The MOVIES, a bottle, and a meal

the bottle: 2008 Peltier Station Hybrid Pinot Grigio
the movie: The Player, 1992
the meal: Seared California Nicoise Ahi tuna salad with caramelized onions and lemon extra-virgin olive oil dress
This is not bottle, video game, meal, or bottle, TV show, meal, or even bottle, Ted talk, meal (although that could be a really interesting one). It’s called bottle, movie, meal. And mostly, the movie becomes the entry point for this blog idea because of our media marinated amygdalas—the part of our brains that does the fear and pleasure response work—and lust for richly presented stories on the big screen. Movies, and the video medium, have become by far the most potent form of information and entertainment dissemination today, and with the Academy Awards bearing down on us this weekend, I dedicate this post and grouping to the biggest celebration of the year in movies, the Oscars.

But since the Oscar contenders are not yet available in video, except the notable The Hurt Locker, it’s not as easy as taking a contender and pitting it against others in the mix. I did consider using The Hurt Locker because of the critical acclaim it has received, but I sensed an imbalanced posting, and besides, I think that movie will have to find just the right context here. No, I wanted to take a different angle on this one.

I’ve always found Hollywood as off-putting as I do fascinating and attractive. On the one hand, it is a bastion for creativity, inspiration, and even, dare I say, education. But in the same breath, I seriously question the culture of celebrity and what that overlay has done for our greater social psyche.

In the movies and their narratives, I have felt things like nowhere ever before, and to me, this is simply invaluable. But the media (and a few others, most notably, marketing) have turned Hollywood and the movie industry into a kind of circus, where we devote ourselves to the lives of celebrities and a culture of supplanted, impersonal storytelling.

This inglorious tension and dichotomy is well captured in the satire The Player, where the famous but outlier director, Robert Altman, weaves a story that is pitch-perfect all-things-Hollywood. It is a scathing and diabolical tale of the collective self-absorbed ethos that enraptures the film-making industry, and Altman has lots of fun spinning the celluloid web.


As building blocks for the movie, he cynically but deftly uses all the classic Hollywood movie devices, memes and motifs as a way to lampoon this moment in time for the industry (1992). The story itself is pretty straightforward—all the better to reflect the formulaic themes that Hollywood cranks out. Narcissism, violence, suspense, love, hope and fear all factor into this tale of a studio head, played well by Tim Robbins, who becomes paranoid and insecure and proceeds to track down and murder his nemesis. There is adequate enough character development and necessary subplots to feed the formula, as well as ironic film references galore, from Hitchcock and Orson Welles to Cecil B. De Mille and even Italian Neo-Realism. And for glistening, butter-whipped icing on the cake, Altman sprinkles in numerous actual celebrities, playing themselves—Nick Nolte, Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts, Anjelica Huston, Cher, Rod Steiger, Lily Tomlin, Elliot Gould, Burt Reynolds, Mimi Rogers, Susan Sarandon, Marlee Matlin and Jeff Goldblum are just some of the cream pie cameos. No, this is no embedded sub-textual mind game, but rather an all out, jaunty, fun, and humorous ride through the annals of twenty-four framed conceit.

Our Oscar meal was a tough one. Here we sit in late winter Seattle, amidst the coolth and dampness and mossy wonder, projecting our palate planning prognosis into thin socks and palm trees. What did I come up with? (Nothing compared to this riotous occasion, I'll say.) Ours is a classic California/French composure that our legions of pescatarian fans can finally get on board with. (Yeaaah, Mum!) I sear a glistening maroon ruby, sushi-grade Ahi steak just long enough to seal and char the outer edge, leaving the inside grading to raw. Then I simply compose a salad, not unlike the classic Nicoise (avec homage to Julia Child and Meryl Streep), with the gorgeous flared tuna strips atop. I skipped the eggs but found some sparkling early green beans to blanch and add, along with some delectable, earthy new potatoes for some weight. And while it’s still a good 6 months until I expect I’ll see my first real tomato of the year, I found a somewhat worthy Hawaiian greenhouse variety for tonight’s special occasion. (You can offset your tomato’s transportation carbon here if you like and really feel like you’re a part of the Hollywood scene.) I added impossibly slow cooked onions (shallots work even better) and corn (don’t ask how I managed this one, but it is NOT canned corn), and then tossed it all in light airy butter lettuces with a lemony olive oil dressing. If you like, a bit of anchovy is great mixed into the dressing. This is a great salad, and if you want to add a crusty French bagette with some icy cold butter, I won't stop you. For dessert, just eat ice cream, like the stars do. As much as you want.

Tonight’s wine feature is perfect for this occasion. A San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Award winner in the under $14 category at, the gold goes to 2008 Peltier Station Hybrid Pinot Grigio. Wait…no Cava, no Cristal, no Chaaardonnay for Oscar? Unless you’re imbibing with a bunch of friends and have an unlimited budget, I’d skip the Cristal or otherwise overpriced bubbles. And unless the Chard comes unoaked and done old-world, I’d skip that too (it’s so 90’s). This Italian grape has come into its own in the last 5 years with better and better examples and this one is designed for Hollywood. Pinot Grigio has been a popular summertime quaffer in Europe for a decade or more and is starting to get a foothold in the vineyards of California and the Pacific Northwest. If it’s not already the next Chard, it will be soon. (We discovered this wine, and many more, with the help of Michael Cawdrey at the wonderful Fremont Wine Warehouse for under $10! Wonderful guy with a cool assortment of wines under $25.)


It fares from the Lodi region in California which offers a good variety of Italian, Bordeaux and Rhône varietals, not to mention quite an awesome selection of Zinnies. Peltier Station is well known for their Petite Sirah, and their new Hybrid label, a line of sustainable wines that includes a new 2007 Hybrid Petite Sirah, seemed like the perfect fit for the Hollywood green brand aura. What with all the stars going green and driving alternative fuel and Hybrid autos (check out the Green Car Red Carpet), the choice of the sustainably produced Hybrid wine was a sure winner. The somewhat clever copy on the back of the bottle reads, ”Introducing the 2008 Pinot Grigio Hy-brid by Peltier Station. This revolutionary new product combines highly advanced technology with sustainable winegrowing principles. While you may not get 45 mpg, you will get the most flavorful wine of the 21st century. At the moment, a Federal tax credit is not available, however at this price everyone can own a hybrid! ‘Buy a hy-brid.’” I'm not so sure about the most flavorful wine of the 21st century, but I will give them credit for stretching the limits of clever bottle copywriting.

The wine is light and well-balanced and a perfect date for the Nicoise salad. It’s easily drinkable and strong enough to combat our winter malaise. It's 75% Pinot and 25% Vermentino, and has a pale straw yellow-green color with soft golden reflective qualities in the glass. I sniff a bit of wild honey, pear and flower with a touch of resiny wood underneath. This fresh and harmonious glass portends the wild flowers and sweet, fresh fruits to come. Inhale deeply, take a small sip and watch as the camera pans all of the beautiful faces, with Meryl smiling, George smirking, and Alec gaffawing raucously.

So drink up and enjoy the show. And let us return tomorrow to our own real and most wonderful worlds, seeking stories, forging chapters, and watching the poetry of the people and the places in our days.