Grapevine: An Exercise in Matching Wine and Oscar Nominations
The 87th Academy Awards show airs this Sunday. This is my sixth year of presenting the Best Picture nominees and creating hypothetical pairings of wine with the top contenders.
I’ve distilled my list to five of the eight nominees.
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).” This dark comedy praises and mocks Hollywood and Broadway in one tightly knit, absorbing film, often flitting between reality and fantasy. Risking his life savings and his reputation, Riggan Thomson foregoes a movie comeback as the superhero Birdman, and instead decides to write, direct and star in a Broadway play. One of the actors denigrates Riggan’s motivation for staging the play: “Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige.”
New World Pinot Noir wines are popular for their linear taste and their low price point. Yet the sophistication and complexity of these wines pale in comparison to their French counterparts. Wines from the Burgundy region of France have been cultivated and produced for hundreds of years, building a prestigious legacy and a discerning following.
“Boyhood.” In one of the most ambitious approaches to moviemaking ever, writer/director Richard Linklater follows the fictional life of a young boy from the age of five to 18 — over 12 years of shooting. We watch the actors evolve physically and emotionally through the camera lens. Even though the storyline is fairly mundane, the movie is still able to tug at our heartstrings as cinema vérité.
California Cabernet Sauvignon, popular for many years, has been cast into a rather mundane role as a go-to wine by consumers. We’ve watched it grow up, with fond memories of its impact on our wine education. Yet today it is taken for granted for being pleasing, but not that exciting.
“American Sniper.” Chris Kyle became an American patriot in his thirties, deciding to serve his country and fight terrorism. He became the most lethal sniper in American military history, with 160 kills, while serving the Navy SEALs. Kyle and many veterans suffer PTSD; this movie brilliantly brings the problem to the fore in all of its egregious manifestations.
Chris Kyle is the life sum of his experiences. Similarly, the legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines from the Rhone Valley of France are the end result of blending up to 13 grape varieties in varying ratios into one wine. Each wine bears the same outward symbol to consumers, but harbors a unique expression of its history and influences inside the bottle.
“The Imitation Game.” Breaking the German Enigma machine during World War II is elusive. Alan Turing, an enigmatic 27-year-old Brit, heads up a team that takes on this daunting assignment. Alan is off-putting and a loner with OCD and speech issues. Not a winning combination. However, he perseveres and his team creates the first digital computer and breaks the Enigma code. Alan’s life after the war is pure hell, and ends in shame and degradation.
In interviewing candidates for his team, he comments: “Sometimes it’s the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” So too with the Zinfandel grape. It has evolved from a puzzling grape of uncertain origin; the code to its best expression has eluded winemakers for decades. It can be elusive in the hands of one winemaker and compliant in another. Its best expressions are each unique and complex, yet mysterious and puzzling.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Is this the best Wes Anderson movie ever? If I could figure out the message I might agree. But the tale, including an elusive concierge, a young lobby boy, an eccentric heiress and her son and the theft of a painting left me perplexed, winded — and parched.
So I reached for a glass of Alsatian Riesling, simultaneously sweet and dry, acidic yet balanced, complex yet simple. This panoply of characteristics came together in an intricate framework of finesse. It helped me appreciate Wes Anderson’s creativity. I felt better.
Which movie will win the coveted Oscar? Sit back on Sunday night with your favorite wine in hand and enjoy the festivities.
Nick Antonaccio is a 35-year Pleasantville resident. For over 15 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. He also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
