this week

Brainy Bourgeois

By Georges Meekers

Sometimes films and series do tap in on the vinous subject in the most outrageous of situations.

In 1989 Thomas Harris introduced us to the noted gourmet doctor and cultured psychiatrist Hannibal Lector.

In the best-selling book, The Silence of the Lambs, Lector enjoys an Amarone della Valpolicella with a dish of human liver and fava beans. In the film, however, the wine was relegated to a more common Chianti since it was felt this would be more recognisable to movie-goers.

Jon Sherman, the writer for the comedy series Frasier, on the other hand, emphasises wine snob stereotypes for the sake of some good laughs – and who could blame him?
Lines of intimidation and trash talking by Niles during a blind tasting like ‘prepare to be stomped like a late-harvest Gewurztraminer... You’re going down like a tawny port at a Stilton tasting...’ don’t exactly spread the gospel of wine, but are in the context of the show very funny indeed.

When it comes to the silver screen, judicious placing of a product in the right movie, enabling potential customers to make the right associations is serious business – and big money.

Champagne house Bollinger, for example, knows OO7 is licensed to sell. Bollinger has been associated with Bond for ages and gets extra mileage from supplying premiere parties in London, Paris and Los Angeles.

But the pitfalls attached to getting the brand noticed on the screen can be horrendous though. A supplier will avoid his product ending up being linked with inappropriate behaviour.

Therefore it’s surprising to see the close-up in the sequel of The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, of a 1996 bottle of Château Phélan-Ségur from St-Estèphe AC in Bordeaux as Lector’s wine match for a rather tongue-tied gourmet portion of some human brains.

Then again, as one of as many as 400 cru bourgeois producers, this outrageous pairing definitely gets Château Phélan-Ségur (owned by the Gardinier family since 1985) world wide exposure.

Getting noticed as one of the top rung of the crus bourgeois might also make lobbying easier for Château Phélan-Ségur to obtain the ‘exceptionnel’ status in June 2003 when a new Médoc châteaux classification comes into effect.

Now, that’s a brainy bourgeois after all!