Wine and TV Pairing: Mourvèdre, Queen of the Dance
“I’m good with feet.”
It’s been a while since the last Wine and TV Pairing, and seeing that the eligibility period for this year’s crop of Emmy nominees is quickly coming to an end, it might be time to get back to some television. Buckle in and turn on Prime Video as we pop open a bottle of Liquid Farm’s famous Rosé of Mourvèdre to pair with Étoile (2025)!
Étoile (2025) is the latest television creation for storied producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino (Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). When the artistic staff of the Metropolitan Ballet Theater in New York and Le Ballet Nacional in Paris realize that ticket sales and enthusiasm for ballet are both at all time lows, they mutually decide to swap talent for a season to get new butts in seats. Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the managing director of the opera and ballet in Paris, and Jack McMillan (Luke Kirby), managing director in New York, do their best to wrangle an American choreographer in Paris (Gideon Glick) and a Parisian principal ballerina with a rebellious streak (Lou de Laâge), amongst other location-swapped members of the corps. Will the stunt casting pay off for the two companies? And even if it does, will it be worth it?
Étoile represents a major diversion from the nostalgia-filled visual tones that make up the previous works produced by the Sherman-Palladinos. Where Gilmore Girls made fall in Connecticut look warm and comforting, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel played with a rose-colored vintage setting, Étoile does its best to remove the audience from the inherent glitz and glamour of professional ballet - and the show suffers because of it. Fans of the other two shows crave that dose of nostalgic glamour, and while those who work in the performing arts understand the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to get a performance on its feet, the Étoile audience is largely here for the tutus and the grace on tiptoe. This struggle between an ironclad producing style and the desire to push the envelope results in an uneven show, almost as if the Sherman-Palladinos pitched an idea for their version of Call My Agent! and struggled to establish how it fits into their producer-verse after the pilot.
For all its unevenness, however, the show has some brilliant moments that will be especially appreciated by those who already love ballet as an art form. Lou de Laâge is a breath of fresh air in her first English-speaking role as Cheyenne Toussaint, the titular Parisian étoile who causes havoc on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Cheyenne may be the most realized character on paper, but it’s de Laâge who turns a dancer written as a villain into an anti-hero in a tutu. The scenes between Cheyenne and Jack McMillan are often the most engaging points of each episode (I’m also minorly convinced that Luke Kirby could have chemistry with a paper bag as a scene partner, but that’s besides the point).
As someone who has worked in professional theater and opera, there’s a lot that resonates with me and my own lived experiences. My workplace comedy wasn’t The Office; it was Slings and Arrows. And while Étoile may not be a perfect show, or anywhere near the hype it’s received in trade publications, it still feels like a journey into a world I deeply care about, and a world that I terribly miss. Until I’m working at Lincoln Center myself, I’m happy to pop on the show and get lost in the world for an hour at a time.
So naturally we are drinking pink this week. As Miranda Priestly would say, “No no, that’s not a question”. What’s the perfect rosé that plays with both French and American expectations of wine? A Bandol-style rosé with a crushed velvet texture that hails from the coldest parts of Santa Barbara? Guess you’ll have to drink Liquid Farm’s Rosé of Mourvèdre and find out.
To know me is to know of my obsession with rosé. I’ve been known to tell people, “if it’s pink I will drink” (and that goes double for rosé bubbles, by the way). Early in my wine appreciation journey, I got hooked on Bandol rosé - not just a pink drink from Provence, but an extra textured and full bodied glass of joy. It was a sad day when I went to my local wine shop one day and found that they had completely sold out of my favorite Bandol rosé. That day got significantly better, however, when the sales associate put this bottle in my hands as a replacement.
Liquid Farm has been known for crafting some gorgeous wines with old school French style from Santa Barbara County. While the label was founded on putting some great Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay in people’s hands (and their Chardonnays are exquisite!), the Rosé of Mourvèdre has become a culty bottle for wine enthusiasts and professionals alike. CEO and Founder Jeff Nelson sought out to create a Bandol-inspired Rosé of Mourvèdre that had all the body of his favorite French rosé without the higher alcohol percentage that often defines California rosé. Mission accomplished.
Every vintage I’ve had a chance to try has been fantastic: Ripe strawberries, a little candied orange peel, and some fresh juicy watermelon aromatics appear on the nose, while the palate delivers a good oomph of fruit-forward power and structure that feels like satin-wrapped iron. Mourvèdre has a way of creating a lot of complexity in a wine, and single variety Rosé of Mourvèdre delivers on those signature bass notes while providing more lightness and range on the palate. And clocking in at less than 12% ABV, this is a rosé that’s meant to be sipped, savored, and appreciated over a long evening.
Food pairings vary (Liquid Farm claims that you can drink this wine with anything but cereal), but a nod to both France and the U.S. would be welcomed here. Try an arugula salad with salmon and avocado, roasted chicken with herbes de Provence, or a Quiche Lorraine from your favorite bougie American bistro.
The Liquid Farm Rosé of Mourvèdre is available at your local independent wine store. Check WineSearcher for local availability (vintages may vary, but they’re all delicious). You can also order directly from the Liquid Farm website.
All episodes of Étoile (2025) are now streaming on Prime Video.