We had to share this fun post from SOMM Documentary Film on Facebook. SOMM is an upcoming feature documentary chronicling one of the hardest exams in the world – the Master Sommelier Exam. Filmed in six countries over two years, the film includes our very own Food and Beverage Director Sabato Sagaria as he wrestles with the test (he has since passed!).
Perhaps we’ll be toasting SOMM next Oscar season with the Best Documentary Award? Here’s a preview to tide you over until its official release.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/45959893 w=500&h=281]
But without further adieu, here are the SOMM cast pairings with this year’s Best Picture Nominees:
We asked four Sommeliers from the film to pair an appropriate libation with each nominee so you would know what to drink. The results will give you a hint at the comedy found in this movie. Here are the participants and their twitter handles:
Sabato Sagaria – Little Nell Hotel, Aspen CO @sabato3
Margaux Pierog – Treasury Wine Estates – @margauxpierog
DLynn Proctor – Penfolds wines – @wineauxDLnnP
Brian McClintic – Caveau Wine Bar, Santa Barbara CA @brianmcClintic
And the nominees…
#1 AMOUR
Brian McClintic – ’61 Trollat Saint Joseph would pair well with Amour because its old, French, and I keep hearing how amazing it is even though no one I know has ever seen it.
Margaux Pierog – Over the hill Burgundy. Does not matter what vintage, nor producer. Anything that has just passed its peak of brilliance. You can appreciate the intricacies of Pinot Noir, yet you know the party is over. Give the one you love a kiss after.
DLynn Proctor – 1961 Calon Segur, how apropos
Sabato Sagaria – What’s not to love about Beaujolais? Exactly!! That’s why I would recommend a bottle of St. Amour.
#2 ARGO
Sabato – Being that the middle east is so well known for their wines, the logical choice would be a bottle from my favorite winery in the greater Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon region (I believe this area technically falls into the South Eastern Australia Super GI) the 1980 Chateau Musar, pays tribute to the year of the escape. And if you don’t like it… “Argo f#@K yourself”
Brian – Argo has 4 letters. Huet has 4 letters. Can’t be a coincidence.
Margaux – High risk, high reward. Shaken Tito’s Vodka with a twist.
DLynn – Nothing says war like Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Champers
#3 Beasts of the Southern Wild
Sabato – This was a movie I had a hard time getting through this year the first time I watched it. The second time I watched it, it didn’t get much better, but it got a lot more fun. Mainly because we made the rule that you had to have a Sazarac every time they say the main character’s name “Hushpuppy.” Give it a try, let me know what you think.
Brian – Does anyone know what the Southern Wild means? I don’t. Does anyone know what Jagermeister means? I don’t.
Dlynn – Get that Hushpuppy some Sparkling Cider!
#4 Django Unchained
Sabato – It is a little known fact that Frank “Big Daddy” Bartles and Ed Jaymes were not only sandbox buds growing up but they were direct decedents of one Calvin (Jaymes) Candy and his close friend Spencer “Big Daddy” Bennett. After the destruction caused by Django, Frank and Ed rebuilt Candyland and turned it into a plantation specializing in the production of a deliciously refreshing malt beverage. They then began marketing their new product through commercials shot on the front porch of Candyland. With that being known, the ONLY obvious choice would a four pack of Bartle’s and Jaymes Country Kwencher Wine Cooler.
Brian – DJANGO UNCHAINED & PERNOD
The D’s are silent…
DLynn – Uhhhh Wine….. try moonshine.
#5 Les Misérables
Sabato – I’m not a big fan of musicals, so I would need something pretty high octane to watch this one. As an homage to Russell Crowe’s homeland I would recommend Torbrecks Les Amis which weighs in above 15% alcohol. I think a magnum of that would get me in the right mind set to sleep through Les Misérables.
Brian – LES MISERABLES & MOLLYDOOKER
Thick tears.
DLynn – Australian Riesling is the only thing that will wake this cast up
Vin Fou fits much better though.
Margaux – Jaboulet “La Petite Chappelle”.
Decant the wine as soon as the opening music cues, during the Revolution the wine will be at its prime. Then you still have another hour to smell what France was like in the 18th Century.
#6 Lincoln
Sabato – One of the things I love most about Maderra is looking back in time and imagining what has happened in the world over the hundreds of years since they were made. So playing to the historic aspect of the movie, I would recommend a bottle of 1865 Boal Madeira, made the same year Lincoln was assassinated. (Whoops I hope I didn’t ruin the ending for anyone.)
Brian – Lincoln is a movie about freeing slaves. Orin Swift’s The Prisoner is a wine that evokes images of a time before emancipation. Along those lines, I recently learned that the second L in Lincoln is soft, pronounced liked Linkin. so, like linked in, as in chains…slavery…prisoner… Is this getting too deep? I don’t expect you to get this on the first read.
Margaux – Freemark Abbey “Bosche Vineyard” 2001. Oh Daniel Day Lewis, your character is as flawless as this benchmark Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
Make me proud to be drinking Domestic.
DLynn – Madeira is the only way to go
#7 Life of Pi
Sabato – I know if I was floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean with a tiger on it, I would probably be singing to myself, and at some point “Message in a Bottle” by The Police would come up on my mental playlist. As a result I think a nice bottle of Il Palagio, Sister Moon, from Sting’s estate in Tuscany would be quiete fitting.
Margaux – How can you drink anything with this movie? Savoring a libation while seeing a man struggle to survive on a raft for 200+ days is wrong. Take a Dramamine. After the movie, 2oz of Ardbeg, neat.
Brian – It’s a known fact that Manfred Krankl loves putting CGI in his wines.
DLynn – Tough to pair wine with Fantasy, but vin gris feels right
#8 SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Brian – Silver Linings Playbook is about disordered thinking which is a serious subject and makes me think of Rain Man. When I think of Rain Man, I think of Tom Cruise. When I think of Tom Cruise, I think of couch jumping. And when I think of couch jumping, I think of Corsican rose. I don’t know why couch jumping makes me think of Corsican rose, but it always does.
Sabato – To pair with Mrs. Solitano’s crabby snacks and homemades, I would reach for a bottle of Selosse Substance. Coincidentally this was what I (plan to) serve to Jennifer Lawrence when or if I ever get to cook her breakfast. I guess I need to take care of the restraining order thing first.
Margaux – Lower alcohol, especially when medication is involved. A pitcher of P.B.R., shared. No pretenses.
DLynn – I see Vouvray, Muscat and Gewurz
#8 Zero Dark Thirty
Margaux – Jessica a toast to your brilliance and perseverance. Pop Schramsberg “J.Schram” from “America’s house of sparkling wine.”
Brian – COLT FORTY FIVE…while listening to Match Box Twenty.
Sabato – Orin Swift The Prisoner… It’s not your friend, It’s not going to help you, It will break you. Any questions?
DLynn – Carmenere….What else
What is your favorite? What pairings do you pick?
