Blood Of The Vines - Bogie And Bacall

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, our wine pairings are paired with one of Hollywood’s finest pairings, Bogie and Bacall.

To Have and Have Not is based on Ernest Hemingway's book of the same title, although the country was changed to protect the innocent. Wartime Martinique, not Cuba, was the backdrop for this initial pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The paying public ate it up. It was a top ten grosser in 1944. Critics called it Casablanca II, but nobody ever says "We'll always have Vichy."

Bogie's character tries to stay out of politics, but he was living in a time when good people had to stand for something, lest they fall for anything. It's amazing how history repeats itself.

He turns his fishing boat into an escape pod for members of the French Resistance. That's an act of heroism akin to hiding Anne Frank in the attic, or walking away from Ingrid Bergman to form a beautiful friendship with a French cop. 

Located just outside Vichy is the Saint Pourçain region. Domaine des Berioles makes white wines from the rare Tressallier grape and chillable reds from Gamay. They run a Vichy drinker anywhere from $20 to $50. For the stateside drinker, there are several wineries in the Vichy Wine and Arts District of Napa. They could leave you thinking, "We'll always have Vacaville."

The Big Sleep has Bogie and Bacall in their 1946 noir splendor. Everyone in this movie is running from someone else, except of course hard-boiled private eye Philip Marlowe. He's probably the man you see when you look over your shoulder. 

Bogart makes murder and intrigue look about as hard as leaning against a wall and flipping a coin. Bacall sings "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" with just the right amount of hair-flip-I-don't-care. 

Try The Big Sleep Cocktail: cognac, champagne, sugar and a squeeze of lemon. I hear it's pretty good. But we need something a bit darker, don't we? Talbott's Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir brings the magic of the Santa Lucia Highlands to us for a bit less than $40 a bottle. That AVA name, Santa Lucia Highlands, always makes me want to hear "The Happy Wanderer" on bagpipes, even though I know it's in Monterey County.

Key Largo is a film noir from that genre's golden age, 1948. It's also the fourth and final film pairing of Bogie and Bacall. Bogie is a war hero who visits his dead buddy's family. It sounds like a dreadful time, what with the hurricane and all, but Lauren Bacall plays one of the family members. Things are looking up.

Edward G. Robinson is cast as a holed-up mobster who claims to be on a fishing trip. That story doesn't hold water for anybody.  It brings to mind the old joke that wraps up with, "You didn’t come here to fish, didja?"

Just the words Key Largo summon images of the film's tense standoff between Bogart and Robinson. Unfortunately, it also dredges up memories of the pop song that was far too popular for a solid stretch of 1981. Where were A Flock of Seagulls when we really needed them?

It may be hard to imagine a winery in the Florida Keys, but Key's Meads, on Key Largo, has mead for the adventurous. Mead is wine made with honey, and it's pretty tasty. Of course, it may be easier to get your hands on a Largo Ridge wine, from up around Ukiah, CA.

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Incredible White Wine From Alto Adige

If you have never tried a white wine from Italy's Alto Adige region, I don't know how that happened. But you need to fix it, pronto. The area has a focus on white grapes, with some 60% of the vineyards planted white. 

The 2022 Cantina Terlano Tradition Pinot Bianco is a full varietal wine, 100% Pinot Bianco grapes grown in the Alto Adige region in Italy's northern area, near the Alps. It was aged on its lees in steel tanks for six or seven months. Alcohol is a modest 13.5% abv and it sells for around $20. Mine was provided by a publicist. 

This wine has a pale yellow color with a greenish tint. The nose is amazing, full of minerality and salinity, with citrus, apple, and pear notes. The palate is loaded with minerals, too, and that beautiful, salty flavor. The acidity is invigorating, and the finish is lengthy. The winery suggests pairing with a wide variety of foods, including seafood, scampi, salads, even spaghetti carbonara. I had mine with a chicken salad sandwich, and again with some Rancho Gordo beans and rice. It was a great fit both ways.

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Unoaked Red Wine From Spain's Central Plateau

The Tempranillo grapes for the 2023 El Jefe were harvested from sustainably farmed family vineyards in the northern part of the central mesa, known as Castile-Leon. The wine was fermented in traditional cement vats, and it is unoaked, a rarity in Tempranillo wine. 

Unoaked red wines are always a joy for me to try, and this one is no exception. It reminds me of Beaujolais Nouveaux, but with some differences. The nose and palate are very earthy, not nearly as fruit-dominated as one might expect. The alcohol content is 12.5% abv and the price was $17 at Larchmont Wine, Spirits and Cheese in the Larchmont village portion of Los Angeles. It comes in a one liter bottle, and was imported by Vinos Libres Wine Merchants of New York City,

This wine is fairly dark colored and smells of blackberry fruit and tar. It’s not a very complex nose. The palate brings similar earth tones, very bold and dark, with none of the oak spice that generally finds its way into a red wine. The tannins are rather soft, but there is enough there to make it a decent pairing with a steak. If you have never tasted an unoaked red wine, it’s worth a $20 bill with some change back. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Remembering Lalo Schifrin

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 pay tribute to one of Hollywood's most memorable music men, Lalo Schifrin.

1967's Cool Hand Luke features an Oscar-nominated original score by Schifrin. He channeled Aaron Copeland for this masterpiece of movie music. One section of it lived on beyond the film, as the newscast theme for some ABC local stations. When royalties increased, copycats started issuing themes that "sounded like" Schifrin's work, while sidestepping the copyright.

At the beginning of Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman's character is drunk and pruning the head off a parking meter. As a result of his ill-advised adventure, Luke gets to join a group of men working in the fields. They don't get paid even a low wage. They live behind bars, work in chains and are watched over by a prison guard with mirror sunglasses and a shotgun. He's usually a bigger thug than the inmates. Think ICE agent.

I'm thinking it's jailbreak time. Make a run for the nearest wine tasting event and hang out near the media.  In your dirty, sweaty, tattered prison rags, you'll blend right in. While tasting, remember to sip, swirl and spit. Otherwise, what we have here is failure to expectorate.

The Prisoner is predominantly Zinfandel, with a chain gang of other grapes mixed in. This Dave Phinney favorite is one to take with you if you're going away for a long time.

Bullitt, from 1968, was a showcase for Steve McQueen and the Ford Mustang. When the talk turns to great chase scenes, the crazy pursuit through the streets of San Francisco usually dominates the conversation. Just how many hubcaps did that Mustang have?

Schifrin's jazzy score was re-recorded for the soundtrack album when the producers wanted to give it a "poppier" sound. Hmmf. A soundtrack album with the actual movie music didn't appear until 2009. That may seem like a tiny tidbit to you, but jazz aficionados can tell you what kind of sandwiches were ordered for the session from the deli down the street. 

Bulleit bourbon would be a great choice for Bullitt, if we were doing a bourbon and movies column. But we're not. Bullitt's Winery in Kentucky has reportedly closed, which is okay with me. I'm not inclined to do business with Kentucky at the moment. I will, however, do business with Escondido, where Cheval Winery lives. Their Bullet Cabernet Franc/Syrah/Merlot blend sells for $77. Don't drink and drive. Especially if you drive like Steve McQueen. 

The 1971 classic Dirty Harry was set in San Francisco. Schifrin's jazzy theme breathed life into the city that is forever linked with film noir, hard-boiled detectives and elusive murderers.

The tense music highlights our hard-boiled detective as he hunts down a psycho killer. Did people like Dirty Harry? You bet they did. It made their day. And it spawned four sequels, the mark of a Hollywood success. Schifrin also scored several of the ensuing entries in the Harry Callahan oeuvre.

The Pearl and Stone Wine Company makes a Snoqualmie Valley Syrah/Mourvèdre blend that's deep and dark, just like Dirty Harry. In fact, it's called Dirty Harry's. $45. Now, Washington state is a long way from Southern California. And you've gotta be asking yourself, "Will FedEx be able to deliver?" Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

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Kosher Chardonnay From Galilee

Not all kosher wines are suitable for Passover. Look for a "Kosher for Passover" designation on the label. That guarantees that the wine is free from chametz, or leavened ingredients. Recanati carries a kosher certification, ensuring all their wines are suitable for Passover and other Jewish holidays. 

The 2023 Recanati Galilee Chardonnay is hand-harvested from the high-altitude vineyards of Israel's Galilee region. The 100% Chardonnay grapes were taken from a single vineyard and aged eight months in French oak, on the lees. Alcohol hits 12.5% abv and the wine retails for $20.

This wine is pale yellow in the glass. The nose has lots of lemon, lime, and tropical aromas held together with minerals and a touch of salinity. The flavor package disappoints. Rather than bright, zingy fruit, we get a rather dull, savory palate. The taste of apricots does come through and the finish leaves traces of hazelnut. It is an odd wine, but not one that is completely off-putting. It pairs nicely with a plate of beans, but there are probably better choices. 

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