Wine And Movie Pairing: Two Wolfs, One Wine
“Are you really not partners?”
This week’s wine and movie pairing takes on a recent hit for Apple TV starring two old school Hollywood movie stars in competition with one another… Introducing Wolfs (2024), paired with another collaboration of strange bedfellows, the 2022 Broc Cellars La Boutanche Zinfandel!
Wolfs (2024) is a showpiece written and directed by Jon Watts specifically with George Clooney and Brad Pitt in mind. In the movie, Margaret (Amy Ryan) finds herself in a sticky situation and calls a fixer (Clooney) to clean up the literal and figurative mess. The well-executed plan takes a turn when a second fixer (Pitt) pops up to do the same job. In a line of work where running in a pack can be the difference between life and death, can two lone wolves team up and get through the night in one piece?
At a time in cinema history with a dearth of good Creatures Of The Night movies, Wolfs comes in to redefine the genre and add a hearty dose of humor. The script is tight, raising the stakes with every scene while allowing two major movie stars with great screen chemistry to use their natural rapport in a different way. It’s established early on in the film that Clooney and Pitt’s characters (who remain nameless throughout the movie), are thoroughly professional and highly skilled, and seeing these two people in the same field find a way to work together to solve a common problem is highly entertaining. There’s an “old person” joke swap or two as the fixers find common ground in competition with one another. The script feels breezy, like riding in a convertible late at night with the top down. At a total run time of 107 minutes, there’s a lot of action and more comedy to be examined at first watch. Wolfs is a movie that demands rewatch after rewatch.
I wanted to take a second to remark on the cinematography in the movie. The on-screen world is beautifully captured, with expert camera framing and many memorable stills. It’s hard to light a movie that takes place almost entirely after dark, but cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All At Once) manages to keep the overall vibe nocturnal and tough with flashes of neon in unexpected places. The textures in the fabric of New York City at night come out to play as much as the characters in the film - from the glossy marble in a hotel penthouse to the crunch of fresh snow to a tough but tender graze of a leather jacket, the many textures of the film define place and time as much as a sun (or lack of) would.
Fortunately, more Wolfs is expected soon - right before the movie’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, Apple TV announced that a sequel is currently in development. Writer/Director Jon Watts has signed on to pen the newest installment.
One would think that there would need to be two wines to pair with this specific movie. And yet, there’s one wine that celebrates the spirit of collaboration between two unlikely - but prestigious - houses. If you haven’t heard of Broc Cellars or La Boutanche, their 2022 Zinfandel collab is an excellent lens into the world of natural wine.
La Boutanche is an arm of Selection Massale that actively seeks out collaborations with great wineries around the world to create excellent single variety table wines. These wines often come from France, they are always sold in liter bottles (read: party size!), and they try to keep the price within the $20-30 range. Other collaborations include a Gamay from Beaujolais with Olivier Minot and a Grenache from Corsica with Thomas Santamaria.
Broc Cellars, on the other hand, was founded by Chris Brockway in the early 2000s as a way to reclaim California Zinfandel’s bad reputation as a heavyweight red high in alcohol and weighed down by residual sugar. In 2008, Brockway opened Broc Cellars’ urban winery facility in the Gilman district of Berkeley, California, which has become a staple for natural wine fans throughout the Bay Area. Broc Cellars is now famous for its meticulously crafted blends; among my favorites are the Amore Rosso (a blend of Italian grape varietes from California) and the annual Nouveau (an ever-changing roster of red grapes designed for the lightest, yummiest chilled red).
So what happens when Broc Cellars and La Boutanche get together to produce a single variety liter of delicious and affordable table wine? You get a Zinfandel that is every bit the blueberry bomb that makes it irresistible, but with a significantly lighter body and an attention to detail that captures the drinker’s attention within seconds. This is 100% Zinfandel pulled from four different vineyards across California - experts in their own fields, suddenly thrust into a team mission. Juicy red and blue fruits jump out of the glass on the nose, and the palate brings a strong backbone of acidity with that “glou glou” factor inherent with a lower alcohol red. Try this wine with a light chill - maybe keep it away from the glass bar cart next to the bed?
I’d personally drink this with anything off the menu from a greasy spoon 24 hour diner. Try it with a mushroom and swiss burger, or even a steak and eggs breakfast-for-dinner meal. Either way, don’t look at me when the bottle disappears faster than you thought.
The 2022 vintage of Broc Cellars La Boutanche Zinfandel is available directly on the Broc Cellars website and through wine.com. You can also check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you. Thank you for shopping at your local independent wine store!
Wolfs (2024) is now available to stream on Apple TV+. Stay tuned for Blu-Ray and DVD formats as they become available.