Blood Of The Vines - Night Frights

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 trio of films are not for those who are afraid of the dark. If you are, don't be scared of our wine pairing for each.

In 1972's The Night Stalker, Darren McGavin plays a newspaperman who has been around the block a few times. Kids, newspapers were actual paper publications which contained the news of the day, or night, as in this case. McGavin's Carl Kolchak was the star of this Movie of the Week, and later of the TV series Kolchak, The Night Stalker.

Our scribe finds himself on the police beat in Las Vegas, where showgirls are turning up dead, their blood drained from their bodies. Could it be a Vegas vampire? Most of the ones I've met worked the blackjack tables, where they sucked the bills from my wallet. Not that I'm a sore loser.

This case was handed to Kolchak by Metro, who wanted no part of the horrors they anticipated. If you want to find vampires, as the song says, the nighttime is the right time.

The Stalker Pinot Noir comes from Oregon's ROCO Winery. The name actually derives from the winemaker's time in Australia, where the grapevines are called stalks. You can stalk this Willamette Valley Pinot for $45, if you think you can stomach a big, bold Pinot Noir that isn't from California. If you have a problem with it, just call Kolchak.

Night Gallery was the 1969 pilot for the television program, hosted and partly written by Rod Serling. By the time Night Gallery appeared, times had changed enough that he no longer stared into the camera with a cigarette between his fingers.

The pilot - and the ensuing episodes - consisted of three segments, each of which was represented by an oil painting in the gallery. Serling delivered his introductions while standing before the paintings, like a macabre docent. One of the segments in this hour-and-a-half pilot film was the directorial debut of one Steven Spielberg. He went on to gain a bit of fame on his own.

While Serling's intros were delivered in much the same style as his oft-imitated Twilight Zone cadence, they seemed a bit threadbare in comparison. The tone of the show also had changed, from TZ's sci-fi slant to a more supernatural approach.

Let's find some really artsy wine labels for Night Gallery. Château Mouton Rothschild has commissioned genuine, real live, authentic painters to adorn some of their labels since 1945. Big names like Picasso, Dali and Hockney have splashed a little paint for the Rothschilds over the years. Unfortunately, you won't be able to pick up a bottle at Gil Turner's on the way home. They are sold at auction each year, for anywhere from four to 20 thousand dollars a case. I understand if you take a pass on this pairing suggestion. I know you have to budget for wine tariffs.

Nothing But the Night, from 1973, stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Here's where I pause to say "All hail the great Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!" That will keep my wife happy for another week. She's a big fan. 

This film flopped in its initial release, and the years have not been kind to it. It's set on a tiny Scottish island, which is about the best thing reviewers had to say about it. Cushing got some kudos for his performance, but everybody else in the cast was labeled a stiff. Even the fair amount of children in the movie got thrown under the bus as lifeless mannequins. 

To clarify, the kids didn't actually get thrown under a bus, but the bus driver surely won't ever hit that turn signal again. The kids go to a school for orphans, and the institution's trustees start dropping one by one. The movie tries to milk some real concern out of viewers, but the process of getting to the bottom of the mess of murders is where we may let our thoughts wander to what we have in the fridge that would be good to eat right now. Or what we may have in the wine rack that needs opening. 

Cushing reportedly suffered from nyctophobia when he was young. That's a fear of the dark. Go figure, huh? He cured himself by taking long walks, late at night. Ooh, scary. Napa Valley's Night Wines has a Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon with just a kiss of Merlot. Dracula fans will note that the midnight-y wine takes a bite out of your wallet, to the tune of $150. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Dead In The Water

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 three films about death in the murky depths. In the event of a water landing, the wine pairings may be used as life preservers.

Dead Calm is an Australian film from 1989. Great performances from Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, and Billy Zane keep the movie afloat, along with some great oceanographic cinematography. Kidman and Neill play a couple who are out cruising the world on their yacht to try and forget their troubles. Natch. Isn't that what everybody does?

Trouble paddles to their vessel in the form of a guy who says he abandoned a sinking ship where all the others died of food poisoning. A likely story. Hubby rows off to find the soon-to-be shipwreck and discovers that the other passengers didn't die from something they ate. Wifey and the stranger are alone on the yacht, staying busy trying to kill each other. What a vacation. 

The wine pairing for Dead Calm has to be Australian, and I've got the perfect bottle. I consulted AI for some help, and AI says that Penfolds Grange Shiraz "is a favorite choice for premium yacht experiences." Well, at $800 a bottle, it had better be considerably more premium than the yacht experience in Dead Calm. 

Don't put your credit card away just yet. We have another top shelf wine for the 1978 Jaws parody, Piranha. The Roger Corman production, directed by TFH chief guru Joe Dante, requires a wine that will take a bite out of the ol' paycheck.

While Jaws had only one fish - okay, it was a pretty big fish - Piranha has a whole school of the fanged demons chewing up the scenery, and anything else into which they can sink their teeth.  A Piranha attack is something which has fascinated me all my life, and apparently Dante was similarly taken with the idea of a bunch of fish picking a carcass clean.

You have to love the script's plan to kill the piranhas by opening up the waste tank at a smelting plant and preventing them from making it into the open water of the ocean.  It may be the only time in movie history that industrial waste was penned as the good guy.  Did the plan go awry and allow the killers to spawn a sequel?  Does a fish have teeth?

For those of us who like really good wine, and don't care how much we pay for it, try Sine Qua Non's Piranha Waterdance Syrah. I'm not on their mailing list, but I hear this wine sells in some places for a little under $300. Don't ask me how, but it sells in other places for $1,800. I would love to join their wine club, but my wife would throw me into a pool of piranhas if I did.

1955's It Came from Beneath the Sea features a giant octopus that was made radioactive by nuclear testing in the Pacific. Stop-motion genius Ray Harryhausen did the special effects. This big mollusc makes the best of his atomic-age misfortune, pulling ships underwater, eating unwary beachgoers, and attacking the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Those who fight giant radioactive creatures decide that an electrified fence in the ocean is the answer. What happens when you electrocute a giant octopus? That's right, you just make him mad. It's the Godzilla Syndrome. 

You don’t need me to tell you that everything works out well, for the humans. The threat is neutralized, the bridge is saved, and all the Italian restaurants in North Beach have a special on polpo that night. 

So, have a nice Vermentino. Stellato makes a great single-vineyard Vermentino from Sardegna. It has the smell of the ocean, the hallmark of a good Vermentino. And it sells for about $30. That's a screaming deal, coming after the first two wines in this article.

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Blood Of The Vines - Dungeons And Dragons

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 three films that breathe fire. And wine pairings to keep things cool.

Ridley Scott directed Legend in 1985, with a cast that features Tom Cruise, Tim Curry, and Billy Barty. Cruise plays a pure being, known as Jack in the Green, a forest child. Curry plays Darkness, and Barty plays Screwball. Now, that's diversity. 

The good guy has to keep the bad guy from enveloping the world in constant nighttime. Considering some of the things I've seen in broad daylight, I really can't decide which is worse. However, without this conflict, there's no movie. So let's press on.

There are goblins and unicorns and elves, oh my. Legend was an expensive movie, but that didn't make people like it. Ticket sales didn't quite recoup the $25 million budget. One film reviewer complained that writing his review was like remembering a bad dream. Well, Ridley Scott still had some juice left in him after this flop, so he was able to move on with his life very comfortably.

The collaborator for Legend Vineyard Exclusives Wines is Napa Valley's Raymond Vineyards. According to the sales pitch, they help LVE bring together classic elegance, rich complexity and modern soul. That's how the blurb reads, anyway. The Raymond vineyards are owned by Burgundian vintner Jean-Charles Boisset, and farmed biodynamically. The Legend part is musician John Legend.

LVE wines offer a $95 Cabernet Sauvignon and a $55 Chardonnay. There are other options if you'd like to spend less, or more. The wines are made with estate grapes from the Raymond Napa Valley property.

Now we find the real dark side of fantasy. Dragonslayer, from 1981, was co-produced by Paramount and Disney. Moviegoers who expected a Disney film were shocked, as Dragonslayer was a tad on the violent side and sported a bit of nudity. The version seen on The Disney Channel reportedly had two scenes removed out of family-friendly concerns.

Dragonslayer is a heaping helping of all that I don't like about medieval fantasies, dragons being chief among them. There is a wizard in this one who tries to convince someone that he has magical powers. He does this by asking to be stabbed. Guy runs a sword through him and he dies on the spot. In a game of "next guy up," the new wizard seems to have his mojo working properly. 

The film's special effects were pretty good, but not good enough to win an Oscar in a two-movie category. The dragon, Vermithrax, could have used a name that didn't sound like a pest control company. I could swear I saw a Vermithrax truck driving in my neighborhood last week. 

Former NBA star Yao Ming makes wine now in the Napa Valley. If he hands you a bottle of his Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon, does that count as an assist? Maybe, but there will no doubt be an asterisk next to it in the statistics book. If he does hand you a bottle, it will be because you crossed his palm with $98 to get some of that Year of the Dragon 2021 vintage.

The Sword and the Sorcerer was possibly one of the lowlights of 1982, as if 1982 needed any more lowlights. Wasn't MTV enough? Albert Pyun directed this, and many other, low budget films in the fantasy realm. Some people called him "the new Ed Wood," as if the old Ed Wood needed any competition.

Richard Moll, whom you may remember from TV's Night Court, played the role of Xusia of Delos, a sorcerer. There's no record of who played the sword, although there are plenty of cool blades around in this flick. Xusia lived on the beautiful vacation spot, Tomb Island, which must have been just east of Delos. It sounds like Tomb Island may have been at least as much fun as Martha's Vineyard. 

Pyun gave his best on The Sword and the Sorcerer. It was a pretty big hit, despite the lukewarm critical response. Who listens to movie critics anyway, huh?

Cinnabar Winery has a bit of Santa Cruz magic on their menu. Sorcerer's Stone is a $50 blend of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Poke around on their website to find a picture of a guy who looks to be ready for a game of D&D.

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Blood Of The Vines - You Otto Be In Pictures

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 three films directed by Otto Preminger, with a wine pairing for each.

1958's Bonjour Tristesse translates as "Hello, sadness," an odd title for a film set during summertime in the French Riviera. Good acting from Jean Seberg, Deborah Kerr and David Niven meets quality directing from the big O.

The title's dolor is juxtaposed against the summery south of France. Black clothes and heavy eye shadow might have been a nice touch, although leaning a bit heavily into Goth. There may be sadness, but it is summertime, after all. I mean, we haven't yet put away the white slacks and sundresses for the season. Could someone open another bottle of rosé I could cry into?

The setting screams for a rosé from Provence. Chateau de Peyrassol Côtes de Provence Rosé - They've been harvesting grapes in this section of Provence since 1256. That's the year, not the time of day. This antidote to sadness will set you back a paltry $24.

A hundred lawyers at the bottom of the ocean is said to be the definition of "a good start." Not that I have anything against lawyers. It's always good to have one on your side, especially if a different one is coming for you.

1959's Anatomy of a Murder finds Mr. Preminger at the helm of a courtroom drama which required him to go to court. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley banned the film for language he considered to be obscene. Otto sued, and hizzoner's censorship was overturned. The film gets a high rating from the American Bar Association as one of the best courtroom dramas ever made. Well, if my lawyer likes it, it must be good.

The story was "ripped from the headlines," based on a real-life murder trial in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where the movie was shot. A local lawyer beats a murder charge against his client with a twist on the insanity plea, but there are plenty more twists as the trial unfolds. Check out Duke Ellington's role in the movie, no doubt taking a break from his work in creating the score for the film. 

We need a killer wine for Anatomy. Come and gitcha red hots, right here. Napa Valley's Clif Family Winery has Kit's Killer Cab. It's actually Cabernet and Petite Sirah, so more's the better. It's an $85 wine from the people who bring you those Clif Bars you'll find if you scrounge around in your backpack. 

The Man with the Golden Arm gave us Frank Sinatra as a 1955 drug addict. It always seems unusual, that Sinatra later became so careful of his image, and here he is shooting up. To his credit, the character is trying to go straight. Upon his release from prison, he tries to get a job as a drummer. Oh, that should help him stay on the straight and narrow path. Hanging around with musicians is not one of the twelve steps.

Just when you think things might work out, here comes his old dealer. Aaaah, crap. Fix me. The company one keeps is the most important thing about changing those bad habits. Keep that in mind when you try to kick that morphine addiction.

L'Arge d'Or Wines of California's Central Coast combines the notion of a golden age with that of a big door. You can work on that while I drink up their Steakhouse Smoothy #1, a $45 blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, and Grenache. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Coming Of Age

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 three films about growing up, and a wine pairing for each.

From 2000 comes Our Song, written and directed by Jim McKay. He's not the Wide World of Sports Jim McKay, he's the film director Jim McKay. This movie may have fallen through the cracks for you, but it's worth a search. It garnered many accolades for its realistic depiction of what it's like to be a teenage girl in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. As it turns out, it's a lot like being a teenage girl anywhere in America.

McKay was told by everyone he talked to, that following up his previous young girl film with another one was career suicide. It wasn't. He has worked a lot since then, largely in television.

The perfect pairing for Our Song has to be a wine from the McBride Sisters Wine Company. They were the first black sisters to start a wine business. Their mantra has this film written all over it: "Go where you don't belong. Someday you will." They have a rosé, a Riesling and a red blend for $15 each. Their California sparkler is $25. 

1959's Blue Denim comes from a time in America when parents worried that their kids were sneaking into a pair of jeans on the way to school. Or worse, letting someone sneak into theirs on the way home. Blue denim trousers were the mark of troubled youth back then, only exceeded by black slacks and a ducktail. Heathens. 

Nothing says "coming of age" quite like an unplanned teenage pregnancy. Adults are made, not born. Throw in some talk of abortion and you have a genuine late-'50s potboiler. 

Denim by Beaubois is a good pairing here. From the Costieres de Nimes region of the Southern Rhône Valley, where the denim fabric was born, so they say. And who am I to argue? This Syrah/Grenache/Mourvèdre blend comes complete with a blue denim label for about $25. You can't get a good pair of jeans for that price. 

Bleak obsession drives the 1970 British-West German collaboration, Deep End. It's funny how bleakness seems to have popped up more in movies which required an international effort to produce. Unfortunately, that's about all that's funny here. The film's main setting is a bath house where swimming and less innocent things happen. The main character is a 15-year-old dropout who develops a crush on an older woman with whom he works. Right, he quickly gets in over his head.

Nelson Hill Winery has a line of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir which they call the Deep End, after the vineyard where the grapes are grown.  They say the wine is more beauty than brawn, which sets it apart from most other California Pinot Noirs. It sells for about $45.

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Blood Of The Vines - Coburn Is King

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 select wine parings for three movies that star James Coburn.

1967's In Like Flint is the sequel to the previous year's Our Man Flint. Both are spy movies, played for laughs. Coburn gives the sort of performance that captivated me as a preteenager. That experience was a great icebreaker when I found myself standing next to Coburn at a Hollywood after-party. I told him I wanted to be Derek Flint when I was younger. He turned his head to look at me. "Still do," I said. He flashed that incredible James Coburn smile as our respective friends came to collect their plus-ones. 

The masculine sexual overtones of the title, In Like Flint, give away the plot. A feminist movement threatens to oust the male population from its ruling capacity. Remember, this was 1967. Things are quite different now. Right?

The pairing for In Like Flint should be something flinty, if that's not too on the nose. A Chablis would be ideal. You can hardly go wrong with that as your ask at the wine store. If you feel more comfortable looking for an actual label, try a Chablis from Louis Jadot. That's about as reliable as it gets in the $20 range.

Coburn scored again in 1967 with The President's Analyst. When we think about the President having an analyst, our thoughts may go to "What analyst? I don't need an analyst! But if I did have an analyst it would be the biggest, most beautiful analyst the world has ever known." And probably blonde.

Although technically a psychiatrist, Adam Arkin's Stanley Keyworth on The West Wing is what I would like the President's analyst to be. Trustworthy, loyal, and loaded with sarcasm. And, able to solve your mental health problem in 42 billable minutes. 

Analyst runs a bit longer, but it doesn’t seem like it. Imagine the secrets an analyst to the president would have. Imagine how many people would like to get those secrets. Imagine the lengths someone would go to for that information. Coburn's character imagines all that, and more. His tangle with The Phone Company is the stuff of which nightmares are made. Of course, today we sweat out what Google knows about us.

Pairing a wine with James Coburn could be as easy as saying "Cockburn's Port." Of course, that works better when you actually say it instead of reading it in print. How about a wine called The Therapist? Imagine how I felt when that fell into my lap. Slate Theory makes the white blend of Muscat Blanc and Muscat Canelli in the Texas Hill Country. $32 gets you well.

Hard Times was Walter Hill's 1975 debut as a director. The film not only has Coburn, but Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, and Strother freaking Martin. The names look great on a marquee or a one-sheet, and the performances are fantastic.

The Depression-era, bare knuckles streetfighter portrayed by Bronson fit right in with Coburn's hustler, a guy by the name of Speed. The south Louisiana setting worked well and critics liked the film enough to scrawl out some kind words about it. The general public was even kinder, giving up their hard-earned dollar bills to see it. 

How could we not enjoy a good ol' Temecula wine with Hard Times, particularly when it is a Bare Knuckle Malbec? Wiens Cellars has it for $65. Don't sell Temecula short. There are some high quality wines being made in Riverside County.

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Blood Of The Vines - Horse Sense

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 concentrate on the neighsayers with wine pairings for three thoroughbred films. Giddyup!

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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Blood Of The Vines - Still More Movies You Never Heard Of

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 dig way down in the digital streaming stack once again, for three films that may have gotten past you unnoticed. There will be wine pairings, too.

People who know me know better than to ask me about wine.  They know that one simple question will ensnare them in a conversation that lasts too long and ends up putting them to sleep.  It's the same with movie aficionados. They always end up talking about movies that were seen by only twelve people in a limited opening in Sherman Oaks.  My kind of people. 

2018's Little Forest tells the story of a woman in Seoul who gives up on her dream of becoming a teacher and moves back to the small South Korean village where she grew up. It may sound like a thin nail on which to hang a whole movie, but it's one of those feel-good films that actually works. 

She returns home to find that Mom is gone, but the memories of the "little forest" of ways she showed her love are still there. A couple of her childhood pals remain, too. One of them has also given up the struggle of the big city, while the other is striving for bigger and better, right there in their tiny town. That's worth a toast, I would say.

Well, whattaya know? A winery named Little Forest. Let's call off the search right there. I mean, owner Atsuko Radcliffe was the first female winemaker in Japan, and now she is seeking fame and fortune in Australia. Who knows when she might go back home to play with her ol' school chums? She has a bunch of Shiraz wines for sale at around $40.

The 2019 sci-fi Vivarium takes perhaps the bleakest view of child-rearing ever seen in a movie. The story involves a couple who are taken to live in a certain house and forced to raise a certain child who was left on their porch. Any parent will tell you, it's a job raising a kid. In this case, it is an actual j-o-b, from which they cannot escape. No amount of "mommy wine" can help. And in the end, he never calls, he never writes….

The temptation is to pair any old cheap, box-wine Chardonnay with Vivarium, but maybe we won't treat "mommy wine culture" so casually. It is, basically, functioning alcoholism, after all.  

Let's cheat a bit and call on Domaine Parent for a nice Chardonnay - I mean a really nice Chardonnay. It comes in a glass bottle and everything. And "Parent" is Jacques Parent's name, en Français, so it's "pair ONT." A bottle of his Grand Cru white Burgundy will have you unfolding a Benjamin, but he has a good $20 Chardonnay as well.

Box of Moonlight hit theater screens in 1996, and most people likely did not see it coming. They didn't see it going, either. They just didn't see it. Those that did see it are a cult of a precious few, a cult apparently headed up by the film's director.

The comedy/drama centers on a man who decides to kill a few days on his way home from a business trip by visiting a lake he knew as a child. This sort of Tomfoolery is quite out of character for him. For this variance from the norm, he is rewarded with a new take on life and maybe fewer rats in the rat race. 

Sonoma County's Chateau St. Jean Winery has moonlight that comes in a bottle, not a box. Moonlight Malbec is a reserve wine from their collection and it sells for $85.

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Blood Of The Vines - April Fools

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 celebrate April First with a trio of foolish flicks and wine pairings to match.

I'll Never Forget What's'isname is a 1967 British comedy. You know it's British because the letter "H" in the title is replaced by an apostrophe. That's also how you know it's a comedy. 

Leonard Maltin summed it up in three words: "Excellent comedy drama." All the other critics used far more verbiage, calling it overwrought, dated, muddled, pessimistic, heavy-handed. I could go on, but we've all paid too much attention to negative reviews already, haven't we?

Orson Welles gets fairly high billing for a part that barely used up any celluloid and Oliver Reed chops up the place, literally, as an ad man who makes Don Draper seem like a milquetoast. 

The wine pairing for What's'isname is a wine which actually has no name. Like the Horse With No Name. Or the Man With No Name. Borgogno's 2020 Barolo failed an Italian taste test and was declassified to Nebbiolo. In protest, the winery slapped "No Name" on the label. Which means that's actually the name, I guess. It sells for $50 online. For that price, I'd expect a name. 

The Private Lives of Adam and Eve came out in 1960, a time when things were just looking up for America. Elvis was wrapping up a tour of duty, Kennedy was preparing to beat Nixon's perspiring upper lip, and The Flintstones were about to become the modern stone-age family.

Mickey Rooney co-directed this film with Albert Zugsmith, who probably should have called himself What's'isname, except the film wasn't British. Rooney also tackled the role of Satan, which is how you know it's a comedy.

It's a film about paradise, which seems to be set in purgatory. A busload of people are headed to Reno, the across-the-border name for Lake Tahoe, where people in movies went to get divorced. The lead couple, Mamie Van Doren and Martin Milner, end up dreaming that they're in the Garden of Eden. The biggest temptation they faced might have been to get off this picture. But, their per diems were already doled out, so they stayed and ate from the honey wagon.

It's not a bad way to waste an hour and a half, but don't expect a major skin show just because the Catholic Legion of Decency condemned it. 

Paradise Springs Winery is in Santa Barbara County. They also have an operation in Virginia, making them one of the only bicoastal wineries. They pick fruit from some well respected vineyards, and bottles start at $35.

With James Garner starring, you know it's a comedic western about to happen. Sure enough, in 1969's Support Your Local Sheriff, Garner's sharp shooter character becomes the sheriff of a gold rush town that is held in check by a rich family that charges a toll to use the only road in and out of town. Hey, it's nothing but dirt everywhere you look. Just make a new road! But no, that would leave us with a movie only 17 minutes long and not very interesting. 

Garner's touch with the western motif was a gift, so much so that in The Rockford Files it was disappointing to see his home surrounded by beach sand instead of desert.

This film features a great supporting cast. The likes of Walter Brennan, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern, and Harry Morgan are worth the investment of 90 minutes and $4 to rent the flick on your local iPad. 

Shadow Ranch, in the Sierra Foothills, has a red blend they call The Sheriff. As in "Support Your Local Sheriff," "There’s a new sheriff in town," and "Y'all drive careful now, heah?" The blend is Syrah, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache, all for $23. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Richard Chamberlain

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 salute another great actor who has shuffled off this mortal coil. Use our wine pairings to raise a glass to Richard Chamberlain. 

The Last Wave is a 1977 Australian thriller directed by Peter Weir. No introduction needed, but he gets one anyway. Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness, Dead Poets Society. Those are some great films in Weir's resumé. Chamberlain's acting chops lifted Wave to the level of those movies. 

He plays a lawyer who represents a group of Aboriginal people accused of murder. Chamberlain's attorney keeps having dreams about water and death. It sounds like a music video from MTV’s early days, right? The solicitor keeps feeling a connection between himself and the indigenous people, one that proves to be stronger than an attraction to didgeridoo music. 

If you have the bucks for a bottle of Penfolds, don’t let us stop you. Fourth Wave Wine is Australian, too, and more affordable. They actually have wines from five other countries as well. Their Tread Softly rosé plants an Australian Native Tree for every six-pack sold. Be aware they also have an alcohol-free rosé with a similar name.

Ken Russell directed 1971's The Music Lovers, one of his films about classical composers. If you're wondering how Russell got a major movie studio to fund a film about Tchaikovsky, here's how. He told them it was a story about a homosexual who fell in love with a nymphomaniac. There's no word on how he managed to get the others made.

The Music Lovers was so abused by the critics you'd have thought they were all relatives of the composer. "Tedious," "grotesque," "perverse" and "wretched excesses" were just a few of the epithets hurled at Russell's film, and those were from the critics who liked it.

Chamberlain had a lot to work with while shaping his take on the music man. Tchaikovsky's mental condition was ruined at an early age when he watched his mother get boiled alive. It was thought to be a cure for cholera. Well, it cured it, alright, with the unfortunate side effect of no longer being alive. Tchaikovsky himself died of cholera after he purposely drank contaminated water. Apparently, by this time, boiling was no longer thought to be an effective cure.

The movie is very light on dialogue, so Chamberlain gets to cut loose with his physical performance. There are lots of facial expressions to convey emotion. Y'know, ACTING!

For a complicated guy like Tchaikovsky, who made some pretty complicated music - how about a nice, complicated Pinot Noir? Melville's Estate Pinot comes from the Sta. Rita Hills part of Santa Barbara County. It is a rich, complex and elegant Pinot which will pair perfectly with Tchaikovsky's music - and hopefully with Russell's vision of it.

The 1973 version of The Three Musketeers stars Chamberlain alongside fellow musketeers Michael York, Oliver Reed and Frank Finlay. Also appearing in Richard Lester's swashbuckle with a chuckle are Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Lee and Spike Milligan. Gee, it's too bad the movie was so light on star power. 

Chamberlain plays Aramis to the hilt. He and the other actors and crew were livid when the producers decided to split the long film into two shorter ones, resulting in the sequel, The Four Musketeers. SAG saw to it that future contracts would prevent that sort of bait-and-switch, two-for-one shenanigan. 

Y. Rousseau Wines has the unusual Tannat grape as the star of The Musketeer. The grapes came from the Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino County. It’s a $50 wine.

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Blood Of The Vines - Pacino

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 chew up some scenery with three films starring Al Pacino. Also, say hello to my little wine pairings for each movie.

I once took a picture of Al Pacino into a hair salon and told the stylist that I wanted to look like that. She said, "I'm a stylist, not a freaking magician." I just meant the haircut, lady. Anyway, if I were an actor, I'd ask to have a signature line of dialogue like Al Pacino. Nobody overdoes it better. 

Pacino had a memorable line in 1979's And Justice for All. "You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order!" Everybody got to break that one out well into the '80s, lawyer or not. Norman Jewison directed the courtroom caper, which comes off like Perry Mason on steroids.

And look at the supporting cast: Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Jeffrey Tambor, Craig T. Nelson, Lee Strasberg. Hey, was Strasberg Forsythe's acting coach for Bachelor Father? Thomas Waites was in it, I have all his albums. Oh, wait. Waites. Not Waits. Sorry, I got carried away there. I was out of order. The whole article is out of order!

Justice Wines of Napa Valley will do nicely here. Their Jurisprudence Cabernet has a name so long that it's broken up by a hyphen on the label. If you're planning on buying Justice for all, be forewarned that it runs about $200 a bottle. And that's before any billable hours get tacked on.

Sidney Lumet directed Pacino in Serpico in 1973. Apparently, no one associated with casting this movie ever said "That shrimp never gets the part!" Even critics who panned the film overall thought that people should plunk down their $1.76 to see it just for Pacino's performance. The cost of a movie ticket in 1973 was $1.76. Adjusted for inflation, that's more than ten bucks in today's money. Have you paid to see a movie lately? Forget corrupt cops. It's the corrupt concession stands we need to investigate. 

In Blake Edwards’ S.O.B., a cop comes to the door to bust up a party. He ends up pitching a story idea to a producer, because he's got some great stories from being a cop. "And none of that Serpico crap, either." I’ll take some of that Serpico crap any day. "We do not wash our own laundry. It just gets dirtier."

Feudi di San Gregorio has a single vineyard Aglianico wine called Serpico. That suits me just fine. Get out $70 and party like it's 1973.

Serpico worked so well, Lumet decided to do it again in 1975, when he helmed Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon. This was the film version of the 1972 attempted bank robbery in Brooklyn. If you think art imitates life, you are correct. Dog Day Afternoon was taken from a Life magazine story about the botched robbery.

Pacino's big line from Dog Day is "Attica! Attica!" The line was reportedly improvised by Pacino. A journalist who covered the heist remarked that the script presented Pacino's character as being more rational than he really was. 

The crime was a drawn-out drama on a hot August afternoon, one that had decent intentions behind it. Some of the loot was supposed to go to a sex change operation. But dumb criminals are high on every cop's wish list. Sometimes you're not arrested for the crime, just for being dumb enough to get caught doing it.

Pheasant Run Wine is in Oregon, but they make some of their wines with grapes from Walla Walla, Washington. Bank Robber Red is what they call a criminally good blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. If it's a blazing hot late summer day, try their Heist Sauvignon Blanc while you lay low waiting for the heat to blow over.

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Blood Of The Vines - Scared Of The Dark

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 trio of films is for those who sleep with a nightlight on. Don't worry, we have wine pairings for each movie. And, we'll leave the light on for you.

Darkman, from 1990, was directed by Sam Raimi and starred Liam Neeson as a scientist who was severely burned in an explosion. In true superhero fashion, he hides his disfigured face and seeks revenge on those who took his good looks away from him. He hangs out in his new favorite place, The Dark.

The scientist happened to be working on developing synthetic skin for burn victims at the time, so chalk one up for synchronicity. "Hey, I could really use this stuff. Wish it was good in the daylight, too."

Dark Horse Wine's Double Down Red Blend is as dark in the bottle as it is on the label. Those molasses and dark chocolate notes will leave you quaking if you're scared of the dark. Fortunately, the alcohol level is high enough to get a good buzz going halfway through your second glass. It's cheap, too. 

The 2012 big screen version of Dark Shadows had an interesting cast. Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Helena Bonham Carter were in it, leaving us to wonder how Johnny Depp got the part since he only has two names. Jonathan Frid, who played the vampire Barnabus Collins in the TV series, had a cameo in the movie. By the way, he died just before the film was released, and the movie's producer passed away just afterward. Talk about dark.

I remember hating the hour when Dark Shadows the TV show was on. My sister loved it, and I simply couldn't take the low production value. Yeah, I was a snotty teenager. I don’t remember what was on the two other channels at that time, but it must have been good programming. The only times I fought with my sister were over what to watch on the only TV set we had in the house.

Wine pairing often pits the sweet against the savory. Barnabus Collins is definitely not sweet, so let's pour St. Barnabus Commandaria for Dark Shadows. It's a dessert wine from Cyprus, and it’s nice and sweet, the perfect counterpoint to the dark shadow cast by the vampire Barnabus.

1971's Daughters of Darkness serves up horror with something for everyone: vampires, an old hotel, a man with a weird mom, straight razors, and a side order of eroticism. Did you ever have the feeling that you'd seen someone before, but didn't really want to remember them? That's this movie.

Horror scribes have ranked it in their top 100 horror films, although down towards the end of that list. Considering how many horror films have been made, perhaps that's a reasonable achievement. Some folks like the movie's score, from François de Roubaix. As an added slice of darkness, actor John Karlen also played several roles in the TV version of Dark Shadows. Hey, if you're doing something you love, it's not really a job. 

Opaque Wines of Paso Robles invite you to "taste the darkness," so, why not? Their Darkness wine is made from Zinfandel, Primitivo, Petite Sirah, and Petit Verdot grapes. Primitivo is basically the Italian version of Zin, but that's just those crazy Paso Roblians for ya. It's about $30 to taste a bottle of Darkness.

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Blood Of The Vines - Psychotic Breaks

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  This week, Let's get crazy. Let's get nuts. Let's pair wine with some films from the fringe.

From the crazy '60s, 1969 actually, Coming Apart stars Rip Torn as a psychiatrist with mental problems. Physician, heal thyself. Good luck, with that hidden camera in your spare apartment.

Released with a rating of X due to the explicit sex scenes, one critic called it pornography for intellectuals, which is what I thought Playboy magazine was when I was a teenager. Oh, I only bought it for the cartoons.

Baccio Divino has the perfect wine for this theme. The label is perfect, at least. The strange Italian red blend is called Pazzo, which means "crazy." So, call me crazy, but I think mixing Dolcetto with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Merlot, and Petit Verdot is brilliant.

Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me holds a special place in my heart. Clint plays a cool radio deejay in Carmel. I, too, was a deejay, and figured if I was good enough at it, I would someday drive a sports car on Highway 1 and do my show on tape so I could come and go as I pleased. The downside: women with knives.

I never got the sports car on Highway 1 and I spent many long hours chained to a microphone. On the other hand, I never got stabbed.

Eastwood was once the mayor of Carmel, so a Monterey wine would be appropriate.  He told interviewers that he preferred to drink Chardonnay, so let’s grab one from Bernardus, which has several good Chards in the 30 to 50 dollar range.

The 1976 slasher pic Alice, Sweet Alice was directed by Alfred Sole, a guy whose previous film got him charged with obscenity and excommunicated in the state of New Jersey. Who knew Jersians could get so upset over a movie? Eddie and the Cruisers 2, anyone?

Brooke Shields debuts here and glides into a career in film'n'fashion, where the wine, bubbles and sometimes tequila flow like a fire hydrant. Brooke now says she has a glass of water for every drink. I knew a guy who claimed to "run a mile for every one of these," as he held up a Rob Roy. I always imagined him running a marathon before work each day.  

Alice, Sweet Alice had several different titles, one of which was Communion. Is Alice, Sweet Alice an indictment of the church, child abuse, the death of the family, or psychiatry? Have fun guessing, while I focus on the wine. 

Fat Bastard's Bloody Red is a French Grenache/Merlot/Syrah blend that's perfect for a slasher movie. Really marketed for Halloween, it works here as well. It only costs about $10.

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Blood Of The Vines - Gene Hackman, R.I.P.

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 honor another great who has gone to the great hereafter. We have wine pairings, too, of course.

Gene Hackman passed away at the age of 95, leaving a lot of questions unanswered at the time I'm writing this. He also left behind some great movies, including Oscar fodder like The French Connection, Unforgiven and Bonnie and Clyde. Picking three of his films was not easy, but not because the pickings were slim.

Hackman made five films in 2001, but The Royal Tenenbaums topped the list. Directed by Wes Anderson, Tenenbaums stars Hackman as an absentee father of three adults he hasn't seen since they were teenagers. They were child prodigies who peaked too soon. His character tries to churn up some familial love by claiming to be dying. Well, we're all dying, aren't we? It's just a matter of time. The best we can hope for is a good epitaph.

Let's name-check a wine for The Royal Tenenbaums. Covenant Wines makes kosher wine, inspired by the wines of Rabbi Elchonon Tenenbaum in Napa. He likes the Zinfandel, but Covenant carries an entire line of kosher wines that taste good. 

Prime Cut was a dark 1972 glimpse of the underbelly of the underworld in the American Midwest. Director Michael Ritchie - before Bad News Bears - manages to juxtapose the sex trade with slaughterhouses, and it doesn't seem like that much of a reach. Anyhow, Hackman plays a miscreant meatpacker against Lee Marvin's mob muscle. 

For some reason, the scene that stuck in my seventeen-year-old mind was Marvin looking over Hackman as he tore through a hideous looking plate of food. "You eat guts," says Marvin. Hackman replies, with a mouthful of food, "Yeah. I like 'em." Then Marvin blocks the plate and says "Talk now, eat later." The scene leaves me with mixed feelings about sausage.

We will want a wine for Prime Cut which pairs nicely with midwestern beef. You may opt for a Napa Cab - nothing wrong with that choice if you are afraid to branch out. I'll go out on a limb for Zinfandel without any prompting. Beekeeper Zinfandel hails from Sonoma County and will face off against any Cab, anytime. And, people who wear labcoats to work say red wine is not only good with guts, but also good for your gut. As long as you don't drink too much of it. Cheers.

1974's The Conversation examines how the teller tells the tale, and how the listener chooses to hear the information. Hackman plays a nerdy audio guy who listens in on other people's conversations for a living. One conversation reveals a murder plot, and he pulls off the headphones to try and stop it from happening. Of course, when you start really listening, you can notice things you didn't notice before. 

My own career spanned more than a few years working in and around audio. At one radio station, we recorded all phone calls on the request line, in case something happened that we could use on the air. We used birthday wishes, anniversary dedications, and the like. Pretty tame stuff. Then, there was the guy who threatened to come to the station and cut out my heart with a pair of scissors if I didn't play "Free Bird." Hackman's audio guy would love to listen to that one over and over.

I have it on good authority (some guy posting on Instagram) that Hackman liked the Chardonnay of Pouilly-Fuissé. I don't see anything wrong with that. André the Giant liked it, too. Reportedly. Hospices de Beaune makes a good one that starts at more than a Benjamin. Louis Jadot makes a good one for a fraction of the price.

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Blood Of The Vines - Yet More Movies You Never Heard Of

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  This week, another theme without a theme. We throw out the Strunk and White guide book to bring you wine pairings for yet more movies you never heard of.

Pale Flower is a 1964 Japanese film noir, directed by Masahiro Shinoda. The film follows a gangster who meets a woman at a gambling room. She's that girlfriend who is a lot of fun, but is also a dead end street. "Danger, Will Robinson! Run, don't walk!"

Well, our gangster doesn't run, he doesn't even walk. He is attracted by this thrill-seeker, who drags him into her world of ever-increasing risk. Is it fun? You bet it is. Is it advisable? Hell to the no. 

Be forewarned that Pale Flower has plenty of blooms that may upset a viewer. Crime, prison, sex, cold-blooded murder… everything a good film noir needs is there. All we need now is some booze to wash it down.

Grab a bottle of Pale Flowers for Pale Flower. It's a Grenache rosé from Paso Robles' Linne Calodo, pale enough to pass as Provençe.

The 1992 documentary, Baraka, takes us on a trip around the world without any narration or explanation. The visuals carry the load. We go from Big Sur to a coal mine, from the pyramids to a waterfall, from Tiananmen Square to the Vatican. It's a travelogue with just the travel, no logue. The images shown in Baraka are striking enough that words are superfluous. 

Although your inner gangster may opt for whiskey, neat, you are probably adventurous enough to seek out the namesake Croatian wine for Baraka, produced across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.  The Baraka Prisbus Riserva is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend that's been in the cellar for three years and sports a very conservative label, no pictures.

Our third seldom seen film is from 2002, My Beautiful Girl, Mari. This Korean animation feature tells the story of one boy's summertime and his growth over that span. For me, that pivotal summer was after 6th grade. The sweet object of my affection that year turned up in 7th grade as a street-smart, gum-cracking wiseass. "Time to grow up, Ran. They're leaving you behind." Oh, she was still the object of my affection, only now she was sexy, too.

Mari shows our struggling hero coping with his troubles in a dream world where the sweet don't chew gum and nobody leaves anybody. How nice that must be.

Mari Vineyards is the namesake choice for a wine pairing. Hard to find, it's located in northern Michigan. Harder to understand, they grow Italian grape varieties, like Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, instead of the usual cold-climate stuff. Is this, too, a dreamscape? 

 

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Blood Of The Vines - The Days Of Quine And Roses

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 pair wines with three worthwhile films from director Richard Quine.

Operation Mad Ball is a military farce from 1957. Quine had some great actors in this film. Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Mickey Rooney, Arthur O’Connell, Dick York, James Darren, and an uncredited Mary Tyler Moore in her first screen role. He also had Blake Edwards as a co-writer. 

The film takes place at a U.S. Army hospital in France. A big dance is planned, the titular Mad Ball, in an effort to keep post-WWII morale high. A nosy captain who plays everything strictly by the book does everything he can to screw morale into the ground. Isn't that a captain’s job?

More was made of the army hospital scenario in M*A*S*H, on big screens and small, but perhaps 1957 was "too soon" for a comedy about Korea.

It’s just the right time, however, to pair a Quine movie with a wine that has his name on all over it. Domaine Le Quine is in the exquisite southern Rhône Valley. Their Saint Mark's Cross is a GSM blend, heavy on the Grenache and light on the Syrah, with Mourvèdre in the middle. 

Kim Novak and James Stewart may have been feeling a bit dizzy from Vertigo when they teamed up, again, less than a year later for Bell, Book and Candle. This 1958 romantic comedy is set in Manhattan, during the Christmas season.  Quine spins the story around a subculture of witches there. He also lets Jack Lemmon take off with a bongo solo in the local witch and warlock hangout.

Witches aside, it is a beautifully shot movie and makes a great way to kick off the holiday season, if you don't concentrate too much on the meaning of the title.  A bell, book, and candle are used in excommunication rites, so linking that imagery with the Christmas season may seem a bit Grinchly.

Because of the feline costar of Bell, Book and Candle, Pyewacket became a popular name for cats.  Apparently, cats are closely bonded to witches - chalk up one more reason to be a dog person.  

Carlsbad, California's Witch Creek Winery, is loaded for bear in the cat department. Le Chat Blanc would seem to be the white witch, while Screaming Kitty, their 2008 Proprietary Red blend, features Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Primitivo. Their Chateau Neuf Du Cat screams sour cherry and a puff of smoke. Let us know if a witch appears when you open the bottle. It sells for $23 and is available only through the winery.

Hotel is the 1967 adaptation of Arthur Hailey’s bestseller. Quine directed with stellar performances from the likes of Rod Taylor, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy and Michael Rennie.

There’s a lot going on at the fashionable St. Gregory Hotel. The property is losing money like a degenerate gambler, there's a burglar getting into the guest rooms, the hotel detective is dirty and the elevator is on its last legs. Stir in some sex and corporate intrigue and you have a recipe for a good two hours of entertainment.

Considering all the troubles that arise in the film, it’s no wonder the hotel had a permanently lit “VACANCY” sign out front. One note if your stay there is going well: don't take the elevator.

Wine and hotels go together like wine and cheese. In fact, if your hotel doesn’t have an evening wine tasting hour to remove the edge from a day of complete relaxation, find another travel agent. Temecula’s South Coast Winery even has a spa, and they’re pretty big in the wedding business, too. If you’re okay drinking some f&%$#ing Merlot, they have a nice one for $40. They even show off their terroir with a Tempranillo-Monastrell blend and a Touriga Nacional. Beat that, Napa Valley. 

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