Wine in the Movies

I love wine. I love movies. Today I've put together my top five favorite films either about wine, or with great wine-related themes, scenes or dialogue. Enjoy!

5. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

I know, strictly speaking this doesn't have a ton to do with wine, but I do love the drinking scenes in Rohan & Gondor.

4. A Good Year

I admit it, I'm a sucker for cheesy romantic comedies. This movie may be dismissed by critics across the country, but I liked it. And, it's set on a vineyard . . . it had to be on the list.

3. The Godfather

Good red wine is a staple of Italian culture in America, and you don't get much more Italian-American than The Godfather.

2. Silence of the Lambs

This film gets bonus points for forcing viewers to consider what variety pairs well with human.

1. Sideways

It's the obvious choice, so sue me. I'm a huge Paul Giamatti fan, and there's something to be said for a movie that single-handedly doubled pinot noir sales across the country.

Little known detail: In Sideways, Miles claims to despise Merlot, but the bottle he saved for his wedding anniversary was actually a Merlot blend.

What is a sommelier?

Today I'd like to talk about something I've already confessed that I'm not - a sommelier. Wikipedia sums it up pretty well, saying - "A sommelier, or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service."

Pretty cool, right? These guys are pretty much responsible for all aspects of the wine operations at fine-dining restaurants. That includes choosing varieties, finding them and buying them, storing them properly, and yes, serving them. Today sommeliers at the really nice joints are expected to be well versed in pretty much all of the high-society vices and delights. Wine, beer, scotch, cigars, sometimes even water.

There is even an international sommelier guild that offers courses for official certification. As of this year, there are only 160 or so master sommeliers in the world. Finally, I know what I want to do with my life!

The do's and don'ts of storing wine

So first things first, I'm starting with the basics. The fact of life is this - lot's of people buy wine, not many people understand how or where you're supposed to store it once you get it home. Here's a few storage tips that you need to follow to make sure your wine stays in tip-top drinking shape.

Do

- Store all your bottles laid on their side
- Keep them in a dark and cool place (the back of a closet works in a pinch)
- Keep an eye out for a reasonably priced, small wine fridge
- After opening a bottle, drink it within three days

Don't

- Lay-down screwcap wines (they're meant to be drank right-away)
- Store any wine in direct sunlight
- Store bottles in your freezer (sparkling wine in a freezer is especially bad . . . it explodes!)
- Chill sparkling wine, then let it get warm, then cool it down again - it loses the bubbles and tastes terrible

My Life in Wine

So I'm going to come right out and say it - I'm not a wine expert. What I am though, is a wine lover . . . and that's what this blog is all about. Over the past five years I've had a growing fascination with wine culture. I've tried to learn about the different varieties, I've been to tastings, travelled to a few vineyards and, most importantly, I've drank a lot. I'm a regular guy with a regular salary, so I can't say I've had the best of the best - but I know I've tried some really good stuff. My real purpose in starting this blog is to get a grasp on wine culture as a whole. Every day I'll be posting wine-related news, facts, thoughts, links, and recomendations. So if you love wine or maybe just want to learn a little more about it, stay tuned.