If you're a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's films - and you'd better be - you know there's going to be some drinking going on. Nearly all his dozens of movies have his characters using booze to brace themselves, lighten themselves, or heal themselves. Hitchcock was a fine wine connoisseur. He loved the juice of the grape so much that he bought a lavish getaway home in the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains, which is now a winery.
Topaz is a 1969 Cold War spy film with its story rooted in real life. Set in the early 1960s, the script centers on a French intelligence agent who has a hand in busting up a Soviet spy ring as nuclear missiles are bound for Cuba. The ring is code-named "Topaz," and the story gets as complicated as you would expect an espionage tale to get. Maybe more so.
The film features all the elements of a good spy flick, but laid on more heavily than audiences liked. "Too long," they said, which is something nobody ever said about the finish of a good Chardonnay. As for the Hitchcockian alcohol, there is a scene in which a few bottles of beer are featured prominently. We want wine, though.
Hitchcock reportedly grew Riesling grapes on that estate in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Called Heart O' the Mountain, the land is now the estate vineyard for Armitage Wines. Their estate Pinot Noir goes for around $60.
1972's Frenzy is about a London serial killer who strangles his victims with his own tie. Before you jump to the conclusion that such an idiot move means he was drunk at the time, consider that he wore a tie pin which had his name on it. "Oh, so he was high, too?" Of course he probably was drunk at the time, since he didn't mind having booze for breakfast.
Tying himself to the crimes even tighter, the criminal uses a trunkful of circumstantial evidence to try and frame his friend for the killings. Well, what are friends for, anyway? The television series The Fugitive was only a five-year-old memory at the time. So, Frenzy's framee becomes a fugitive trying to prove his innocence, while the framer is left making sure he still has both arms.
Hitch certainly had a thing for strangulation. He gleefully portrayed it in Frenzy, as well as in Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train, and Rear Window. And who wouldn't need a drink after watching the opening scene of Rope? Strangulation is not a pretty sight, but it sure plays well on the screen.
New Zealand's Wilson Daniels Winery has a Frenzy Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough's Mount Richmond estate for less than $20. It's as bold and expressive as one would expect for a film about being choked to death.
I'll say right up front that I have never seen 1976's Family Plot. I know that makes no sense. I love Hitchcock, Bruce Dern, William Devane, Barbara Harris, Karen Black and black comedy. I have no idea how this fell between the cracks, except maybe I was busy with bicentennial celebrations, or Jimmy Carter on the campaign trail.
Here is what I know about Family Plot. It was Hitchcock's final directorial effort. The critics loved it, even though they couldn't nitpick this one to death. There are two couples, a pseudo psychic and a cabbie/investigator, and a pair of kidnappers. It's a fair portrait of who to not invite to your next dinner party.
Dern and Devane were highly lauded for their performances. To me, Devane always looks like JFK about to spit something out and Dern usually appears to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but that's what I like about them both. As for the cinematic drinking in Plot, I hear that Dern attacks a glass of beer convincingly while a kidnap victim gets to have a bottle of wine in the cellar.
Healdsburg's Simi Winery is said to have been one of Hitch's favorites. Their 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a Bordeaux-style blend with Merlot, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, and Malbec supporting the Cab. All for just $25? Hitch never had to worry about running over budget here.
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