Wine and Movie Pairing: Little Chefs Drink Kermit
“If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff.”
The 2024 Olympics kick off in Paris today, so let’s celebrate with a Parisian wine and movie pairing! Today’s we’re pairing the seminal animated classic Ratatouille (2007) with another humble classic, the 2022 vintage of Kermit Lynch’s “Terres d’Avignon” Côtes du Rhône.
Ratatouille (2007) is beloved by many around the world for its heartwarming story as well as its romantic portrayal of Paris and restaurant life. Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) is a rat with a dream of cooking professionally. At the risk of being exiled from his trash-eating family, Remy studies the life and work of the late Chef Auguste Gusteau and diligently watches Gusteau’s restaurant in Paris from afar, hoping to cook in that same kitchen. When Gusteau’s new garbage boy Alfredo Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano) butchers a soup, Remy fixes it on the spot, prompting Linguini to get promoted to the line… with some help from his new rodent friend under his hat.
Ruthless food critic Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O’Toole) finds out about the promising young chef at Gusteau’s, and schedules a dinner reservation that threatens to make or break the restaurant. With the help of Colette (voiced by Janeane Garofalo) and under the watchful eye of Chef Skinner (voiced by Ian Holm), Linguini and Remy have to work as a team to pull off the unimaginable and earn a glowing review. Can the team prove Chef Gusteau’s motto that anyone can cook?
Ratatouille is one of those movies that just about everyone agrees is a masterpiece. From the culinary-inspired score by Michael Giacchino (where pots, pans, and kitchen utensils were used as percussion instruments), to the realistic-looking animated food, to the beautiful screenplay, Paris’ thriving restaurant culture comes alive through the eyes, nose, and palate of one enthusiastic rat. I would like to imagine that the copper pots that are depicted everywhere in the Gusteau’s kitchen are inspired by Chez Panisse in Berkeley as they are traditional French cookware. Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry was a culinary consultant on the film, and reimagined the traditional ratatouille stew into what he has dubbed “confit byaldi” - a meticulously sliced stack of vegetables that looks just as delicious on screen as it would in a fine dining restaurant.
For a wine with strong culinary pedigree, humble roots, and wide appeal that also happens to be a delicious scene stealer, look no further than Kermit Lynch’s bottling of Côtes du Rhône. Anton Ego may have specifically requested a bottle of 1947 Cheval Blanc to pair with his meal at Gusteau’s (one of the 20th Century’s all-time great wines), but an accessible and well made Côtes du Rhône with ratatouille is a pairing unlike any other.
The Southern Rhône Valley prides itself on producing hearty red blends made from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and other supporting characters. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Vacqueyras are all specially designated AOP regions in the Southern Rhône with their own legal restrictions on grape blends and winemaking techniques, but there’s a lot more room to play in the Côtes du Rhône category a tier below. Côtes du Rhône wines usually have solid structure and a similar flavor to the great AOP-designated wines, but at a significantly cheaper price point.
Kermit Lynch is a name wine aficionados will recognize as one of the world’s foremost importers and distributors of French and Italian wines. His meticulous palate and dedication to promoting small winemakers that use low intervention viticulture were revolutionary when he founded the Kermit Lynch import label in 1972, but are now key components of his portfolio of producers. Kermit Lynch’s Côtes du Rhône is a collaboration between the Berkeley-based importer and winemaker Jean-François Pasturel of Terres d’Avignon, filling a need in the market for a delicious weeknight wine made with attention to traditional winemaking.
Every vintage of the “Terres d’Avignon” Côtes du Rhône has a different blend of grapes, but the wine usually features Grenache as the star, with Syrah and Mourvèdre as strong supporting characters and Cinsault, Carignan, and Marselan completing the ensemble cast with varying degrees of screen time. The wine is juicy and full bodied, but surprising with every sip - a signature Southern French herbal quality comes through on the nose, with juicy red plum and red raspberry dominant on the palate. The structure is taut but approachable, which is great for a heavier meal.
Of course, the traditional food pairing with a Côtes du Rhône wine is the titular ratatouille. This is a bottle that you’ll want to open while making ratatouille from scratch with fresh, in-season tomatoes and eggplants. If ratatouille isn’t an option, try this with other tomato or eggplant-based dishes - try it with Alison Roman’s roasted eggplant pasta!
The 2022 vintage of Kermit Lynch’s “Terres d’Avignon” Côtes du Rhône is available at your local independent wine store, through Kermit Lynch, or wine.com. You can also check WineSearcher.com for details on stockists near you.
Ratatouille (2007) is available to stream on Disney+. You can also rent it on Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, and Fandango At Home.