1 remaining event!
July 14 6 PM Intro/tastings; "Sour Grapes” (2016; 1 hour, 26 minutes); join the optional discussion afterwards.
$8.00
BUY TICKETS HERE
Please partake in a combination of two forms of entertainment: Film & Wine. Dr. Marc Strauss and Michael Rose will present the last film in this series of wine-related films, paired with the wines each film features.
We will meet via Zoom prior to the film at 6 PM, taste the wines, discuss the film and its wine theme, then proceed to watch the film (at 6:30) via Zoom. (Or, if you have a copy of the film and prefer seeing it on your own, go for it!) We will conclude our consideration of the themes with an optional follow-up afterwards (check film length). The Zoom link will be sent to you upon registration.
A note from Michael Rose:
Thank you for joining our series on pairing two great art forms. Our final film approaches; coming next Tuesday the Film & Wine crew will watch Sour Grapes (2016) after a brief discussion at 6:00 PM via Zoom; the film is short, 85 minutes in fact, and shows us how the world of wine reflects human failings, as well as human and vinous triumphs. After the movie we will reflect on the four films as a set. Dr. Strauss will discuss the extent to which one art form was able to draw out or to enhance the other via each film. I will discuss the oddly sequenced arc of vinous history that we shared, moving, as it were, through the birth of modernism, to the crisis of modern wine, then to the heart of old school wine growing, and on to the chasing of tulip bulbs in near Bernie Madoff fashion, brought to us by the vessel at hand, Sour Grapes.
A note from Michael Rose:
Thank you for joining our series on pairing two great art forms. Our final film approaches; coming next Tuesday the Film & Wine crew will watch Sour Grapes (2016) after a brief discussion at 6:00 PM via Zoom; the film is short, 85 minutes in fact, and shows us how the world of wine reflects human failings, as well as human and vinous triumphs. After the movie we will reflect on the four films as a set. Dr. Strauss will discuss the extent to which one art form was able to draw out or to enhance the other via each film. I will discuss the oddly sequenced arc of vinous history that we shared, moving, as it were, through the birth of modernism, to the crisis of modern wine, then to the heart of old school wine growing, and on to the chasing of tulip bulbs in near Bernie Madoff fashion, brought to us by the vessel at hand, Sour Grapes.
As Dr. Strauss and I were considering what to suggest you enjoy tasting along with watching Sour Grapes, we concluded, much in the same vein as with Sideways ("Don't seek out bad Merlot"), there was no point in suggesting that you seek out $ 1,000 and 2,000 bottles of iconic, collectible wine. I'm sure you are much relieved. Au contraire, my entire world view of wine would have to be stood upon its head to have me recommend anything more than 100 or 200 bucks. And I struggle to find wines to recommend at 1-200 too. Many variables can interfere with excellence and create disappointment at such prices. Why conjure Great Expectations only to leave the hopes dashed by an error and watch the cream fall to the cutting room floor?
No, I prefer to proceed as Wee Willie Keller might, and "hit 'em where they ain't;" I prefer to pick them where other people are not collecting. And yet, I am a classicist when it comes to wine style. If Bottle Shock taught us anything, then very good wine can be made anywhere within reason. In fact diversity is as important in wine as it is in people, because great wine without diversity amounts to doing the same thing with the same partner every night over and over again. I have loved every btl of Ch. Latour, a noted and pricey Pauillac from Bordeaux, but I would not want this wine every evening. We have seasons and our foods change with the weather. So should our vinous companions. The notion of iconic wine plays on a very modern and American concept of definitive 'Best-ness.' For a wine to be iconic, you need a consensus on exactly what constitutes best-ness in an art form, called wine. Sure, some wine is better than others, but the idea that a score, based on one person's perception formed early in a wine's existence will define its potential over a 10 - 40 year arc, is pretty un-American, upon further reflection. In reality wines judged on release as Best are often fading 10 -20 years later, while good but not yet profound wines in their youth are now arcing increasingly higher. Sound like people you knew in high school?
Great wine should be alive and have a personality. That distinct expression may not be appropriate for every meal or for each time of year, but you want the wine to contribute a point of view, not merely alcohol at table, but to have something to express during the meal, and to enhance the experience. And this is my problem with the foremost American reviewer of wine, Robert Parker; his scores were always biased toward the wines with the most ripeness and the greatest tannic structure, and some of those wines are gorgeous and jaw dropping, but we do not eat roast beef every single night in an air conditioned restaurant in NY, Chicago, LA or Miami. What wine to serve with crumbled blue cheese over chopped Belgian endives, dressed in a honeyed vinaigrette reduction? Certainly not Cabernet, Bob.
So with the utmost glee, I present the "Anti-Bestness" lineup of wines you should enjoy while watching Sour Grapes, and laugh at how little you paid for them.
Rosés:
2018 Chateau Bertrands, Réserve des Bertrands "Élégance Rose" Provence, France 16.99/ 13.59 2019 Nortico Rose, Minho, Portugal 14.99/ 11.99 2019 Vulcanico Rose, Azores, Portugal 24.99/ 19.99
Whites to be served cold in summer:
2019 Nortico Alvarinho 14.99/ 11.992018 Gaintza Getariako Txakolina 20.99/ 16.79
2018 Domaine William Fevre 34.99/ 27.99
Reds: (Lower tannin, but full flavored, serve chilled to 60 degrees)
2018 Domaine Filliatreau "Grande Vignol" Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France 20.99/ 16.792018 FitaPreta, Touriga "Vai Nua" Alentejo, Portugal 25.99/ 20.79
2017 Ponzi Vineyards "Pinot Noir Tavola" Willamette, Oregon 24.99/ 19.99
Email Alek Leontie at LiquorNMore to place your wine order (or call Jeff, Diane and Alek at 508 255 2812).
Please note: Each film's wine suggestions will be available at Liquor-N-More with several Cape locations, or you can consult directly with Michael at 33mdrose@gmail.com to select other representative wines.
Michael Rose is the Imperial Grand Poobah of the Old Greenwich Wine Club, an august wine buyer's co-operative, founded in 2006, with 500 members and only one rule: you must bring a note from your personal trainer if you elect not to fasten your toga at our tasting events.
Marc Strauss, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Theatre and Dance from the Holland College of Arts & Media at Southeast Missouri State University. He is author of Alfred Hitchcock’s Silent Films (2004; McFarland) and Hitchcock’s Objects as Subjects: The Significance of Things on Screen (2016; McFarland). His most recent book, Discovering Musicals: A Liberal Arts Guide to Stage and Screen (2019; McFarland), is available for sale at the Wellfleet Marketplace, on amazon.com.
