Movies and wine are becoming something of a recurring theme here, but I like that. They have a lot in common as I’ll explain in this post, inspired by Beach City Girl’s comment on my last post.
For those of you who don’t remember (or more likely didn’t read) the last post, Beach City Girl called me out on when I said I wouldn’t pair a wine with Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants because I had no interest in seeing it. She stated: “I think you would actually really enjoy Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants... As with wines, don't knock it til you try it.”
I am going to use her comment as a jumping off point to explain why movies and wine are similar, and to tell why my anti-Traveling Pants attitude isn’t actually narrow minded, but just me showing a bit about my preferences in movies and wine.
For starters, how many different wines are there in the world? Different varietals, makers, vintages, etc… there are a ton, right? More than you could ever possibly try. Even Parker who supposedly tries 10,000 wines a year doesn’t come anywhere near trying every wine made. Now movies, how many different movies have been made? Different genres, actors, countries of origin, etc… there are a ton, right? More than you could ever possibly watch. Even Roger Ebert doesn’t come anywhere near seeing everything that comes out. Since these professionals don’t even come close to keeping up with their industry, how could I, as a casual fan of both ever dream to? Well, with movies it’s relatively simple- advertising, pedigree (from actors and directors, etc.), reviews, and recommendations from friends and family help me determine which movies interest me, and based on these “previews,” I choose to see or not see a particular movie, knowing that I cannot see them all, but figuring that I might as well select the ones that I am most likely to enjoy. Back to wine where it’s a bit more complicated. Wineries rarely advertise, so I don’t have commercials and posters to pique my interest. Pedigree and recommendations are what we have to go off of when we choose a wine. The reputation of a particular region, winemaker, or vintage are usually enough to gain my interest and make me want to try a wine. For instance, it was the reputations of both Biondi Santi and Heitz Cellar that drove me to try their wines recently. It was the tradition of Bordeaux that made me try their wine for the first time years ago, and the tradition of Chianti is part of what makes it a favorite of mine. Recommendations are huge too. Friends tell me about good wines all the time, and from these recommendations, I have discovered some amazing wines. Again, realizing that I cannot try (or afford) them all, the goal is to try and make selections that I am most likely to enjoy.
So, based on this logic, I do not see my anti-Traveling Pants stance as narrow minded, but as playing the percentages after having seen previews and after not having it recommended to me until Beach City Girl said I would enjoy it, just a few days ago. It wasn’t on my radar as something that I would enjoy, so I wouldn’t gravitate towards it. Wine is similar- I’m not drawn to Pinotage from South Africa or big, buttery Chardonnays from California for the same reasons. They are rarely recommended to me, and based on their “previews” I make the decision to spend my time enjoying other wines.
Now, the argument that I just laid out is a solid foundation for me, but as you might be thinking, it sounds like it could get boring and monotonous- always choosing similar things because that’s what you like and never being all that adventurous. That leads me to another similarity between wine and movies- random discovery that is made because of other’s decisions. How many times have you seen a movie because you went on a date and saw something your companion wanted to see? Or how many times have you been over at a friend’s house and seen something that you had never heard of or never really considered watching yourself? How many times have you been bored one afternoon and watched a movie just because it was on TV when nothing else was? And, of all of these movies that you just happened to happen upon, how many of them did you enjoy? My bet would be that there are a bunch of them. When it comes to wine, how many times have you been to dinner at a friend’s house and been exposed to a new wine you enjoyed? How many times have you visited a friend and been to a local winery, thus discovering a new region? How many times have you been tasting and tried something that pleasantly surprised you? Again, my bet would be that this happens pretty often. All the questions I posed above involved situations that were (mostly) out of your control, so they pushed you into a new situation, and at least sometimes, that new situation left a positive impression on you, allowing you to grow, and possibly changing your mindset somewhat, thus revising what movies and wine previews are likely to influence you in the future. These random situations help us keep our love of wine and movies from growing stagnant, they help us learn more about the vast genres that we will never fully master, and, more to my original point, they keep us adventurous while helping us avoid being narrow minded.
This being said, Traveling Pants might now deserve a second look now that it has been recommended by a credible source. Maybe Beach City Girl can recommend a wine to pair with it to truly make me watching the movie a new and random event?
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