The Black Stallion is a 1979 adventure about a boy who is shipwrecked on a desert isle with the black horse. The two become pals, as there was no one else on the island with whom to talk or whinny. A rescue brings them both back home for more escapades and, eventually, a race. In that one, bet on the dark horse.
The film spawned a sequel, a prequel and a TV series. That's pretty good for a movie starring a non-talking horse. Mr. Ed was green with envy. Mickey Rooney was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but he couldn't go the distance. He did land a role in the series, however.
Bucephalus was Alexander the Great's black steed, and it is the wine pairing here. It's a blend of Napa Valley grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Zinfandel, from the Black Stallion Winery. It's pricey at $230, so don't spill any during the exciting parts of the movie.
The soundtrack of The Horse Soldiers rides in on the strains of "Dixie" and out to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." You not only get a western, you get a Civil War movie, too. And John Wayne's in both of them.
Heck, you even get John Ford directing at no extra charge, and a story that was ripped from the headlines of the Vicksburg Post, circa 1863. A western? In Mississippi? That's right, pilgrim. Mississippi was once The West. The Duke plays the railroad-builder-turned-Yankee-Colonel who is sent into Mississippi on a mission to blow up a railroad. Now that's iron horse irony for you.
Besides Wayne and Ford, you get character actors like Ken Curtis, Denver Pyle and Strother Martin. That's the hick trifecta, right there - a dialogue coach's dream, a speech therapist's nightmare.
It may be my imagination, but I think this movie has more horses in it than I've ever seen before in a film. It makes me wonder if actors get paid more for saddle sores. We should probably check with a bow-legged actor for the answer.
Wild Horse Winery, just south of Paso Robles, advises us to "Live Naturally, Enjoy Wildly." Their 2006 Cheval Sauvage not only means "wild horse" in French, it's the kind of masculine Pinot Noir John Wayne might share with his brave steed after a tough day of breaking the Confederacy.
The Appaloosa is a 1966 Western, sometimes titled as Southwest to Sonora, in case you didn't catch on right away that it's a Western. Marlon Brando plays a Mexican-American who has a beautiful horse. But you know, in the movies as in real life, we can't have nice things. Not without putting up a fight, anyway.
As fights go, the climax of The Appaloosa is a doozy. It shows the lengths that some men will travel for what, or who, they love. It also shows why you shouldn't have a chrome gun.
Sol Invictus Vineyards has a Riesling for just $22. It's from Idaho, but the best thing about it is that it's named Appaloosa. That's a recco if I ever heard one.
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