Not Government Wine

My friendly neighborhood publicist informs me that the San Francisco 49ers are the oldest professional sports team in the Bay Area.  They were founded in 1946 by San Francisco native Tony Morabito and have provided countless unforgettable plays along with five Lombardi Trophies for their fans.  This year, the scrapbook is missing one game, but there is something in which they can drown their sorrows.

The Federalist brand - a Terlato wine - is the "preferred wine sponsor of the San Francisco 49ers," according to my publicist friend.  The PR department promises that The Federalist, a Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon, pairs well with "any tailgate specialty."  We can only assume that the promise is good even if the tailgates aren't on norcal trucks.

The 2017 Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon was reportedly created to honor the man who many consider to be the first American, Ben Franklin.  Franklin was a passionate man who helped draft the Declaration of Independence, campaigned for colonial unity during the American Revolution and they say he liked his wine.  His likeness appears on the label.  Their other wines feature George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, the Statue of Liberty and the bald eagle.  The winery bills itself as "America's craft wine."

The Federalist is a bold blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, with splashes of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Sangiovese.  Aging took place over 15 months, in 35% new French oak.  Alcohol hits a moderate 13.5% abv and the retail price is a reasonable $18.

This wine is medium dark in color and has dark notes on the nose - plums, blueberries, cassis.  The oak aspect of the aromas is not overpowering, but it is definitely there.  The palate tastes somewhat sweet, with fruit and oak spice showing right up front.  A savory angle comes in later - forest floor and minerals, mostly.  The tannins are workable, but not overbearing.  This wine won't make Napa vintners run scared, but it is a pleasant bottling and a pretty good everyday wine. 

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Blood Of The Vines - The Devil You Say

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  This week, the devil made us do it.

The Devils is a 1971 British film taken from actual events of the 17th century - ripped from the headlines of a French gazette, if you will.

Urbain Grandier was a Catholic priest accused of calling up evil spirits to possess a group of nuns.  This may seem far-fetched by today's standards, but I have friends who went to Catholic school and they think it's pretty much on the nose for the nuns who served as their teachers.

Spoiler alert here - Grandier was tried for witchcraft, found guilty and burned at the stake.  But these days people think he was railroaded by Cardinal Richelieu.  A French cardinal as the bad guy?  Hey, it worked for Alexandre Dumas. 

If you think that a movie which puts violence and sex in a religious setting sounds like a job for Ken Russell, award yourself ten bonus points and skip right to the wine pairing.  Russell wrote the screenplay and directed the film.

San Antonio Winery was the only Los Angeles wine producer to survive the thirteen year torment we now call Prohibition.  They did it by grabbing a loophole by the lapels and making sacramental wine for churches.  They have a much broader appeal today and still base their operation on Lamar Street, just across the tracks from the L.A. River.

We shall now remain in 1971 for another British scary story.  The Blood on Satan's Claw has 18th century England as its setting.  A farmer digs up a skull with fur on it and, well, you know how teenagers get when something like that happens.  All of a sudden it's devil this and fur that.  They can't wait to get over to the abandoned church and call up some furry evil.

Townsfolk start growing claws - furry claws, of course - until it starts to look like a bad night at Red Lobster.  Some deaths occur throughout the tale, as you might expect, and the farmer - remember him? - finds his leg has grown fur.  It's a regular epidemic.  Sure hope someone with a sword gets involved, and fast.

This pairing gets a little too deep into devil imagery for my comfort level, but here goes.  The Wine of Satan - Vinnum dei Satanas - is a Greek Syrah sold by an outfit that likes heavy metal music at least as much as they like wine, probably more.  A bottle will run a man 30 euros, and it's almost as much to have it shipped from Greece. 

Satan Met a Lady was a 1936 adaptation of The Maltese Falcon, sandwiched five years apart between the two other versions of the Dashiell Hammett detective yarn.  This one had no Sam Spade, no falcon, nothing from Malta and a different title.  It did have Bette Davis, however, and you'll have to guess whether she's the devil or the lady.

Davis hated the film, telling Mr. Warner in no uncertain terms that she would not appear in it.  After a few days without pay, though, she returned to the soundstage and resumed working.  You know, mortgage payments on a mansion were high in Los Angeles even back then.  The critics of the day mainly figured that the cast should be put into a witness protection program.

The Velvet Devil Merlot comes from Washington's Charles Smith Wines.  The velvet is smooth, but the pitchfork is gonna leave a mark.  Despite the rather cheesy label, the wine is actually pretty good.

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A Big Value Wine From Spain

The value wine Borsao comes from Aragon, Spain, which the winery labels as "the birthplace of Garnacha."  The Campo de Borja D.O. in northeastern Spain is where these Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes originated.  Borsao is actually a cooperative, encompassing some 375 winegrowers who contribute to the greater effort.

I discovered Borsao a number of years back, when it was my go-to $5 wine.  Everyone else adopted it as such, and so its popularity grew, along with its price.  Now it's everyone's favorite $10 wine.  Borsao also makes a wonderful Garnacha called Tres Picos.

The separate grapes for Borsao were fermented in stainless steel tanks before being blended.  There is no notation from the winery on aging, except to say that they use new and neutral oak "moderately to tame and add complexity to the wines, rather than impose its presence."  Alcohol sits at 14.5% abv and my bottle was $8 on sale at one of my local grocers.

This is a very dark wine, and its nose comes through with lush blackberry and plum aromas, draped in a savory earthiness.  The palate brings that dark fruit along with a strong sense of minerality.  The acidity is racy, while the tannins are firm but not too forceful.  I cooked with it, but also enjoyed a glass or two in the process. 

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Bubbles From Italy - Valdo Prosecco

Bubbles are often leaned on for special occasions, to make them more special - remember New Year's Eve?  You shouldn't need any help making Valentine's Day more special, but if you do, try something bubbly.  Let’s say you've already broken the bank on a gift for your sweetheart, and you need bubbles that are a little more reasonably priced than Champagne, but still festive and fun.  Meet Prosecco, Italy's favorite sparkling wine.

Valdo was founded in 1926, in Italy's Veneto region, the town of Valdobbiadene, then bought by the Bolla family in 1938.  Winemaker Gianfranco Zanon makes some really nice Prosecco there.

Valdo Marca Oro Brut Prosecco DOC  

This wine was made from 100% Glera grapes, grown in the Prosecco DOC in Veneto, in the northeastern part of Italy.  Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and the wine got three months of Charmat aging, one month in the bottle.  Alcohol is at the typical 11% abv and the retail price is $15.

The fine bubbles sit on the straw-yellow wine and dissipate rather quickly.  The nose gives aromas of apples, candied apricots and peaches.  The palate offers delicious citrus, apple and mineral flavors, with a hint of custard on the finish.  Delightful. 

Valdo Marca Oro Prosecco DOC Rosé

A mix of 90% Glera and 10% Pinot Noir grapes, this Prosecco Rosé has a lovely pink hue and persistent perlage, those tiny bubbles.  Alcohol is no higher than 11% abv, while the retail price is $15.

This pink bubbly shows nice, fine bubbles and offers a beautiful nose of cherry, strawberry, pear, apple and a hint of citrus.  The palate carries those same fruit flavors, with a bit more lemon than on the nose.  The acidity is perfectly juxtaposed against the wine's sweetness.  Have it with anything, but it will pair best with Mediterranean dishes. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Sidney Poitier Week

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 the recently departed actor Sidney Poitier.

I opened the door to my home and heard my wife crying.  Out loud.  As she is not one who finds herself openly weeping all that often, I was concerned.  With tears streaming down her face she said, "Sidney Poitier died."  She did not know him personally, had never met him, but, for her, it was as if a close relative had been struck down.  Browsing through social media posts, it is apparent that many feel that way.  My wife has met a number of celebrities during her time in Los Angeles, but never Poitier.  That will always live within her on the minus side of her life's ledger.

A Raisin in the Sun appeared in 1961, two years after the Broadway play of the same name was acclaimed as one of the best ever written.  The film went on to garner a handful of awards, but was skipped over by the Oscars.  Besides Poitier's screen-filling presence, the movie also starred Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil and Louis Gossett, Jr., in his first film.

In the movie, we see the Younger family's struggle to get ahead in Chicago amid personal tragedy, money troubles and race discrimination.  Unlike TV's The Jeffersons, they never make it to a "deluxe apartment in the sky."  They do, however, manage to maintain the family's dignity while "movin' on up" to a modest home.

A raisin wine is the perfect pairing here.  Don't shrug it off - making wine with grapes which have dried into raisins dates back around 6,000 years.  Vin Santo is usually a deliciously sweet wine, although it can be found in a dry style.  The Vin Santos from Tuscany, especially Chianti and Valpolicella, are a real treat.

In 1958, Stanley Kramer directed The Defiant Ones.  Poitier co-stars with Tony Curtis as two escaped convicts who are chained together.  They don't like each other much at first - they're on a deep-South chain gang in the 1950s - but through their struggle for freedom comes a mutual respect.  

The story of two opposites shackled together has been borrowed repeatedly over the years.  In a Warner Brothers cartoon, Sylvester the Cat is chained to a bulldog, while in The Thing With Two Heads, Ray Milland and Rosy Grier end up in the same body.

The ones who are defiant, Poitier and Curtis, wind up singing their way back to prison, where they probably are enlisted in the Friday night talent show.  That sounds like a setup for a riot in the cell block, but Kramer left that up to our imaginations.

Defiance Vineyards of the Paso Robles area offers a decidedly defiant Petite Sirah.  They say they have tamed the tannins, so you may find yourself singing your way back for another bottle.

In The Heat of the Night came out in 1967, in the wake of several major race riots and in the same year as a handful of others.  Poitier's performance may have been a bit more inspired, coming in that environment, and it no doubt served as a touchstone for black Americans of that day.

Poitier plays police detective Virgil Tibbs, and he plays the hell out of the role.  However, it was co-star Rod Steiger who grabbed the Best Actor Oscar that year.  A Philadelphia cop, Tibbs stands his ground in Mississippi as he grinds out the catchphrase of his career - "They call me Mister Tibbs!”" Heat, indeed.  

A Tibbs wine would make a perfect pairing.  How about that?  There's a Mayhall Tibbs Winery that puts out a $10 Pinot from Santa Barbara's Sta. Rita Hills!  I don't know what kind of Pinot you're getting for ten bucks, but it's a cheap way to drink local with your movies.

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Blood Of The Vines - Peter Bogdanovich Week

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 the recently departed director and actor Peter Bogdanovich.

1968's Targets gave Bogdanovich his start as a director.  Boris Karloff plays a retiring horror actor while Tim O'Kelly serves as a sniper.  Karloff's character is quitting the monster movie business because he feels the actual news events of the day are much more horrific than anything he could ever act out on celluloid.  As fate would have it, the movie was released shortly after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, boosting its topicality.

Fans of L.A. location shooting will want to see the finale, filmed at a Reseda drive-in movie.  Spoiler alert:  The climax is terrific, when Karloff's character disarms the shooter by hitting him with his cane.  So much for the scary sniper - defeated by an old man with a walking stick.

For a wine pairing with Targets: no, not a box of wine from Target, although there will be no judging from me if you choose to go that way.  There is a gun club in North Carolina which sports a "Shoot Then Sip" night for ladies.  Let's hope they keep the shooting before the sipping.  For Californians, Sonoma's Wing and Barrel Ranch brings gunplay and drinking together.  The ranch offers both shooting and hunting, so you can opt for clay pigeons or, I guess, real pigeons.  Turley Cellars is one of their vintner partners, so get one of Turley's great Zinfandels and shoot out the cork.

In 1971, Bogdanovich painted a heartbreaking portrait of hopelessness in The Last Picture Show.  The film takes place in a small, desolate Texas town.  I grew up in a slightly larger, slightly less desolate Texas town, but the movie rings true to me.

For pairing with The Last Picture Show, you can grab a Lone Star Beer - longnecks only, please - or get fancy with a wine from Lone Star Wine Cellars.  The winery is on the North Texas Wine Country map, in McKinney.  That town has more than one traffic light and several picture shows.  

Just a year later came What's Up, Doc?  Bogdanovich called it a "screwball comedy, something like Bringing Up Baby: daffy girl, square professor, everything works out all right."  The daffy girl was Barbara Streisand, the square professor was Ryan O'Neal and all was well in the end - as it always is in the land of the romantic comedy.

The San Francisco chase scene reportedly cost a million dollars to shoot - a quarter of the film's budget.  The title was borrowed from the Warner Brothers cartoons.  "What’s up, Doc?" was Bugs Bunny's signature line.  Look it up, youngsters.

The sorely missed Los Angeles restaurant, Cube, had on its marquee the phrase "what’s up D.O.C.?"  Their partiality to Italian wines spawned that little vino pun.  D.O.C. means Denominazione di Origine Controllata, a classification of wine regions in Italy.  So let's pair a wine from the Veneto D.O.C. with What’s Up, Doc?.  Just pick a red Valpolicella or a white Soave, you can't miss.

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A Bucking Bronco From Italy

The Bronco Wine Company is widely known as a purveyor of inexpensive wines - think "Two Buck Chuck" and others.  The winery has thousands of acres of vineyard land in California's Central Valley, which is not on the list of great places in the Golden State for grape growing.

I have been aware of Bronco Wines for quite some time, but I never realized they sold wines from other countries.  This one is made in Verona, Italy, the 2019 Poggio Della Robinie Superiore Valpolicello Ripasso.

This wine is a blend of four rather unusual grapes.  The corporate website shows that the breakdown is 60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 10% Corvinone and 10% Negrara.  I have seen other sites dropping the last two grapes and substituting 20% Molinara.  Whatever grapes they were, they were vinified using the Ripasso technique.  The Ripasso method of making wine involves fermenting on the dried skins of the grapes, then putting the wine away for a year in oaken barrels.  The dried grapes bring a rich and deep flavor to the wine.  Alcohol tips in here at 13.5% abv and I paid $20 for a bottle at my neighborhood Whole Foods Market.

The winery offers tasting notes that give wild cherry as one of the flavors.  That assessment is right on the money.  The red fruit - cherry, red currant - is bright and complex, with a dark, earthy edge pushing in from the side.  It's a darkly tinted wine, with a smooth mouthfeel.  I paired it with a beef tenderloin for our New Year's feast, and it was great.  I also used it in a wine sauce for the meat, and it was superb.

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Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout

There is a brewery in northern England that produces some great beer, sends it down the road in horse-drawn carts and around the world in more modern shipping conveyances.  Samuel Smith's Brewery lays claim to being the oldest in Yorkshire, established in 1758.

They brew a number of beers using natural ingredients, sometimes even organic.  The Samuel Smith's fermentation process happens in large containers which they call stone Yorkshire Squares, made from solid blocks of slate.  The same yeast strain has been used since the 1800s. 

The grist - malted barley - is mixed with heated well water from the original well on the property.  This happens in copper mash tuns, then sent on to antique boiling coppers where English hop varieties like Fuggles and Goldings are added for bitterness and aroma.  Next up, the copper hop backs, where the spent hops are removed from the wort.

Samuel Smith's uses handmade oak casks for all its ale. The casks are made and repaired at the Old Brewery by their cooper, who is employed full-time.

All this care and attention come to fruition in Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout.  Brewed using organic chocolate malt and organic cocoa, it blends the best of both worlds - stout and chocolate.  Alcohol is a session-sized 5% abv.

I had the brew over the holidays, a great time for anything chocolate.  The chocolatey sweetness mixes beautifully with the bitterness of the beer.  It is not too heavy, so it makes a great after-dinner stout.

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Blood Of The Vines - Even 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 are letting the turmoil of the holidays get to us, with another hodgepodge of movies that probably escaped your attention.  Let us inform you, hopefully while entertaining you.

 The Steagle is a 1971 comedy starring Richard Benjamin.  He plays a mild-mannered professor who uses the angst of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 to justify a cross-country road trip in which he out-Mittys Walter Mitty.  He stops in several cities on his way from New York to Hollywood and lives out a different fantasy in each one.

The critical response to this forgotten film ranged from "genius" to "trash," and most agree there is a bit of both to the movie.  By the way, the movie's title refers to an NFL team during the 1943 season.  WWII took so many football players for the war effort that in Pennsylvania the Steelers and the Eagles actually merged for the year, becoming the Steagles and earning a place in sports trivia.

It's a reach, but you could pair a German radler beer from Stiegl with The Steagle.  A radler sounds like a shandy - a beer and lemonade concoction - and the pronunciation of Stiegl is probably all wrong.  Let's score a touchdown with former Eagles head coach, Dick Vermeil.  He took the Eagles to the big game the year after the Steelers went.  He now makes wine in the Napa Valley, fulfilling his daydream.

1970's Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker is shortened to simply Pigeons in some places, to the great joy of headline writers everywhere.  It's a movie about a rude taxi driver who kicks pigeons in the park.  Rudeness we can abide in a taxi driver, but let the birds be, dude.  They just walk around on their disfigured little feet, picking at cigarette butts in the dirt.  They don't need you kicking them, too.

The movie is a comedy, which centers on a guy who has taken disillusionment to another level.  You think Richard Benjamin had trouble in The Steagle?  This taxi driver's fantasy is to be a truck driver.  Honk when you're happy.

Portland, Oregon's Clay Pigeon Winery has a Syrah called Croze, after the Croze-Hermitage region of the northern Rhône Valley.  It has a fistful of flavor and will pair well with pigeon, if you so desire.

The Working Man carries its laughs in deception and mistaken identity.  The 1933 film concerns two rival shoe manufacturing companies and the various charades put on by George Arliss and Bette Davis.  They get most of the credit for adding their prodigious talents to an otherwise lightweight effort.  What happens when the boss man becomes a working man?  Well, hilarity ensues.

There was once a working man's wine fountain for the 15th century shipbuilders of Venice.  It poured wine continuously, all day, which was carried in buckets to the workers.  The wine figured out to two and a half liters a day for each man, leading one to wonder how any ships ever got built.  

A working man's beverage these days may be beer or bourbon, but we're giving this movie a wine, just like those shipbuilders except it's not free and it doesn't run all the time.  Washington state's Kana Winery makes their Workingman's Red for everyone, employed or not.  They spin the wheel and come up with seven international grapes for the blend - Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Counoise, Cinsault, Tempranillo and Barbera, in case you're interested.

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Paso Robles Winery Shapes Up Nicely

There is a long list of winery tasting rooms in Paso Robles which are fun to visit, but there's one you really have to see.  Sculpterra Winery pours some great wine, but they also show off some dandy visual arts to go with it.

Sculpterra's property is adorned with beautiful iron work from master blacksmith Bob Bentley and sculptures in bronze and granite by John Jagger.  It provides a real treat for the eyes, while the wines will gladden other senses.

The Sculpterra Maquette is made from four Bordeaux grape varieties - 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Cabernet Franc, 26% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot - all grown in the Frankel Family Estate Vineyard.  The wine was fermented in new oak barrels and one-ton macro bins, then aged in oak for 18 months, 14% of which was new French.  Alcohol tips in at 14.5% abv and it sells for just under $50.

This wine is medium dark, with a brilliant ruby edge while pouring.  The nose brings red fruit - cherries, plums, raspberries - and a nice toasty vanilla note.  The palate offers plenty of fruit and a nice dollop of tannins, just right for pairing with some good meat.  I had it with my holiday filet of beef, and it was fine.  

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Big Syrah From Paso Robles

Alta Colina winery is based in Paso Robles' Adelaida District at a nice elevation.  In fact, their name translates as "high hill."  The show is run by the father-daughter team of Bob and Maggie Tillman, with winemaking handled by relative newcomer Molly Lonborg.  Bob calls Alta Colina his "retirement program run amok."  He has been at it for 18 years now.  He says he just started making wine, "and it got out of hand."

The Tillmans grow Rhône grapes on their estate, organically farmed.  The grapes are not organic, Bob says, because he has never gone for accreditation.  Says Molly, "Organic is a philosophy, not a marketing tool."

The 2018 Alta Colina Toasted Slope Estate Syrah is composed of 97% Syrah - two different clones - along with 2% Viognier and 1% Grenache.  It was aged for 21 months in oak and another 15 in the bottle.  The wine's alcohol level checks in at 14.5% abv and it retails for $58.

Dark fruit dominates the nose while some savory notes play through.  The aromas of black and blue berries, plums and cassis define the bouquet, which is shaped by shades of anise and earth.  The palate is really a delight, as fruity as you want it to be while maintaining the Prince of Darkness title.  Tannins are firm but not feisty.  The wine drinks quite smooth, even upon recent pouring.  I liked it paired with a Spencer steak seasoned with salt and pepper, and a side of chimichurri.  I make mine with parsley, cilantro and a Fresno pepper cut up in it.

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Blood Of The Vines - A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad New Year

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 to usher in 2022.  And while we are at it, let's start demanding that each new year has to be better than the one it is replacing.

The 1963 madcap comedy, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, stars Spencer Tracy, backed up by an all-star cast featuring Edie Adams, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Dorothy Provine, - lemme catch my breath - Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, - did I say Dorothy Provine? - Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters and about 200 other notables in cameos.  Mr. Winters was enough to grab me as I was already a huge fan by the tender age of eight years.

The characters all scramble to be the first to discover the hiding place of $350,000 in stolen cash.  Jimmy Durante spills the beans about the money before dropping dead.  For his "the gold...it's in the…" moment, Durante tells the assembled mob only that the treasure is under a big W.  Terry Bradshaw should give a hint like that about how to win "his money," but maybe Fox really is taking it out of his paycheck.

The movie turns on the various troubles everyone has while trying to get to the place where the big W is.  It puts the mad in madcap, the screw in screwball, the slap in slapstick and the road in road comedy.  To be precise, it puts four mads in madcap. 

Director Stanley Kramer was reportedly none too happy about the studio ripping out footage like a drywall demo team.  Apparently nobody told him that Hollywood didn't need any three-hour comedies.  Even with more than a half an hour of celluloid on the cutting room floor, the movie still ran 161 minutes.  To quote Robert Vaughn from Blake Edwards' S.O.B., "That's too long."

Well, so just open three bottles of wine to get through the viewing.  Try Madcap, a red blend from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley.  The winery, Fairview Cellars, is described as being "on the Reed Creek alluvial Fan at the North end of the Benches of the Golden Mile."  I think there may be too many capital letters there, but that's how they wrote it.

2011 gave us a glimpse of a duplicate of our world, mad or otherwise.  Another Earth has a fairly convoluted plot, the crux of which is a second earth just like ours which hangs in the sky like a harvest moon.  The sci-fi film does not deal with how a second Earth might affect gravity or the tides or whether the extra light it sheds at night means we could get rid of daylight saving time.  Fingers crossed.  

Another Earth does examine the result of taking responsibility for one's actions and the issues that would arrive if you got to meet your other self from the mirror world.  I worry that I wouldn't recognize myself.  I mean, Aidan Quinn was pumping his gas right next to me and I was oblivious until my wife pointed him out.

I seem to be digressing a bit this week, for which I am sorry.  The holidays, the pandemic, you know.  Languishing.  But I cannot let the opportunity pass without mentioning that, in the cast of Another Earth, there is an actor named Flint Beverage.  I'm not kidding.  So, with the drop of his name, it must be time to select a nice wine to pair with the movie.  Beverage time.

Broken Earth Winery is a likely pairing, although their name probably is less a reference to the planet as it is to a shovel turning dirt.  They make a Paso Robles Cabernet Franc, which is a good grape no matter which Earth you find yourself visiting.

In this very space, I have referred to the 1989 black comedy musical parody Meet the Feebles as a Peter Jackson pre-hobbit fever dream.  Jackson has Muppet-like characters cast as members of a twisted and violent theater troupe.  Jim Henson could not have possibly given his stamp of approval to this use of puppets, and within a year of Feebles' release he was dead.  I'm not saying one thing had anything to do with the other, but there you are.  The poster for the movie shows a hippo in a party dress hoisting a machine gun, and that tells you all you need to know about whether you should drink while watching.

For Meet the Feebles, lets find a black wine for this black comedy.  I'm thinking of a Malbec from Cahors.  That French region is known for its dark-times-three wine.  Georges Vigouroux's Pigmentum - "that which colors" - is a nice choice, and easy on the wallet, too, at about $12. 

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Paso Robles Merlot, Via Los Angeles

San Antonio Winery survived Prohibition and the Great Depression by making sacramental wines in the urban heart of Los Angeles.  While all the other L.A. wineries folded, the Riboli's winery flourished, thanks to the family's strong connection to the church.  At more than 100 years old, it is the oldest and largest producing winery in Los Angeles.

Maddalena Estate Reserve Paso Robles Merlot 2020

Maddalena Riboli was the inspiration for this wine.  More than a matriarch, Maddalena was instrumental in the family's success in the wine business.  The family says she even founded the first wine tasting room in California.  Her signature is on the front label and her picture is on the back.

The Ribolis say that Maddalena Merlot gives us "intense flavors, plush mouthfeel and deep colors," and they are right on all counts.  The wine has an alcohol level of 14.5% abv and it sells for less than $20.  

This Merlot is very dark, almost inky.  Its nose brings forth black cherry, anise and plum aromas, along with some sweet oak spice.  The palate is succulent and flavorful, with dark fruit and enough spice notes to bake a pie.  Tannins are rather gentle, so the sip is smooth.  I would like this wine paired with a pork shoulder or a creamy cheese.

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Napa Vintner Scores With Merlot, Prosecco

Bread & Butter's promotional blurbs urge customers to "buy the one that looks like this," and "don't overthink it."  Those are probably not the best ad lines Madison Avenue ever came up with, but there is a streak of truth in them.  For these wines, anyway, maybe you should embrace the lack of a kitty on the label.  Maybe it is a relief to find a wine at the supermarket which does not have a name ground out from the "random animal + random geographical word" sausage maker.  You know, like "Bear River," "Porcupine Pass" or "Ocelot Springs."  

As I was driving through Los Angeles the other day - the very day I had to choose which wine to open when I got home - I found myself in traffic behind a Bread & Butter delivery truck.  I figure the signs won't get much clearer than that.  B&B's winemaker Linda Trotta says it best, "A good wine is a wine you like."

The 2019 Bread & Butter Merlot brings alcohol at a reined-in 13.5% abv, and the retail price is only $15.

This medium-dark Merlot smells delicious.  It's labeled as a California Merlot, with no further indication of where the grapes were grown.  Rich plum and classic aromas mingle with a bit of smoke and a bit of chocolate.  The palate is velvety and lush, with dark fruit, mocha and a minty finish.  The tannins are unobtrusive, yet they worked just fine with our Thanksgiving … steak.  Drink what you like, eat what you like.

The Bread & Butter Prosecco DOC is all Italian - made in a small town near Venice, says the website.  It has alcohol at 11% abv and the retail damage is $15.

This bubbly wine has a pretty, frothy head which dissipates quickly.  That leaves you with a greenish-yellow wine and a line of bubbles around the edge of the glass.  The nose is lovely - pears, apples, a bit of citrus minerality - and the palate follows suit.  It is a semi-sweet delight that is very festive and tasty.

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Blood Of The Vines - Holiday Drollery

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 examine a trio of Christmas movies, or at least movies which have the Christmas season as part of the scenery.  We are entering the fray here, about whether or not merely being set at Christmas time is enough to make a film a Christmas movie - see Die Hard or Diner as examples.  Or the following.

Christmas in Connecticut was released in 1945 to great success.  The end of the war left people hungry for a screwball comedy about food and a soldier returning home from the conflict.  Usually, characters who are far from home and dream of "a steak that thick" are marked for death.  But Dennis Morgan's wounded warrior escapes the worst and actually gets his meal, in the form of Barbara Stanwyck.  Every Christmas comedy needs a Grinch, and Sydney Greenstreet serves in that role here, to an extent.  His Grinchiness is circumstantial, and he isn't the only one pouring soot on the snow - Stanwyck’s fiance is no Christmas miracle.  By the end of the movie, we find that Greenstreet is really a nice guy deep down.

In addition to the seasonal setting, there is also a sleigh ride included to add to the holiday flavor.  Me, I've never even seen a real sleigh, but apparently back then in Connecticut, they were left unattended outside barn dances, just there for the taking.  Understand that not only will you spend a Christmassy night in jail, but Grand Theft Sleigh is sure to land you on Santa's naughty list.

A wine from Connecticut would be fine here, but how about one which was made in a WWII-era airfield?  The Nutmeg State's Saltwater Farm Vineyard has a Cabernet Franc with enough fruit and spice to tempt Santa before he's finished assembling the kids' toys.

1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas has that ol' Pumpkin King Jack Skellington trying to take over Christmas.  It seems natural, following in the Charlie Brown TV special's footsteps, to move from Halloween Town to Christmas Town.  Things go awry, and Santa is kidnapped, and his life is threatened, and it looks like there won't be a Christmas this year.  But wait… it looks like Jack saves Christmas Day for all of us.  Didn't see that coming, didja?

If you're looking for Nightmare Before Christmas stemware, head over to Etsy for a startlingly full complement of glasses.  Those craft people never miss a trick-or-treat.  We want wine, however, and we want it now.  For a slightly scary Christmas wine pairing, let's throw ten bucks at the cashier and make off with Apothic Dark.  It’s heavy on the oak, making you think of that tree in your living room, and it has a hint of chocolate to remind you that Halloween wasn't all that long ago.

The Apartment, from 1960, is the movie every romcom wants to be.  Billy Wilder's masterpiece stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston and a host of wonderful character actors.  The story unfolds during end-of-year festivities which bring Lemmon and MacLaine together in unlikely circumstances, holiday-wise. 

Lemmon - Buddy Boy - has an apartment which gets used by his superiors at the office for their extra-marital meetups.  He leaves the key under the mat and clears out, then waits for the lights to be turned off, signaling that it's okay for him to go home.  He falls for a gal who turns out to be a one-time guest in his place, with his boss as her host.  It's awkward, situation-wise.

The Apartment has all the holiday trimmings - New York City, loneliness, Santa in a bar, slushy sidewalks and a Seconal suicide attempt.  Not to play the spoiler, ending-wise, but everything works out fine.

Holiday entertaining on a working person's budget?  Drink Cava and pretend it's Champagne, leftover from last night's party.  Vilarnau has a Spanish sparkler that sneaks out of the wine shop for less than $20 and will pair quite well with The Apartment and a couple of cha-cha records.  Just keep the music down - the neighbors have been complaining. 

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Imprisoned Red Wine Grapes Released On Recognizance

The Prisoner Wine Company has a couple of California red blends of which you should be aware.  They have a Zinfandel blend and another red blend - Saldo - which is heavy on the Petite Sirah.  Dave Phinney is no longer involved with the label - wine megatron Constellation bought the brand.  Now, things are run by The Prisoner Wine Company's Director of Winemaking Chrissy Wittman and newly appointed lead winemaker Todd Ricard.

Saldo's bottle looks like it was decorated with a label maker.  The minimalist bottle style has a certain appeal, but I really like reading wine labels so it doesn't work for me.  The wine is a mix of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, which the company says is "approachable and serious."  The alcohol level is a ripe 15% abv and the wine sells for $32, as does the Zinfandel.

This wine is extremely dark with notes on the nose of black cherry, anise, smoke and spice.  The palate is rich and dark, showing blackberry, licorice, allspice, cinnamon and black pepper.  The finish is not too long, but it is full of sweet oak spice while it's there.  The tannins are a bit toothy until it has been open for a while. 

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Pinot Noir By Sonoma-Cutrer From The Russian River Valley

Sonoma-Cutrer Winery is celebrating 40 years of marrying Burgundy with California.  They have a trophy case full of awards won by their wines over the past three decades.

Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2019

The 2019 vintage of Sonoma-Cutrer's Russian River Valley Pinot Noir shows a complex and elegant nose and palate.  The wine was made by a female-led team of winemakers, but Mick Schroeter got to put his name on the label, and he is understandably proud of helping to bring the finicky grape to its full fruition.  The Russian River Valley is a world-class region for Pinot Noir, thanks to the fog that rolls up the river and turns the valley into a cool climate area.  The wine aged in French oak barrels for eleven months and got another half-year in the bottle.  Alcohol is restrained at 13.9% abv and the retail price lands at $35.

This wine is medium-dark in its ruby color.  The nose offers up beautiful raspberry notes with black tea and a pretty floral element.  On the palate, the raspberry is a bit brambly and is joined by tea, coffee and cola notes.  The tannins are fairly stiff upon opening, but they settle down after awhile.  The finish is medium and savory.  Altogether it is an elegant wine.

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Blood Of The Vines - Hit Men

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  This week, Hit Men take center stage - guys who kill for money and say "It's not personal, it's just business."  You know the phrase if you've ever been fired from a job.

Ah!  A movie title with an exclamation point in it!  Hit! came out in 1973, apparently before Strunk and White clamped down on such punctuation abuse.  Still at large on their hit list: Oliver!, Airplane! and Tora! Tora! Tora!  Boy, are they in trouble.  

Billy Dee Williams was richly praised for his performance as a federal agent who assembles - through coercion - a team of vulnerable misfits, Richard Pryor among them.  

The team takes out a drug cartel, one by one, showing how easily it could be done.  The hits are carried out using weapons which range from poison to a speargun to a bazooka.  Now that's a variety show.   The agent's success does not endear him to his bosses, who have been losing the war on drugs while playing by the book. 

Yeah, there are plenty of holes in Hit!'s Swiss cheese of a plot but it's actually a pretty fun popcorn movie.  The critics were mixed back in the day, but then they always seem to be, don't they?

For a wine to pair with Hit!, let's look at The Uprising, a red blend which is part of the 19 Crimes line.  It should be called 19 Criminals, but we'll ride with it as labeled.  It was aged for a month in rum barrels, so expect a bit more sweetness to offset the sour topic of the film.

Murder By Contract is a 1958 film noir which had a lot more influence than its sphere at the time of release would suggest.  Martin Scorsese has hailed the movie as one of the biggest influences on his style of movie making.  Vince Edwards stars as a hit man who carries no gun, who has principles despite his choice of professions and who thinks a bit too much for someone in that job.

He routinely kills men at the request of his bosses - guys with names like Mr. Brink and Mr. Moon - but he experiences pangs of guilt when an important witness in a big case is targeted, and it turns out she's a woman.  Right, the hit man with a heart o' gold.  Nah, actually he thinks women are too unpredictable to make good targets.  He thinks they are trouble.  He finds out that in his case, they are.

Oregon's Witness Tree Vineyard no longer offers their Witness Protection Plan Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but if you can scare up a bottle, that's the one to have.  Trust me, there are not many wines out there with "Witness Protection" on the label - this is it.

1971's Get Carter brought real, honest-to-god violence into the British crime film genre, and did so without even blushing.  The plot works about as easily as a Rubik's Cube, but the film has collected a cult following over the years and is now considered one of the very best British films.  Michael Caine stars in it and excels as the morally bankrupt double-barrel trigger man.  

Grab a bottle from Temecula's Carter Estate Winery to pair with Get Carter.  A well-structured Syrah, Malbec or Merlot should fit nicely within the loose moral structure of the movie.

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Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon

The San Simeon wine label hails from the Paso Robles AVA, but it is under the wine umbrella of the Los Angeles-based Riboli family and their San Antonio Winery.  You may also know of their wines by the names Stella Rosa, Maddalena, Highlands 41 or Opaque.  From L.A. to Paso Robles to Monterey to Italy, the Ribolis have vineyards in some of the best places on earth to grow grapes.

San Antonio Winery survived Prohibition and the Great Depression by making sacramental wines in the urban heart of Los Angeles.  While all the other wineries folded, the Riboli’s winery flourished, thanks to the family's strong connection to the church.  At more than 100 years old, it is the oldest and largest producing winery in Los Angeles.

The estate offers a variety of soils: calcareous limestone, sandstone, and loam.  The winery is certified sustainable, powered entirely by solar energy and uses water conservation techniques.  The grapes for the 2019 San Simeon Cabernet Sauvignon - 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot - came from several hillside vineyards, which were blended together to make this wine.  Aging took place over 18 months in mostly French oak barrels.  Alcohol tips 14.9% abv and the wine sells for about $20.

This wine is very dark in the glass.  It features a beautiful nose of brambly cassis, mocha and chocolate notes.  Minerals come into play as do sage and thyme.  The palate is loaded with dark fruit, more minerals and sweet oak flavors.  Tannins are alive and well, so a bit of time opening up in the glass is recommended.

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Two Nice Wines From Creston Highlands

The Highlands 41 wine label comes from Monterey County, but it is under the wine umbrella of the Los Angeles-based Riboli family and their San Antonio Winery.  You may also know of their wines by the names Stella Rosa, San Simeon, Maddalena or Opaque.  From L.A. to Paso Robles to Monterey to Italy, the Ribolis have vineyards in some of the best places on earth to grow grapes.

San Antonio Winery survived Prohibition and the Great Depression by making sacramental wines in the urban heart of Los Angeles.  While all the other wineries folded, the Riboli's winery flourished, thanks to the family's strong connection to the church.  At more than 100 years old, it is the oldest and largest producing winery in Los Angeles.

Highlands 41 Pinot Noir 2020

On the label, this brand promises the "thrill of exploration and the spirit of adventure."  To me, that just about sums up the promise contained in any bottle of wine.  The name, Highlands 41, comes from Highway 41 and the Creston Highlands.  Those highlands, by the way, used to be a seabed - providing the ground with plenty of limestone mineral deposits.  This wine is vinified to 14.5% abv and it retails for $15.

This Monterey County Pinot Noir is fairly dark and very fragrant in the glass.  Aromas of black cherry, black tea, licorice and cinnamon put together the kind of display that makes me think of the holidays.  Dark fruit dominates the palate, and a full set of tannins accompany the juicy sip.  The Riboli family recommends pairing their Highlands 41 Pinot with grilled sausage, pasta primavera, baked salmon or roasted duck.  I would toss in turkey and ham as excellent pairings.  I had mine with lemon and honey Wensleydale cheese, and it was beautiful.

The Highlands 41 Chardonnay 2019 has an alcohol content of 14.% abv and a retail price of $15.

This wine has a lovely golden tint in the glass.  The nose is loaded with sweet oak spice, which I normally wouldn't care for in a Chardonnay, but I go with it over the holidays.  It also shows aromas of tropical fruit and a hint of burnt caramel - also a nice holiday touch.  The palate plays up the fruit more than the oak - for which I am grateful - and gives a nice acidity to make it a good wine to pair with food.  The Ribolis say that the Highlands 41 Chardonnay goes best with baked halibut, wild mushroom risotto, fried chicken or grilled pork loin.  I will go along with all of those recommendations.  

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