Wine and Movie Pairing: Strength and Honor and Sharks and Wine
“Is this how Rome treats its heroes?”
Oh, what a happy time it’s been at the box office if you’re wearing swords and sandals. Today’s wine and movie pairing pays homage to the other half of “Glicked”... Gladiator II is getting its rightful pairing with a liter of rustic Italian wine!
Gladiator II is the sequel to the movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2001 - Gladiator. Sixteen years after the events of the original movie, the plot for the sequel follows an ancient Roman refugee who calls himself Hanno (Paul Mescal) after his wife dies in battle with General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Hanno falls into slavery, and learns how to fight as a gladiator under the conspiratorial Macrinus (Denzel Washington). Once Hanno starts winning some bouts, Macrinus promises Hanno the opportunity to kill General Acacius - but Macrinus suspects that the surprisingly well-educated Hanno could be Lucius, the long-lost son of the former emperor’s daughter (Connie Nielsen). I’m really trying to keep things spoiler free so you can appreciate the action in both movies, but let’s just say that family secrets are revealed and there’s a lot of action in the Roman Colosseum.
While this may be unofficially the Year of the Sequel, there’s a point to be made about the timing of Gladiator II’s release nearly a quarter century after the original. In hindsight, the original script was politically adroit with some scary lessons to learn about the fall of the Roman Empire. What lessons has director Ridley Scott - and, therefore, we as a society - learned since Russel Crowe’s Marcus Aurelius lit up movie screens everywhere?
Sharks. We got sharks. In the Colosseum.
(Just kidding. Kind of.)
There seems to be a trend with Ridley Scott’s latest wave of movies where one actor in a star-studded ensemble cast appears to be in a very different movie than everyone else (case in point: Jared Leto in House of Gucci). In Gladiator II, that actor is Denzel Washington. While the majority of the cast invoke the meaty drama of a Shakespearean history play, Denzel’s Macrinus turns into a conniving Falstaff substitute with major political ambitions. In that respect, the character is perceived to be more dangerous because Macrinus doesn’t give every small action the same weight as the rest of the people in his world. I have a sneaky suspicion that there was a lot of General Acacius material left on the cutting room floor, which winnows down Pedro Pascal’s screen time and reveals a few plot holes (again, spoiler free space). As the focal gladiator of the story, Paul Mescal performs handsomely, providing a new definition of masculinity for a generation who prioritizes “the soft boi” who can recite poetry as well as he wields a sword.
The film may be uneven, but Ridley Scott does such a good job at creating visual worlds that occasionally sins like sharks in the Colosseum are forgiven. Gladiator II is still a fun night at the movies, and well worth a watch if you enjoyed the original film… just come in with tempered expectations and focus on Denzel.
So what kind of wine says “gladiator fight with a side of scheming, but make it totally unserious”? I believe I have found the answer. Meet Ampeleia’s “Unlitro” Rosso, the rustic table red from Italy that looks and tastes like something Macrinus would drink by the bottle.
Ampeleia started as Elisabetta Foradori’s Tuscany project with two founding business partners in 2002. The desire to create well-made table wine from organic and biodynamic vineyards became the driving force, and Foradori eventually hired winemaker Marco Tait to realize that goal. Today, Tait is the most visible leader on the team, bringing a solid Cabernet Franc to the masses in addition to Italy’s favorite Tuscan table wine - “Unlitro”.
Sourced from the youngest vineyard holdings that are close to the sea, “Unlitro” uses an unspecified blend of Alicante Nero, Carignano, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and Alicante Bouschet - a cast of characters that work well as a group, with Sangiovese standing out as the true “native son” grape (Lucius/Hanno can relate). Alicante Nero and Alicante Bouschet act as the twin emperors, giving the wine some ripe dark fruit characteristics. Mourvèdre is a valiant warrior, like General Acacius, holding everything together with grippy tannin and lots of body. Carignano is light and friendly, acutely aware of its role in the final blend but knows how to hold its weight, much like Lucilla. And just to add intrigue and stir up some sh*t, there’s a touch of brettanomyces, a taste reminiscent of barnyard funk that can be off-putting to some, but absolutely delicious to others (sounds an awful lot like Macrinus, right?).
While this is certainly a fun, light table wine that has a myriad of potential pairings, I think the dinner and a movie can nod to the crazy number of wild animals that appear in the gladiator fights. Think game meats cooked low and slow in place of meats you’d use for Central Italian pasta dishes today. I drank this while finishing up turkey leftovers, but I encourage you to try this with a boar ragù, rabbit on pappardelle, or even a hearty eggplant parmigiana.
The 2022 vintage of Ampeleia’s “Unlitro” Rosso is available at your local independent wine store. You can also check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you. Thank you for supporting small businesses!
Gladiator II (2024) is now playing in movie theaters.