Movies and Booze
27th January, 2012
With thanks to O’Brien’s
www.obrineswine.ie
Wines by Jean Smullen
Today on Movies & Booze we are looking at a range of unique grape varieties and different wine styles from France, Chile and Argentina.
2010 Domaine Duffour RRP €9.49
Special February Price €7.99 at O’Briens Off Licences
Stockists: O’Briens Wine off-licences at Ashbourne; Athlone; Ballybrack; Beacon South; Blanchardstown; Quinsboro Road, Bray; Vevay Road, Bray; Carlow; Carrickmines; City West; Clontarf; Dalkey; Donnybrook; Drogheda; Dun Laoghaire; Galway; Glasnevin; Greystones; Limerick; Malahide; Naas; Navan Road, Dublin 7; Navan, Co Meath; Newbridge; Rathgar; Rathmines; Sandymount; Stillorgan and Templeogue.
PRICE:
REGION: Gascony
GRAPE: Colombard 80% & 20% Gros Manseng
Our white wine today comes from South West France from Gascony which is better known for Armagnac. This is a IGP wine (quality wine from a specified region) in this case the Cotes du Gascogne. The two best known AOC regions here are Jurancon (best known for sweet white wines made from Gros & Petit Manseng) and Madiran known for hearty red wines made from the Tannat grape.
Originally used for the production of Cognac and Armagnac. It is a very acidic grape but with lovely flowery perfumed characters. It is very widely planted in Gascony Outside France Colombard was the most widely planted grape in California until the early 1990s where it was often used as a base for jug wines. Colombard can produce crisp whites with citrus fruits and a pleasant minerality.
Gros Manseng is one of the two key white grapes of the Jurancon appellation where it features heavily in the production of the drier styles of this wine. It is very closely related to the Petit Manseng grape. Both are very aromatic grapes with lots of acid and texture and a good weighty mouth feel, the addition of the Gros Manseng adds a peachy character to the wine.
The grapes are Grown on chalk/limestone hills close to the cooling influence of the Atlantic. Modern, stainless steel fermentation and maturation.
Gold Medal Winner in Frances new National Competition for IGP wines
2009 Coyam RRP€18.99
Special February Price €14.99 at O’Briens Off Licences
Stockists: O’Briens Wine off-licences at Ashbourne; Athlone; Ballybrack; Beacon South; Blanchardstown; Quinsboro Road, Bray; Vevay Road, Bray; Carlow; Carrickmines; City West; Clontarf; Dalkey; Donnybrook; Drogheda; Dun Laoghaire; Galway; Glasnevin; Greystones; Limerick; Malahide; Naas; Navan Road, Dublin 7; Navan, Co Meath; Newbridge; Rathgar; Rathmines; Sandymount; Stillorgan and Templeogue.
90 points Wine Spectator
This is a really beautiful wine from Chile. The wine is produced by Viñedos Emiliana one of Chile’s best known organic producers The winery was founded in 1986.
This wine is made from grapes grown in a biodynamic vineyard in Colchagua Valley.
The principals of biodynamics,are based on the science developed by Austrian-Hungarian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925).
Colchagua enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate and offers a variety of distinctive vineyard sites with specific micro climates and soil types. Growing reputation for top reds and home to Chile’s most prized sub region Apalta.
Colchagua is Chile’s agricultural heartland and no newcomer to vinegrowing. Many of the country’s finest red wines hail from this region. Premium vineyards now scale hillsides such as Apalta and Ninquen to take advantage of the conditions that allow later ripening resulting in deeper colours and aromas, rich flavours and well rounded tannins
This wine is a blended wine made from 41% Syrah, 29% Carménère, 20% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauv. 2% Mourvedre, 1% Petit Verdot . With the exception of Syrah and Mourvedre , all the other red grapes originated in Bordeaux where they were used to produce wines known as Bordeaux Blend.
Syrah and Mourvedre are better known in South of France. Syrah is the red grape indigenous to theNorthern Rhone. Mourvedre is a red Spanish grape known as Monastrell in Spain.
The new world experiments with a range of grapes and grape blends making this wine quite unique in terms of its structure.
A big full bodied wine with lots of cassis and soft sweet vanilla flavours yet with a good tannic structure this is a food wine, perfect when served with Roast Beef or Lamb, a rich slow cooked stew or any type of game.
It was aged for 13 months, 80% in French oak and 20% in American oak barrels
New Zealand Wine Fair 2012
Start off your wine New Year by coming along to the New Zealand Wine Fair on January 30th at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Golden Lane. Tickets available at door price €15.00. Taste the wines and learn more about how wine is made by meeting the Kiwi winemakers who will be travelling to Dublin from the other side of the world to show their wines.
More information on the wine diary website www.jeansmullen.com
Like Crazy
Jacob (Yelchin), an American, and Anna (Jones), an English girl, meet and fall in love while in their last semester at college. Their love is all consuming and they cannot bare to be apart. When Anna’s visa expires she decides to ignore this and stay on in the States. This rash decision has severe repercussion on their relationship in the months and years to come. When Anna leaves America for a brief trip to England she is not allowed to re-enter the States on her return. Will their love survive the long distance and will they ever get the happily ever after they so desperately want with each other?
There is a real naturalness and passion in this film. This is in part due to the way it has been shot. It is not the stylized camera shots usually used in Hollywood romance stories, instead it has a documentary, fly on the wall feel about it. As a result you are engulfed into the characters lives from the get go.
It also helps that Yelchin and Jones have such a raw chemistry. From the onset, as a viewer, you can feel the passion and intensity of their love, the awkward moments and even the knots in their stomach moments transfer to yours. This could have to do with the fact that most of the script was improvised. The improvisation serves as both a positive and a negative. When done well it adds to the organic feel of this film, however, at times scenes feel very drawn out.
Director, Drake Doremus, has managed to capture the agony, and the unique issues that come with being in a long distance relationships. He has the pain of trying to snatch conversations due to time zones issues, the nervousness of seeing a person in their own environment, and the constant feeling of being on a holiday romance.
However, as the film goes on the characters start to lack depth and it’s very hard to feel any empathy for them. Frustration rather than empathy start to enter the mix. This is especially so when Sam (Jennifer Lawrence) enters the mix. While she is likeable, her actions make her very frustrating and in turn show Jacob and Anna in a not so bright light.
But maybe this is the emotion Doremus wanted the audience to feel? All the characters and the situation they find themselves in is frustrating. So, perhaps, if the audience leaves the cinema feeling the same frustration, he has achieved his aim?
While it is great that it does not go for the formulaic Hollywood romance story, Like Crazy unfortunately loses its appeal when it starts to feel like it is going round and round in circles and then all over a sudden it comes to an abrupt halt.
I wanted to be crazy about this film but I fell out of love with it as it went on. It had flashes of being as fabulous as (500) Days of Summer but unfortunately it never reaches those heights.
- Sarina Bellissimo
The Descendants
In his award winning role, George Clooney plays Matt King, a lawyer, a husband, and a father, who has always provided for his wife and children but until now, has never really been present. Whilst being forced to make a big decision on behalf of his extended family, regarding the biggest property deal in Hawaiian history, his wife is involved in a boating accident, which leaves her in a coma. It becomes solely up to him to help his children deal with this tragedy and at the same time deal with the secret his wife has been keeping from him.
We all know that Clooney can do suave, cool, and sophisticated, but, can he be the everyday man? The answer is yes, and not only can he do it, he can do it well. Clooney shows how versatile an actor he is in this film. He is exceptional in giving this very understated but moving performance. His performance has already been recognized at the Golden Globes, where he won for Best Actor, and he has also been nominated for an Academy Award (which many are tipping will be his too).
Clooney’s is not the only performance to be commended though. Shailene Woodley gives a feisty, yet tender, performance as Clooney’s rebellious older daughter. She is not intimidated by Clooney at all. Woodley is definitely going to be an actress to watch in the coming years.
The Descendants deals with very tragic moments, and in the hands of any other director this could have turned into a big Hollywood “sop” fest. However, Sideways director Alexander Payne has avoided the temptation to go all Hollywood dramatic on us, he instead has made this film feel like an everyday occurrence. Payne usually blends tragedy and comedy quite well and he has done so again here.
The only complaint I would have about this film is that at 111 minutes it is about 20 minutes too long. Also, I am not sure if this everyday story would have worked without an actor of Clooney’s ability and popularity.
That said, The Descendants is an entertaining film. You don’t have to be a parent to connect with it. The Descendants deals with universal family/relationship issues that everyone can relate to. The Descendants is moving, thought provoking and wonderful – you will definitely need tissues!
- Sarina Bellissimo
RRP €9.49
Special February Price €7.99 at O’Briens Off Licences
Stockists: O’Briens Wine off-licences at Ashbourne; Athlone; Ballybrack; Beacon South; Blanchardstown; Quinsboro Road, Bray; Vevay Road, Bray; Carlow; Carrickmines; City West; Clontarf; Dalkey; Donnybrook; Drogheda; Dun Laoghaire; Galway; Glasnevin; Greystones; Limerick; Malahide; Naas; Navan Road, Dublin 7; Navan, Co Meath; Newbridge; Rathgar; Rathmines; Sandymount; Stillorgan and Templeogue.
PRICE:
REGION: Gascony
GRAPE: Colombard 80% & 20% Gros Manseng
Our white wine today comes from South West France from Gascony which is better known for Armagnac. This is a IGP wine (quality wine from a specified region) in this case the Cotes du Gascogne. The two best known AOC regions here are Jurancon (best known for sweet white wines made from Gros & Petit Manseng) and Madiran known for hearty red wines made from the Tannat grape.
Originally used for the production of Cognac and Armagnac. It is a very acidic grape but with lovely flowery perfumed characters. It is very widely planted in Gascony Outside France Colombard was the most widely planted grape in California until the early 1990s where it was often used as a base for jug wines. Colombard can produce crisp whites with citrus fruits and a pleasant minerality.
Gros Manseng is one of the two key white grapes of the Jurancon appellation where it features heavily in the production of the drier styles of this wine. It is very closely related to the Petit Manseng grape. Both are very aromatic grapes with lots of acid and texture and a good weighty mouth feel, the addition of the Gros Manseng adds a peachy character to the wine.
The grapes are Grown on chalk/limestone hills close to the cooling influence of the Atlantic. Modern, stainless steel fermentation and maturation.
Gold Medal Winner in Frances new National Competition for IGP wines
2009 Coyam RRP€18.99
Special February Price €14.99 at O’Briens Off Licences
Stockists: O’Briens Wine off-licences at Ashbourne; Athlone; Ballybrack; Beacon South; Blanchardstown; Quinsboro Road, Bray; Vevay Road, Bray; Carlow; Carrickmines; City West; Clontarf; Dalkey; Donnybrook; Drogheda; Dun Laoghaire; Galway; Glasnevin; Greystones; Limerick; Malahide; Naas; Navan Road, Dublin 7; Navan, Co Meath; Newbridge; Rathgar; Rathmines; Sandymount; Stillorgan and Templeogue.
90 points Wine Spectator
This is a really beautiful wine from Chile. The wine is produced by Viñedos Emiliana one of Chile’s best known organic producers The winery was founded in 1986.
This wine is made from grapes grown in a biodynamic vineyard in Colchagua Valley.
The principals of biodynamics,are based on the science developed by Austrian-Hungarian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925).
Colchagua enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate and offers a variety of distinctive vineyard sites with specific micro climates and soil types. Growing reputation for top reds and home to Chile’s most prized sub region Apalta.
Colchagua is Chile’s agricultural heartland and no newcomer to vinegrowing. Many of the country’s finest red wines hail from this region. Premium vineyards now scale hillsides such as Apalta and Ninquen to take advantage of the conditions that allow later ripening resulting in deeper colours and aromas, rich flavours and well rounded tannins
This wine is a blended wine made from 41% Syrah, 29% Carménère, 20% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauv. 2% Mourvedre, 1% Petit Verdot . With the exception of Syrah and Mourvedre , all the other red grapes originated in Bordeaux where they were used to produce wines known as Bordeaux Blend.
Syrah and Mourvedre are better known in South of France. Syrah is the red grape indigenous to theNorthern Rhone. Mourvedre is a red Spanish grape known as Monastrell in Spain.
The new world experiments with a range of grapes and grape blends making this wine quite unique in terms of its structure.
A big full bodied wine with lots of cassis and soft sweet vanilla flavours yet with a good tannic structure this is a food wine, perfect when served with Roast Beef or Lamb, a rich slow cooked stew or any type of game.
It was aged for 13 months, 80% in French oak and 20% in American oak barrels
New Zealand Wine Fair 2012
Start off your wine New Year by coming along to the New Zealand Wine Fair on January 30th at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Golden Lane. Tickets available at door price €15.00. Taste the wines and learn more about how wine is made by meeting the Kiwi winemakers who will be travelling to Dublin from the other side of the world to show their wines.
More information on the wine diary website www.jeansmullen.com
Movies reviews by Sarina Bellissimo
Like Crazy
Jacob (Yelchin), an American, and Anna (Jones), an English girl, meet and fall in love while in their last semester at college. Their love is all consuming and they cannot bare to be apart. When Anna’s visa expires she decides to ignore this and stay on in the States. This rash decision has severe repercussion on their relationship in the months and years to come. When Anna leaves America for a brief trip to England she is not allowed to re-enter the States on her return. Will their love survive the long distance and will they ever get the happily ever after they so desperately want with each other?
There is a real naturalness and passion in this film. This is in part due to the way it has been shot. It is not the stylized camera shots usually used in Hollywood romance stories, instead it has a documentary, fly on the wall feel about it. As a result you are engulfed into the characters lives from the get go.
It also helps that Yelchin and Jones have such a raw chemistry. From the onset, as a viewer, you can feel the passion and intensity of their love, the awkward moments and even the knots in their stomach moments transfer to yours. This could have to do with the fact that most of the script was improvised. The improvisation serves as both a positive and a negative. When done well it adds to the organic feel of this film, however, at times scenes feel very drawn out.
Director, Drake Doremus, has managed to capture the agony, and the unique issues that come with being in a long distance relationships. He has the pain of trying to snatch conversations due to time zones issues, the nervousness of seeing a person in their own environment, and the constant feeling of being on a holiday romance.
However, as the film goes on the characters start to lack depth and it’s very hard to feel any empathy for them. Frustration rather than empathy start to enter the mix. This is especially so when Sam (Jennifer Lawrence) enters the mix. While she is likeable, her actions make her very frustrating and in turn show Jacob and Anna in a not so bright light.
But maybe this is the emotion Doremus wanted the audience to feel? All the characters and the situation they find themselves in is frustrating. So, perhaps, if the audience leaves the cinema feeling the same frustration, he has achieved his aim?
While it is great that it does not go for the formulaic Hollywood romance story, Like Crazy unfortunately loses its appeal when it starts to feel like it is going round and round in circles and then all over a sudden it comes to an abrupt halt.
I wanted to be crazy about this film but I fell out of love with it as it went on. It had flashes of being as fabulous as (500) Days of Summer but unfortunately it never reaches those heights.
- Sarina Bellissimo
The Descendants
In his award winning role, George Clooney plays Matt King, a lawyer, a husband, and a father, who has always provided for his wife and children but until now, has never really been present. Whilst being forced to make a big decision on behalf of his extended family, regarding the biggest property deal in Hawaiian history, his wife is involved in a boating accident, which leaves her in a coma. It becomes solely up to him to help his children deal with this tragedy and at the same time deal with the secret his wife has been keeping from him.
We all know that Clooney can do suave, cool, and sophisticated, but, can he be the everyday man? The answer is yes, and not only can he do it, he can do it well. Clooney shows how versatile an actor he is in this film. He is exceptional in giving this very understated but moving performance. His performance has already been recognized at the Golden Globes, where he won for Best Actor, and he has also been nominated for an Academy Award (which many are tipping will be his too).
Clooney’s is not the only performance to be commended though. Shailene Woodley gives a feisty, yet tender, performance as Clooney’s rebellious older daughter. She is not intimidated by Clooney at all. Woodley is definitely going to be an actress to watch in the coming years.
The Descendants deals with very tragic moments, and in the hands of any other director this could have turned into a big Hollywood “sop” fest. However, Sideways director Alexander Payne has avoided the temptation to go all Hollywood dramatic on us, he instead has made this film feel like an everyday occurrence. Payne usually blends tragedy and comedy quite well and he has done so again here.
The only complaint I would have about this film is that at 111 minutes it is about 20 minutes too long. Also, I am not sure if this everyday story would have worked without an actor of Clooney’s ability and popularity.
That said, The Descendants is an entertaining film. You don’t have to be a parent to connect with it. The Descendants deals with universal family/relationship issues that everyone can relate to. The Descendants is moving, thought provoking and wonderful – you will definitely need tissues!
- Sarina Bellissimo
