Edition 01.04
G.H. Mumm and T-Day Prep
A Letter from Maria
Hello everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving! This is the week food lovers wait for all year long… the ovens have been cooking up pies and stuffing and green bean casseroles, the tables will be set with a cornucopia of goods, and there will be company of all types gathered around tables on Thursday. It’s truly my favorite time of year, and the celebratory mood has begun already.
As a wine industry professional who happens to love movies, I’ve been trying to catch up on presumptive awards contenders while prepping cranberry sauce and thick turkey gravy. Lots of great movies will be hitting theaters this week, so if you need to press pause on a delicate conversation or just need to escape from mashing potatoes for a bit, stop by your local movie theater for some buttered popcorn and a delightful movie. With 11 new movies launching in theaters this week (and a few fun options new to streaming), there’s something for everyone. Go see a movie!
If you’re looking to impress family and friends with some fast facts about the wine world, check out the Wine News Roundup for some new findings on the science behind red wine headaches. Erudite readers with extensive vocabularies (and the people that love them) will enjoy drinking and watching this week’s Wine and Movie Pairing. And check out my caviar Obsessions in the Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.
As always, thank you for being here today!
Wine News Roundup
Researchers have finally found a culprit for red wine headaches. The Headache Center at University of California San Francisco recently stated that a red wine-specific flavonol called quercetin causes headaches in people susceptible to migraine, as soon as 30 minutes into drinking. Further human research will be conducted soon. Read more from The Guardian here.
The Duckhorn Portfolio has announced its acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards. While Duckhorn has built its reputation on red wines made from Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the $400 million acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer adds several luxury Chardonnay cuvées to the portfolio. Visual learners, take a look at all the pretty charts and graphs from the press release here.
The 2023 harvest in Napa Valley has finished strong for quality and yields. At the Napa Valley Grapegrowers press conference last week, a spokesperson said that most wineries have a 15 to 20% higher yield than in years past. A late harvest date combined with mild weather throughout the growing season is expected to bring about a fine 2023 vintage quality. Read more from Wine Business Daily here.
Not an Onion article… JCB is watching. Raymond Vineyards unveiled a new sculpture on its property… a large-scale replica of enigmatic proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset’s right eye. Artist Tony Tasset was specifically selected by Jean-Charles Boisset to create a variation on a similar eye sculpture - his 2013 work, aptly titled “Eye”. Read more from Napa Valley Focus here, and don’t forget to subscribe to their Substack!
Thanksgiving’s favorite wine has seen a lot of change in the past decade. In a new feature article for SevenFiftyDaily, Courtney Schiessl Magrini examines how and why the price of Beaujolais has increased over time. Read the article here.
Drizly has announced a new Gift Registry option on their website. Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Drizly is piloting a gift registry program that allows users to assemble their wish lists and find alcohol gifts for others. Read the press release from Wine Business Daily here, and try it out for yourself here.
Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.
Reading
This week in articles has been rich, but VinePair’s recent “survey” article about the perfect last call song has been on my mind quite a bit. My personal favorite records for last call? Amy Winehouse’s Frank - Remixes (something familiar that takes the tempo down and gently encourages people towards the door) and The Fugees’ The Score (a true classic).
Eating
Note to self: Marrying an Anglophile will result in spontaneous British confectionery collections. Marks & Spencer has collaborated with Target to release 15 new items just for the American big box retailer, and our household is now filled with light-up biscuit boxes and gingerbread double decker buses. We will be eating shortbread until 2024 and beyond.
Playing
I’ve never been a big Hunger Games fan, but I’m very much a folk-tinged pop and alt rock fan. The Music From and Inspired By album for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is engaging and appropriately autumnal. Expect Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” to pop up on some end-of-year lists soon (if not my personal Spotify Wrapped playlist). Listen to the album here, and read this Vanity Fair article by Savannah Walsh about the creation of a “dystopian Appalachian” sound for the movie.
Obsessing
My obsessions lately have been categorical (as opposed to oddly specific, which is my default setting). With the holiday this week, caviar has been on my mind a lot. These caviar cocktail napkins from Chefanie are absolutely adorable, as is this mother-of-pearl spoon. I’m looking forward to picking up a tin of caviar for Thanksgiving brunch, so if anyone has a preferred brand or type of caviar, do let me know!
Recommending
I’ll be away from my parents this Thanksgiving, but I consider it a badge of honor that my father asked me to help him with wine selections for the big family meal this Thursday. Since most of the people gathered will be Chardonnay drinkers, I recommended this Estate Chardonnay from Lingua Franca in Willamette Valley. With most of the fruit coming from Eola-Amity Hills AVA within Willamette Valley, the 2021 vintage of the Estate Chardonnay is perfectly crisp and tart, but not lacking for body. In my mind, this is a perfect Thanksgiving wine meant to pair with everything on the table.
Like this suggestion, and want some more wine shopping advice before the big day? I have a new article on Thanksgiving wines, just for paid subscribers! Check it out here, and thank you for supporting your friendly neighborhood sommelier.
Treating
I hate to admit that I’ve been reluctant to dip my toes into the wide world of Scotch, but after partaking in a little Lagavulin 16 on a crisp November night with friends? I have been converted, and I am now an Islay Scotch lover. Give me more campfires in a glass, please. Good company and a warm blanket are also highly recommended.
Wine and Movie Pairing
This week felt like the perfect time to get immersed in the holiday feelings with a new potential awards contender. We’re pairing The Holdovers x G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Brut Champagne!
The Holdovers takes its title from the nickname for the students and faculty left to fend for themselves at a prestigious New England boarding school in the last two weeks of December 1970. Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, Downsizing) immerses the audience in the world of the movie with the use of period-accurate camera and sound equipment, giving the film an authentic look and sound that is challenging to duplicate.
This is a technically well-made film, but the elements that have captured my heart are the performances by the three anchoring actors. Paul Giamatti is predictably cantankerous as the lonely professor assigned to babysit the holdover students, though unlike previous Payne protagonists (looking at you, Miles Raymond), Giamatti infuses Paul Hunham with a sense of discovery and sensitivity that makes for a heart-wrenching third act. As a grieving mother of a teenager killed in action in the Vietnam War, Da’Vine Joy Randolph handles a minefield of emotions with nimble grace and a dose of humor in a performance that is sure to net some awards love this year. Newcomer Dominic Sessa makes his film debut here, but his natural aptitude for the camera and his ability to hold his own while surrounded by industry titans promise that audiences will see much more from the gangly young actor.
There’s a scene in the movie that revolves around the legendary advertising bit marketing Miller High Life as “the Champagne of beers”. While it was very (very) tempting to pair Miller High Life with this movie, I took the pairing a little more literally and came up with a great house Champagne that was a popular favorite in the early 1970’s: G.H. Mumm’s NV Grand Cordon Brut.
As a non-vintage house Champagne, Grand Cordon Brut outperforms its price point, making it a solid Champagne for consuming on its own or with a meal, and at a price that feels celebratory but doesn’t dent the pocketbook too much. These are all things to consider when shopping for a holiday wine, both today and for staff members at your favorite East Coast prep school in 1970. The label for Grand Cordon hasn’t changed much since the 1970’s, and the iconic red stripe gives it a vintage flair. Try this with smoked salmon canapés, a ⅓ pound cheeseburger with sharp cheddar and thick cut fries, or on its own when your mom and step-father ditch you for a delayed honeymoon.
The NV G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Brut Champagne is available from wine.com for $60 before tax and shipping. You can also look for it at your local wine store.
The Holdovers is currently available in movie theaters nationwide. Stay tuned for news on a streaming release date and platform.
The Last Sip
Fresno State marketing professor Dr. Monique Bell has published Terroir Noir: A 2023 Study of Black Wine Entrepreneurs. The 2023 edition of Terroir Noir is a follow-up study to the original 2020 publication, the first trade analysis of Black wine professionals. Also published with the study are anonymous, in-depth interviews with 40 Black wine business owners, which adds more context and personal anecdotes to support the data collected. The 2023 study is available for purchase here, and you can read more about Dr. Monique Bell and her work here.
That’s all for now. Until next week, cheers!
Maria Banson