Wine and Movie Pairing: Any Wine But You
"Is that Tasmania?"
Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is a great day to cozy up with a great bottle of wine and a fun movie. There’s a lot of pressure to pick something super romantic, but I have a recent box office hit with an old school romantic comedy feel and gluggable wine cued up… Let’s pair Anyone But You (2023) with an easy breezy Chardonnay from the Margaret River GI in Australia!
Anyone But You (2023) is a modern take on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. When Bea (Sydney Sweeney) meets Ben (Glen Powell) at a coffee shop, they have a meet-cute that eventually turns sour. But Bea’s sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) is marrying Ben’s best friend Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), and Bea and Ben’s feud could ruin their otherwise perfect wedding weekend in Sydney, Australia. With the entire wedding party conspiring to get the two to make peace, will Ben and Bea actually find a way to become friends, if not lovers?
I live for a good Shakespeare adaptation, and Anyone But You is a clever revision on the key points of Much Ado About Nothing that doesn’t pander to its audience. Some quotes from the original play pop up on title cards throughout the movie, and there’s a quote said aloud once in a while, but the script doesn’t necessarily shove tongue-in-cheek Shakespeare-isms down the audience’s throat like other modern adaptations. What’s universal remains: family dramas, relationships between friends, how people get just a little crazier around weddings, and the human ability to let one’s guard down in the name of finding love and connection.
Glen Powell proves that he is the 2020’s answer to Matthew McConaughey, doing a lot of the heavy lifting as a scene partner while finding joy in the character. Because Powell is such an enigmatic presence on screen, Sydney Sweeney reads a little colder (which works for the character), but her moments of warmth are few and far between. The ensemble cast looked like they were having a great time together on set - Alexandra Shipp (Tick, Tick… Boom!) makes for a good foil to Glen Powell, while Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths ham it up as Sydney Sweeney’s “Black Ops helicopter parents”.
An underrated character in the movie is the city of Sydney. Writer/director/Australian Will Gluck made it a point to highlight the natural beauty of life in Sydney, and because the movie focused on shooting Sydney as Sydney (not another city), a lot of red tape was removed. The daytime shots on the steps of the Sydney Opera House are beautiful, as are the dense forest shots on the hike (you’ll know it when you see it). The love of beach culture is real, as is the love of Australian coffee. Apparently the cast had a great time together on location, and now I’m contemplating a winter vacation to Sydney!
Anyone But You slips into the oeuvre of modern Shakespeare movies with ease, and is worth revisiting when the winter blues hit (it’s summer in Australia now!) or when you need to belt out a chorus of “Unwritten” without judgment.
To pair with the movie, I wanted to bring you an easy, crowd pleasing wine that would feel right at home at a Sydney wedding or a Netflix-and-chill night with your boo. The temptation to pair a wine from New South Wales was real, but I’m taking you to the other coast of Australia for this oft-maligned gem of a wine. Meet the 2023 Woodlands Wilyabrup Valley Chardonnay from Margaret River!
Power couple David and Heather Watson founded Woodlands in 1973, one of the first five vineyards to be planted in Margaret River. The original plantings - 1.2 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon - are still in use today! David and Heather are still active in the business today, having jointly received the Jack Mann Memorial Medal for their contributions to Margaret River’s wine industry. Their sons, Stuart and Andrew, joined the family business in 2002, and Stuart is still the Head Winemaker for Woodlands.
While the estate was founded on Bordeaux-esque Cabernet Sauvignon, this Chardonnay is an unexpected knockout. Woodlands’ goal for the Wilyabrup Chardonnay is to work up to 100% Wilyabrup Valley fruit that is 100% Mendoza clone Chardonnay with 100% spontaneous fermentation. If the 2023 vintage is any indication, Woodlands is on the right track. With complex secondary notes of white mushroom, brie cheese, and a little honey, this is a sturdy wine that still retains a lot of acidity. Some oak and incidental malolactic fermentation is used here, so there’s a creamier texture, but expect a wine that’s structured and ready for just about anything.
This is a great Valentine’s Day wine! Go all out and pair it with lobster or crab legs, or call it a casual night at home with some Old Bay-dusted mac and cheese. This also holds its own with a charcuterie board, so if you were contemplating a wheel of brie and a box of Triscuits, that is highly encouraged.
The 2023 vintage of Woodland’s “Wilyabrup” Chardonnay is available at your local independent wine store. Check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you. Thank you for supporting small businesses!
Anyone But You (2023) is currently streaming on Netflix, and is available on PVOD, DVD, and Blu-Ray.