Being Oscar month it's fitting to take a look at where Hollywood finds inspiration in wine. Here are some titles worth raising a stemmed glass to:
"A Good Year" (2006): A romantic comedy based on the novel of same name by Peter Mayle. Director: Ridley Scott. Cast: Russell Crow, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard, Albert Finney.
Vintage quote: "I enjoy making wine because this sublime nectar is, quite simply, incapable of lying.
You see Max, all of the work we do here at La Siroque — all the planting, all the harvesting, all the fermenting — it's nothing more than the art of bottling truth. For example: if perchance one year it rains too much, the wine will tell you that very easily, by the depth of its color. And if it rains too little, it'll tell you that too in its aroma and bouquet. Pick too early, pick too late, it matters not — the wine will always whisper into your mouth with complete, unabashed honesty, every time you take a sip." — Albert Finney playing Uncle Henry, from the screenplay by Marc Klein
"French Kiss" (1995): Entertaining American romantic comedy takes place in Paris.
Misadventures involving an American couple, a Frenchman, a stolen necklace, a young grapevine and an unlikely attraction. Director: Lawrence Kasdan. Cast: Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton.
"A Walk In The Clouds" (1995): An American soldier returns to San Francisco, travels and meets the beautiful daughter of a Mexican-American vineyard family in Napa Valley. Emotional story based on the 1942 Italian movie "Quattro Passi Fra Le Nuvole" by Piero Tellini, Cesare Zavattini and Vittorio de Benedetti. Director: Alfonso Arau. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sánchez- Gijón, Anthony Quinn.
"Bottle Shock" (2008): The story of the early days of California winemaking featuring the infamous blind Paris wine tasting of 1976, which has come to be known as Judgment of Paris, when American wine triumphed over French selections. Director: Randall Miller. Cast: Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Chris Pine.
"Mondovino" (2004): Documentary about the impact of the globalization of the world's famous wine regions. Debate on the "world standard" of wine vinification by critic Robert Parker, Michel Rolland of Pomerol, Wine Spectator magazine, and the mighty Mondavis of Napa. Director: Jonathan Nossiter.
"Sideways" (2004): Two college friends hit the road for a tasting trip to Santa Barbara wine country in search of fine Pinot Noir and much more. A comedy misadventure that pours of life dreams, failed relationships and flawed characters.
It's based on Rex Pickett's novel of the same name. Director: Alexander Payne. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen.
"The Parent Trap" (1998): Remake of the 1961 family film, starring Lindsay Lohan as 11-year-old twins who were separated at birth and how they plot to reunite their divorced parents. Quaid plays a successful Napa winery owner and viticulturist. Director Nancy Meyers. Cast: Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Lohan.
taste | perfect pairings
By GINO L. FILIPPI
