Date: Fri 28-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Wisdom-Jordan-Spike-Nicholson

Full Text:

WINE WISDOM: A Marked Absence In Pop Culture

By Steve Small

Coca-Cola, Budweiser, and even bottled water have become accepted parts of

American culture. I cannot think of any part of the good ol' USA where you

cannot find these beverages. So what is it about wine that keeps it out of the

mainstream of American popular culture?

It is really difficult to identify wine playing a significant role in a

popular movie, song, or TV show. I did recently watch a Jack Nicholson movie

called Blood and Wine . Jack played a wine merchant. That sounded good to me.

Jack and I sharing the same occupation.

Unfortunately, Jack was the nastiest, most dishonest character you would ever

want to meet. This movie would not do for the wine business what ET did for

Reese's Pieces.

Well, there is always popular music... Sadly, I can only think of two wine

songs. One oldie is called "Bottle of Wine" and the chorus wails "when you

gonna let me get sober." Besides being politically incorrect, this song is

hardly an ode to a fine bottle of Bordeaux.

Billy Joel's "Theme From An Italian Restaurant" actually mentions red, white

and rose wines. Unfortunately, the song has nothing to do with wine and is at

least 15 years old. Why don't we have Hanson singing "Mmmm Merlot" or Will

Smith getting jiggy with a nice glass of Chardonnay?

With the pleasant exception of many cooking shows, TV is a wine wasteland.

Would it be too much to expect Seinfeld's characters to have a glass of

gewurztraminer with some of the Soup Nazi's soup? Why couldn't the cigarette

man of "The X-Files" have been the vintage port man? I can picture him now

extolling the 1970 vintage while he plots one of his sinister conspiracies.

In my mind, Americans would be more knowledgeable about wine if it only had a

more prominent place in our popular culture. Perhaps some day we will see

Spike Lee making commercials with Michael Jordan saying "Just Drink It!"

(Steve Small is the proprietor of Steve's Liquor Store, at 71 Main Street

South/Route 25 in Newtown. Anyone interested in relating any wine stories in

popular media can send him a note at Stephen.Small@snet.net.)