A friend asked me if there were any films about wine or featuring wine. I remembered Sideways, Bottleshock and James Bond, but when I delved a little deeper, I found a surprising number of films about wine or with memorable vinous references.
The best-known film quote to a generation who grew up in the 1980s is from Withnail and I, where a drunken Withnail roars at a cafe shop proprietor, “We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!”
Those coming of age in the 2000s are more likely to remember the film Sideways, which has Miles Chambers declaiming “No, if anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f***ing merlot!” The irony is that Miles’s most treasured possession is a bottle of Château Cheval-Blanc – a wine that contains about 50 per cent. However, the film had consequences – sales of merlot dropped in the US after its release, leading growers to grub up their merlot vines. Pinot noir, (Miles’s favourite variety) increased in popularity. The film, which won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay, is still worth watching.
James Bond will be forever associated with Bollinger, one of the first and most successful examples of product placement. But Rory Craig of Winestationwine.ie made an in-depth study of Bond’s drinking habits for an article in Thetaste.ie that has him drinking almost every potion known to man, including Heineken, as well as Taittinger, Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot, Château Angelus 1982 and a couple of vintages of Château Mouton-Rothschild. In addition, he swigs Vesper Martinis (a vodka and gin martini) as well as an array of other drinks. Bond certainly has issues with alcohol.
Bottleshock is a 2008 film, based on the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting. The film portrays the events surrounding a blind tasting set up by English wine merchant Stephen Spurrier in Paris where a French jury deemed Californian wines to be superior to many of the very best French wines. The film is a light-hearted drama with a little comedy, but it changed the view of Californian wine forever while gently teasing the French.
There are other films too. SOMM 1,2 & 3 is a documentary series following three sommeliers in their quest to become master sommeliers. Uncorked is a drama of a young man’s quest to become a sommelier. A Good Year is a romcom where English financial trader (Russell Crowe) inherits a winery in Provence. The focus is more on romance and family relations and not much about wine. Crowe also narrates in Red Obsession, a 2022 documentary on fine Bordeaux and its worldwide appeal. Sour Grapes is a documentary on the fascinating story of fraudster Rudi Kurniawan who for years fooled world experts with fake fine wines. Another favourite is A Year in Burgundy, which follows seven growers for an entire vintage.
I will leave you with another popular quote, this time a little chilling. “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” This was Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. Apparently the book featured a nice big Amarone, which was changed to a Chianti.
