The Pre-Shift: Monday, Feb. 24

Your weekly download for all things wine, movies, and Brunello Bombshell.

Good morning, dear readers! Here’s your Pre-Shift notes for today:

Master Sommelier Emily Wines behind the bar at the SAG Awards making wine-based cocktails. (Photo Credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock for SAG Awards)

In the restaurant world, the pre-shift meeting is the all-hands huddle to get through the rest of the shift. It’s an information download that helps everyone prepare for what’s to come. Consider this your little pick-me-up for the week ahead.

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Last Week on Brunello Bombshell

The Pre-Shift contains a whole bunch of content from me and friends of the blog.

For those already looking forward to the 98th Oscars in 2026, where the Best Casting Oscar will be awarded for the first time, I put together a watch list of this year’s best cast films.

I put forward my contribution to this month’s Wine Conversations series on green wine labels.

The newest episode of The Wine Press talks about the birth of the American Single Malt label.

And the latest wine and movie pairing covered a modern American classic and a killer Côtes-du-Rhône!

Great Substack Reads

After my article was released on Wednesday, we had two more Wine Conversations posts from

Simon J Woolf

and

Charlie Brown

.

Wine Conversations: It's Not Easy Being Green (IV)

Wine Conversations: It’s Not Easy Being Green (V)

ICYMI

Dave Baxter

and

Dallas Miller

have a new name for their signature podcast!

A Brilliant Best Friend is Still 1000x Better Than Shitty Fucking AI

Enrico Banson

has some thoughts on The Brutalist (2024). This is a must read article, if only for the discussions that it’s brought about.

"The Brutalist" is a Terrible Movie, and Here's Why

And I would follow that article with

Beth Lisogorsky

’s thoughtful and personal connection to the movie.

"The Brutalist" is Long, But It's Not Wrong

Amanda Kusek

brings back a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig with her review of Layer Cake (2004)

12 different writers on 12 meals in 12 different movies. Written by some of the food in film luminaries of Substack, including

Elissa Suh

,

JAKE MIKE BOY

, and

Alicia Kennedy

.

I am excited and scared to see Captain America: Brave New World (2025) after reading

Kevin Pettit

’s review.

Before the Law & Order guest stars got big, Miami Vice kickstarted the careers of many Hollywood favorites.

Fawnia Soo Hoo

gives us article-ception here with her case study on the Miami Vice guest stars that rose to fame, plus her genius piece on the fashion legacy of Miami Vice.

Daniel Parris

digs into the statistical proof of what makes a movie timeless. Justice for Must Love Dogs (2005), which happens to be a comfort movie for me! (But maybe I’m the only person that’s rewatched it as much as John Cusack rewatches Doctor Zhivago.)

And in case you needed some menu inspiration for your Oscars party,

Andrew Truong

provides the most drool-worthy menu and beverage pairings inspired by the Best Picture nominees.

Oh, And One More Thing…

Ballot competitions are closing this week before the Academy Awards on Sunday!

Here’s mine:

And here’s

Jonathan Ytreberg

’s.

2025 Oscar Prediction Contest

New details have been announced for the Brunello Bombshell Oscars Pre-Party at Wine On Piedmont in Oakland this Friday! Check out the Ballot Competition post above for more info, or get your tickets here.

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Thanks for joining us for The Pre-Shift! May you be as mischievous as Harrison Ford sneaking a cookie during Jessica Williams’ “I Am An Actor” moment at the SAG Awards.

Photo Credit: Netflix