Wine and Movie Pairing: Show Me The Money!
"You complete me."
In honor of the Super Bowl this coming Sunday, we dip into some Oscars history for a football movie that was nominated for Best Picture and won gold for its Supporting Actor. Get ready to show me the money, because we’re pairing Jerry Maguire (1996) with a juicy Petite Sirah from Livermore Valley!
Jerry Maguire (1996) is loosely based on the life of sports agent Leigh Steinberg, the man behind Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman (both men make cameo appearances in the film). 35-year-old sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) has it all - a roster full of high profile athletes, a fiancée who also works in sports (Kelly Preston), and a fantastic staff of mentees and associates at Sports Management International. When Jerry “eats two slices of bad pizza, goes to bed, and wakes up with a conscience”, he writes a 25 page manifesto (not a memo) entitled The Things We Think And Do Not Say: The Future Of Our Business about the state of the sports business and how management agencies can help their clients. This manifesto gets distributed to everyone at Sports Management International, and throughout the world of professional sports… landing Jerry out of the agency with one client, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one employee, single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger), and no fiancée.
Writer/Director Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Elizabethtown) has created a romantic comedy about sports that at times feels dated for today’s audiences, but overall gets its point across. Yes, the movie may be titled Jerry Maguire, but the most interesting characters are left without a lot of resolution. Crowe’s affinity for the works of Billy Wilder comes through a lot in this movie, especially when dealing with Dorothy’s character - there’s an Audrey Hepburn reference that comes out of left field in the script, but cinematographer Janusz Kaminski lights and frames Renée Zellweger the same way that Marilyn Monroe was in movies like Some Like It Hot. While some elements may have faded into irrelevance over time, the solid structure of the screenplay is still intact, which leads me to believe that the script could (and maybe should) be remade for a 2020s audience.
The things that still work today are the acting performances and the chemistry between the primary acting quartet. Tom Cruise is at his prime here, channeling that borderline manic energy into a passionate and committed performance. Jerry Maguire was the breakout movie for two time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger, and it’s still one of my favorite comedic performances of hers. Cuba Gooding, Jr. proves that he is every bit a movie star as aging wide receiver Rod Tidwell, but his chemistry with both Cruise and Regina King, who plays his wife, is phenomenal. While Marcee Tidwell may be underbaked as a character in the screenplay, trust Regina King to make a meal out of every interaction and fill each scene with unwritten subtext.
At the 97th Academy Awards in 1997, Jerry Maguire earned five Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Lead Actor for Tom Cruise, Best Supporting Actor for Cuba Gooding, Jr., Best Screenplay for Cameron Crowe, and Best Editing for Joe Hutsing. Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s win for Best Supporting Actor was the big win of the night, and his speech is a fun one.
The wine pairing for this movie is kind of a tall order. I wanted to find something that had roots in the football world, but still felt romantic, and had some solid structure. And then I remembered that I was waiting for the right moment to open this gem in my cellar: the 2018 Darcie Kent “Madden Big Petite” Petite Sirah, a single variety Petite Sirah featuring grapes sourced from Madden Ranch Vineyard (owned by the late John Madden, a storied NFL coach and commentator).
When Madden and his wife, Virginia Fields, settled in the Livermore Valley area in 1967, they became loyal locals and immediately wanted to buy vineyard property. They settled on an area now known as Madden Ranch Vineyard, which focuses on Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. Very few local vintners have been permitted to use these grapes, but Darcie Kent was one of the names that the Madden family trusted. While John Madden acknowledged the important role that Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah played in modern wine markets, he was particularly fond of Petite Sirah - a big, juicy grape that he believed could be a calling card for Madden Ranch Vineyard and the Livermore Valley AVA.
Of course, Coach was right. Even with some age on it, the 2018 Madden Big Petite is thick and juicy - 14.2% ABV, with tons of ripe red plum, raspberry jam, black cherries, milk chocolate, and vanilla bean aromatics. The structure lines up with the rest of the wine - while it may have been a little big for its britches upon release, the bottle age has settled things down, and the alcohol level feels in line with the weight of the wine. So while this may be a juicy, easy drinking bottle for a romantic date night, there’s also some structural elements that deserve further contemplation. This would be a wine to return to after a few years to see if it still holds up.
I ended up pairing the wine with truffle parmesan popcorn (it’s movie night, after all!), but I would highly recommend opening up a bottle of the Petite Sirah with Mexican food. Make it a true date night inspired by the movie with Paco’s Tacos, sounds of a mariachi band in the corner, and a big plate of steak fajitas. Or, if you’re feeling some type of way this Valentine’s Day, two slices of bad pizza works, too.
The 2018 vintage of Darcie Kent’s “Madden Big Petite” was the last one made. Check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you as they pop up. As an alternative, I’d recommend Darcie Kent’s 2020 Firepit Red Blend. Thank you for supporting small businesses!
Jerry Maguire (1996) is currently streaming on Paramount+, and is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
And for further reading, I touched on the history of Darcie Kent Winery in a previous wine and movie pairing featuring Darcie’s DeMayo Chardonnay with Mrs. Doubtfire (1994).
