else. The good spy in white didn't always defeat the bad spy in black as they confronted each other. But were they really good guy and bad guy? Only their bosses know for sure, and even they may be in the dark.

The Amateur, from Canada in 1981, shows us the danger of taking up terrorist assassination as a hobby. John Savage plays a CIA code specialist whose wife is murdered. This turns him from mathman to madman, and he has information which allows him to blackmail the agency into sending him to Czechoslovakia to hunt down and kill the murderers. All goes surprisingly well for him until his blackmail information becomes useless. Uh oh. No more company man.

The movie poster claims that "the first 11 minutes will absolutely shock you," and "the last 11 minutes will rivet you to your seat." I'm in a bit of a time crunch here, so can I just watch those 22 minutes and fast forward through the 90 in the middle? Thanks.

Spy Valley Wines, from New Zealand's Marlborough region, has a good variety of wine for under $20, but check their dessert bottlings. Operation: Late Harvest has sweet Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc for $35, with code clearance required.

A Cold War Classic written and directed by Samuel Fuller, Pickup on South Street is not an ad for an F-150 for sale in Cerritos. It is the story of a small-time hood who picks the wrong pocket and ends up with microfilm secrets intended for the Commies. Okay, Richard Widmark. You're in the spy business now. 

An earlier version of the script was titled Pickpocket, but Darryl Zanuck thought that sounded too European. I don't know why that makes me laugh, but it does. The movie drew criticism from none other than J. Edgar Hoover, who claimed he didn't like the film's politics. Maybe he just wanted a better look at Jean Peters' wardrobe.

Sans Liege Winery of Paso Robles makes a 100% Grenache called The Pickpocket. Aged for two years in French oak, we hope it doesn't taste too European for you. It's a $50 bottle.

The 1970s brought a new kind of spy movie to us - the kind where the government wears the black hat. Robert Redford may not be the spy in Three Days of the Condor, but he sure has the thrill-a-minute life foisted upon him.  This guy can't pick up the mail without dodging bullets.  Don't watch this movie if you skipped giving your mailman a holiday tip.

It would happen this way:  You may be walking one day and a car will slow down beside you.  A door will open and someone you know - perhaps someone you trust - will smile and offer you a bottle of wine...

Redford's character - code name Condor - wants to come in from the cold, only to find he's already in, and the air conditioning is stuck on 32 degrees. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, and it's especially chilling if you don't even know why. The tactics the government uses to try and keep him quiet sure have him feeling like an endangered species. Max Von Sydow has that effect on people. Things do heat up a bit for Condor when Faye Dunaway realizes things could be worse than playing hostage to a guy who looks like Redford.  

Now the car slows down, and the smiling man offers a refreshing drink of wine.  

Condor's Hope Vineyard is named for its location in Santa Barbara County where condors are released into the wild.  The winery releases big Zinfandels and Shiraz into the wild, but only 400 cases at a time.  Most of their wines sell for under $20.  They could be a little hard to find, but that's how condors are.  If you order some, you may want to get it sent by FedEx.

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Blood Of The Vines - Spy Vs Spy

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 don disguises and use fake passports to look over three films about spies.

Kudos to the TFH gurus for labeling this week's selections with the title of the Mad Magazine feature, Spy vs Spy. It was a favorite part of the mag for me, something I would flip through the pages to find before reading anything else. The good spy in white didn't always defeat the bad spy in black as they confronted each other. But were they really good guy and bad guy? Only their bosses know for sure, and even they may be in the dark.

The Amateur, from Canada in 1981, shows us the danger of taking up terrorist assassination as a hobby. John Savage plays a CIA code specialist whose wife is murdered. This turns him from mathman to madman, and he has information which allows him to blackmail the agency into sending him to Czechoslovakia to hunt down and kill the murderers. All goes surprisingly well for him until his blackmail information becomes useless. Uh oh. No more company man.

The movie poster claims that "the first 11 minutes will absolutely shock you,: and "the last 11 minutes will rivet you to your seat." I'm in a bit of a time crunch here, so can I just watch those 22 minutes and fast forward through the 90 in the middle? Thanks.

Spy Valley Wines, from New Zealand's Marlborough region, has a good variety of wine for under $20, but check their dessert bottlings. Operation:Late Harvest has sweet Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc for $35, with no code clearance required.

A Cold War Classic written and directed by Samuel Fuller, Pickup on South Street is not an ad for an F-150 for sale in Cerritos. It is the story of a small-time hood who picks the wrong pocket and ends up with microfilm secrets intended for the Commies. Okay, Richard Widmark. You're in the spy business now. 

An earlier version of the script was titled Pickpocket, but Darryl Zanuck thought that sounded too European. I don't know why that makes me laugh, but it does. The movie drew criticism from none other than J. Edgar Hoover, who claimed he didn't like the film's politics. Maybe he just wanted a better look at Jean Peters' wardrobe.

Sans Liege Winery of Paso Robles makes a 100% Grenache called The Pickpocket. Aged for two years in French oak, we hope it doesn't taste too European for you. It's a $50 bottle.

The 1970s brought a new kind of spy movie to us - the kind where the government wears the black hat. Robert Redford may not be the spy in Three Days of the Condor, but he sure has the thrill-a-minute life foisted upon him.  This guy can't pick up the mail without dodging bullets.  Don't watch this movie if you skipped giving your mailman a holiday tip.

It would happen this way:  You may be walking one day and a car will slow down beside you.  A door will open and someone you know - perhaps someone you trust - will smile and offer you a bottle of wine...

Redford's character - code name Condor - wants to come in from the cold, only to find he's already in, and the air conditioning is stuck on 32 degrees. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, and it's especially chilling if you don't even know why. The tactics the government uses to try and keep him quiet sure have him feeling like an endangered species. Max Von Sydow has that effect on people. Things do heat up a bit for Condor when Faye Dunaway realizes things could be worse than playing hostage to a guy who looks like Redford.  

Now the car slows down, and the smiling man offers a refreshing drink of wine.  

Condor's Hope Vineyard is named for its location in Santa Barbara County where condors are released into the wild.  The winery releases big Zinfandels and Shiraz into the wild, but only 400 cases at a time.  Most of their wines sell for under $20.  They could be a little hard to find, but that's how condors are.  If you order some, you may want to get it sent by FedEx.

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Sweet Wine From Canada

Inniskillin Winery produces what some of us refer to as the "nectar of the gods," icewine. They produce other types of wine as well, but they have made their name by turning out some truly magnificent icewine. Grapes are plucked from the vines in the dead of the Canadian winter, when the grapes are literally frozen solid. There isn't much juice from a frozen grape, so it takes quite a few of them to make this wine. And, the juice is highly concentrated. The Inniskillin folks call their icewine "winter's gift to wine lovers."

Located in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the historic Brae Burn Estate, Inniskillin is Canada's first estate winery, and they have been producing world-renowned icewines from grapes grown in the Niagara Peninsula since 1984. The Vidal grapes used in this bottle - they also make icewine from Cabernet Franc and Riesling - are a hybrid variety, a mating of Ugni Blanc and Seibel.

The 2019 Inniskillin Gold Vidal Icewine VQA Niagara Peninsula carries alcohol at a low 9.5% abv and sells for a high $80 in the 375 ml bottle.

This wine has a rich, gorgeous, golden color. The nose gives a massive whiff of apricots and hints of assorted tropical fruit. The palate is a dessert lover's delight, unctuous and creamy with sweet flavors of apricot, pineapple and apple tart. The acidity is fine, if not a match for steak. Try it with a soft cheese, or even with a hard cheese. It will also pair well with fruit pies. Delicious and dreamy. 

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Super Tuscan Scores In The Glass And On The Stove

Volpolo comes from Tuscany, the Bolgheri DOC, to be more precise. It is Podere Sapaio's second label. The winery was founded in the early 1990s, and the three and a half decades since then have shown the outfit to be quite adept at winemaking.

The 2022 Volpolo di Sapaio Bolgheri DOC is a Super Tuscan blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, 15% Merlot, and 15% Petit Verdot. The juice was fermented in steel tanks, aged in French oak barriques for 14 months, then given a rest in cement tanks before bottling. Alcohol tips 14.5% abv and the retail price is $36.

This wine is very dark in the glass, with almost no light getting through. The nose is full of blackberry, blueberry and plum, with savory notes of anise, black pepper, tobacco, tar and a hint of smoke joining the fruit. The palate has a savory bent as well, with spice and earth mixing in with the dark fruit flavors. The acidity is quite fresh and the tannins have a medium firm grip. I paired mine with slow cooker short ribs, and even used some in the recipe. Delicious. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Love Stories

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌ ‌This week, it's all about love, because apparently the TFH gurus just couldn't wait for Valentine's Day. We have a trio of films, and a wine pairing for each.

In 1970, Love Story told us that love means never having to say you're sorry. We know the truth. Love means always having to say you're sorry. 

Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw star as the star-crossed couple. There was talk initially of having Christopher Walken play the part that O'Neal ended up getting. We were that close to having the logline be "Love means never having to ask for more cowbell." That's the breaks.

A Love Story Winery and Bistro in Miami is actually less focused on wine than on dining, events, and having a picture taken while phoning a friend from a pink telephone booth. The restaurant's wine list is truly impressive. I want to go there just to have a few glasses. However, for just one glass, let's get Champagne from Maison Bonnaire. I see their Love Story Grand Crus Extra Brut selling online for north of a hundred bucks. But, love means never having to ask "How much is that going to cost?"

As Good as it Gets, from 1997, was exactly that for Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, who both took home Oscars for their work in the romcom.  Can a mean, old, obsessive-compulsive misanthrope find happiness with a pretty waitress?  You bet your dog-walking dollar he can, but it takes the intervention of the nice gay guy next door, and his puppy.

It's a great date movie, as long as the eccentricities contained in Nicholson's character don't remind your partner too much of you.  There's no need to pull that string and see the whole sweater unravel.

The characters in As Good as it Gets show that people can grow together over common ground, no matter how far apart they may seem to be at first.  Just don't forget to take care of the dog properly.  And don't step on a crack.

A wine from Nicholson Vineyards is the perfect pairing for Jack, because they make wine and grow olives, you know, for martinis. Their Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay should please everyone on your floor of the apartment building, for $36. 

Speaking of odd couples, 1971's Harold and Maude stars Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in a May/December relationship. He's fascinated by death, and she's old enough to kick the bucket at any time. A match made in heaven. Today, when a 79-year-old dies, people of my generation say, "And so young!"

Bob Evans at Paramount must have heard "told ya so" a time or two, because the movie attracted neither critics nor paying customers. Both groups eventually came around when the film became a cult classic. H&M reportedly didn't turn a profit until about 12 years after its release, which is probably not something a studio would want to crow about. Gordon passed away just two years after that break-even moment.

There were no awards for Harold and Maude, but Cort and Gordon did grab a couple of Golden Globe nominations. The film's ending gets my vote if there is ever a category for Best Use of a Banjo Aside from Deliverance. 

We may want to pair wines both young and old, to honor the stars. Perhaps a Beaujolais Nouveau and a Champagne pulled from a turn-of-the-century shipwreck.  However, I would like to reference Cat Stevens from the movie's soundtrack. "Bring tea for the tillerman, steak for the sun, wine for the woman who made the rain come." Well, Pinot Noir has tea notes, it goes great with steak, and what better way to spend a rainy day? Maude Pinot Noir comes from the Mt. Maude Vineyard in Central Otago, New Zealand for around $25. 

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Pinot Noir Complicates Things

My relationship with Pinot Noir is complicated. It's not that I don't like Burgundy. It simply is too elegant for my taste. Too ladylike. I have a deep love for California wine and the freedom the Golden State's winemakers enjoy in creating their treasures. But California Pinot usually strikes me as too much like Syrah. Not that I don't like Syrah. I just don't want my Pinot Noir to taste like it.

But I don't want it too fancy, either. Too elegant. You see my problem? But today I feel satisfied. I have found a Pinot Noir which is elegant, yet playful. Full of personality. 

The 2021 Sonoma-Cutrer Winemakers's Release Les Plus Haut carries a French name which means, if my high school French teacher was right, the highest. The Pinot Noir grapes for this wine were harvested from the vineyards at the estate's loftiest elevations. This promises an intense and complex wine.

Here we have the elegance one expects from Pinot Noir, but with the California touch. The wine aged in oak for 14 months and in the bottle for another six. Alcohol sits at 14% abv and the bottle retails for $70.

This wine has a medium ruby tint in the glass. The nose is as complex as you want it. Blackberry, raspberry, black pepper, black tea, cola. All the usual suspects are here, in a setting that is turned up a notch, yet stops just short of being rowdy. The palate brings the same pleasure, with rich fruit notes and tasteful spice. When I want Pinot Noir, this is what I want. 

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Weird Name, Good Italian Wine

The wine with the unusual name Hey French, You Could Have Made This But You Didn't is an Italian white blend from Verona. The grape varieties are Garganega, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, grown in the Monte Calvarino Vineyard in Soave's eastern edge. Alcohol ticks 13.5% abv and it retails for $45. 

The Pasqua family has been in the wine business in Veneto since 1925. They bill the winery as the House of the Unconventional. The label art is certainly that, a shoutout to the winemakers west of Italy. The blending of five premier vintages (2016-2020) is also a bit off the straight and narrow. So is vinification and aging for six months in oak, then a transfer to steel tanks. It may seem a bit wacko, but it works. 

The wine exhibits a brilliant golden hue. On the nose are aromas of apricot, apples, citrus and a slight pineapple note. The palate is savory, with all the fruit mentioned plus salinity and a nuttiness. The acidity is quite fresh. Pair this one with anything from the sea or a pasta dish in a creamy white sauce. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Directed By Jack Clayton

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 tip our hats and raise our glasses to the late British director Jack Clayton. If you prefer, you can tip your glasses and raise your hats. 

Jack Clayton's name may not jump off the page like other directors who are more firmly ensconced in pop culture. But he was a giant in the film industry. And, he probably would never have called movies an industry. Like a winemaker who labors to ferment grapes for the love of doing so, Clayton was picky about his source material and notably difficult as a business partner. He might as well have been selling Syrah. His career suffered due to his uncompromising vision and was ultimately derailed by studio politics and illness. Drink to Jack Clayton. You know, he can't drink anymore.

Harold Pinter wrote the script for 1964's The Pumpkin Eater. He adapted it from the novel by Penelope Mortimer, one which echoes nearly word for word her own life story. Anne Bancroft and Peter Finch star as an unhappy couple with a gaggle of children. The title comes from the nursery rhyme about a guy who "had a wife and couldn't keep her." Yeah, she was pregnant, like, all the time. It's no wonder that the marriage hit the skids.

Clayton's direction was lauded, although somewhat overshadowed by the wealth of acting talent he had at his fingertips. James Mason and Maggie Smith were also in the cast, squeezed into supporting roles. 

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the movie's title references a rhyme involving the name Peter, but there is no character named Peter? But there is an actor named Peter? I read one synopsis of the movie that actually referred to Jake, the husband played by Finch, as Peter. No? Just me? Well, I get that a lot. 

No, we're not having any pumpkin wine. We will, however, take a trip to Temecula, where Peltzer Winery is part of the fun zone known as the Peltzer Pumpkin Farm. How they managed to resist the temptation to make pumpkin wine, I don't know. But they mercifully did. The prices are a tad high, and the farm seems to be crawling with kids, but their $40 Roussanne looks like a deal. Their $40 rosé, not so much. And their Prosecco is a mind-blowing $50. If I pay $50 for bubbly… well, let's just say I'm not paying $50 for Prosecco. 

In the 1967 thriller, Our Mother's House, Mom dies and her brood of kids keep it a secret to avoid being parceled off to foster homes. They bury the dear old matriarch in the backyard and cash her monthly checks to keep what's left of the family afloat.

Does it sound like a story arc from Shameless? It does, and it happened in real life, too. A San Diego woman decided to keep getting her dead mom's Social Security checks. Not to be a spoiler, but she is now celebrating Mother's Day in a federal penitentiary. 

The kids in Our Mother's House also have a deadbeat dad to contend with, but I'll tell you right now, that absentee father is in way over his head with these brats. If you want a nice, happy ending to this movie, sorry. That ship sails early in the film. The children eventually do the only right thing left to them. Cheers!

Big House Wines gets its name from the nearby Soledad Correctional Facility. They are more attuned to bootlegging crimes, but you also might end up there if you bury mom in the backyard and keep cashing her checks. 

The Innocents is a 1961 horror film based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Clayton had a penchant for bringing literature to the silver screen. It was shot in black and white CinemaScope, a format which was required by the studio and despised by Clayton. He used CinemaScope to great effect in creating what is now considered a ghost story masterpiece. 

He also brought forth the best performance of Deborah Kerr's career. Her portrayal of a governess being driven mad by two children is chilling. We don't know if her character is scared, ghost-crazy, or just in need of a glass of wine or six. Clayton steered the film clear of gory horror tropes, yet created a movie that pulls the viewer's nerves taut and plays them like a ukulele.

The easy pairing choice is for a ghost wine - a winery founded in the late 19th century and still operating in refurbished fashion.  And no, they do not operate with a skeleton crew.  That's reserved for Halloween.

Virginia's Gray Ghost Winery has a few white wines to uncork here, since faces are said to turn pale in the presence of ghosts.  Or after consuming a little too much wine.  The Innocents is an hour and a half long - pace yourself.

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