About Movie

I was brought up in the small Midwestern town of Coffeyville, Kansas. It is an interesting town that really has nothing to do with the dark inky beverage of the same name. My parents rarely drank wine. They preferred drinks like whisky sour, Tom Collins and liquors you mix with soft drinks. I never really enjoyed these. If I want my drink to taste like cola, I'll just have a cola. I like beer okay, but it has never quenched my thirst. I could always do better with water, lemonade and eventually Gatorade. In college I tried White Russians, then Black Russians and fancy brandies. They just didn't do it for me.

It wasn't until I got out of college that I dabbled in Riunite Lambrusco and Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante, but I could take them or leave them. And then it happened. I was working for a major oil company in 1979 when I first tried it. Business had been very good that year and profits had soared. I was invited to a sophisticated steak dinner at a 4-star restaurant, and the main beverage was 1976 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Dozens of bottles of Mondavi were opened. Not a drop went to waste. I had never tasted anything so extraordinary. It was wet and dry in the same mouthful. It was leather and sautéed mushrooms with a hint of mineral, violets, cassis and chocolate, plus layers of ripe oaky blackberry all rolled up into one delectable nectar of the Gods. Okay, maybe the sautéed mushrooms were a stretch. That night I fell in love with Cabernet Sauvignon as only Robert Mondavi could produce it.

In the 1980s I started frequenting a local liquor store that sold fine wine. The proprietor turned me on to Far Niente, Cakebread and Grgich Cabernets. They all sold for around $20 a bottle then. I didn't know how good I had it, for these are still some of my all-time favorites, but the prices have increased substantially. If only I could go back in time when I'm thirsty.

I continued to try various wines for many years. In 1997 I traveled to Napa Valley. I toured and tasted at Far Niente, Jarvis, Honig, Grgich, Beringer, BV, and several more. I had a personal tour of Far Niente by Gil Nichol before he passed away. His car collection was very cool. I walked through the vineyards at Honig with Michael and explored the caves at Jarvis.

I was certain that Batman and Willy Wonka were alive and living in Napa Valley that year. Gil Nichol was Batman with his exotic car collection and cellar that connected the Far Niente Chateau to the steps leading up to where his new house would be built. I walked away from the Far Niente tasting with a complimentary 750-ml bottle of Dolche late harvest wine. It was sweet, liquid gold, and I enjoyed every ounce of it. William Jarvis was Willie Wonka with the subterranean stream that flowed out of the top of the Jarvis caves into a clear pool of water that I assumed helped humidify the entire operation. It was simply amazing as was the Jarvis Crystal Ballroom with gigantic amethyst and quartz crystals from around the world.

We found the rest of the superheros at Honig with marvelous Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and their fun-loving postcards. That was 12 years ago, and I remember the vineyards and beautiful gardens at Far Niente like it was yesterday. I recall the taste of the wine right from the stainless-steel fermenting vats at Honig, and I'm still overjoyed to find several bottles of Jarvis Lake William under the tree on Christmas morning.

Two years ago my wife and I built an outdoor kitchen. It is definitely the nicest room in our house. It's kind of crazy that it's outside, but we love it. It has everything you'd want in an outdoor kitchen, including a crab boil pit, refrigerator, sink, and stainless steel gas and charcoal grills. We've had several wine tastings there. If you get to know the local wine representatives at your favorite wine store, occasionally you can score a great wine tasting by a very informed wine person and they will bring the wine for free. It's loads of fun, and I can't think of how to spend a better Saturday evening with friends and family.

Recently we built a wine room, and we did it on a budget. It's probably more of a wine closet than a full-fledged room. Little did I know that a 300-bottle collection would cost thousands of dollars to stock or about ten times what it cost to build and refrigerate the room. The coolest part is the biometric finger-print entry lock. I purchased a small safe with a finger-print entry system, cut off the metal door of the safe and mounted it on the door of my wine room.

My wine room is my sanctuary. I run my finger print through the lock and pull on the door. The floor is smooth black slate, and I get a cool burst of air as I walk through the doorway. The light scent of cedar fills my lungs as all woodwork and trim are made from my favorite aromatic wood. The first thing I see is a colorful Monet print that is perfectly enclosed by cedar shelves with various areas for full case storage. To each side there are wooden racks for about 100 bottles of wine - red to the left and the center and white to the right. I pull a bottle of Stags Leap Merlot from the rack. It's as regal looking as it was in the 70s when the Stags Leap name helped put Napa on the map. I know the elixir of life awaits within. I run my hands over the bottle like I am caressing the curves of a beautiful woman. It is the spice of life that I enjoy most.

I update the inventory of my wine room periodically and have done so today. I keep an inventory list inside the door of the wine room and inside the door to a kitchen cabinet so I can think about what I might drink tomorrow without the need of swiping my finger across a laser beam.

Here's the kicker, my wine room is located in an oversized closet in my 3-car garage. Before I would even consider putting the wine room out there, I first had to completely redecorate the garage and throw away more than half of the contents. It took a month of cleaning, painting and cabinet building. I even painted the garage floor using epoxy with multicolored flakes and bought a new stainless-steel refrigerator to make it look more like an extension of the kitchen than a place to store what you can't take into the house. Everything in the garage now has a place and when you walk to the wine room, it's like walking through a pristine playroom with a few cars and bikes parked in it. I installed a remote thermometer in the wine room, and although I don't go into my special room every day, I do see the temperature there every time I walk into my house via a wall-mounted readout. It's very reassuring to see the temperature somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees on a hot summer day.

I'm thinking I should make some recommendations here. For $12 a bottle it's hard to beat the current vintage of Chateau St. Michelle or Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay. I understand they are under the same ownership nowadays. We've even put some vintage Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay back for later. The 2005 and 2006 vintages are exceptional, and I have a case of each. The 2007 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay is extraordinary, but there is a shortage around here since the movie Bottle Shock was released. The price went up too, and is now around $45/bottle, but this is still one of the most consistently exceptional Chards on the market. I'm also a Robert Mondavi and Jordan Chardonnay fan. And to give the French their due, we purchased a case of 2007 Fat Bastard Chardonnay recently and enjoyed it very much. We've delved a little into Viogniers, sparkling wines and various other whites, but I'd have to say that I still prefer Chardonnay if I'm drinking white wine.

I prefer red wine, which I refer to as the grand spice of life. I've been enjoying the 2007 McManis and the 2005 Guenoc Petite Sirahs. Both are exceptional values with McManis coming in at less than $10 per bottle and Guenoc coming in at about $13 per bottle. When I want to step it up a little I have been enjoying 2006 Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 Bogle Phantom, 2005 Dynamite Merlot, 2002 St. Supery Merlot or an old standard, 2005 Robert Mondavi Merlot. If I'm going to pull out the stops and serve the best from my wine room then I'm into the Jarvis, Pine Ridge, Stags Leap, Freemark Abby, Frogs Leap, Mollydooker or Jordan reds. And whether it is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Malbec, Shiraz or Petite Sirah, the experience is similar; watch it decant for 30 minutes, capture the various scents evolving off the deep red elegance then let a myriad of ripe berries, spices, seasoned wood flavors, sweet violets, coffee, leather or black licorice explode in your mouth with a final relaxing, "Ahhh."

I find Bogle Phantom to be an exceptional wine for a reasonable price. The current 2006 vintage sells for around $20/bottle. Everything about this wine is mysterious, from its combination of three varietals, Old Vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Old Vine Mourvedre to the definition on the cork, "bogle [Scottish origin] a friendly spirit; a phantom." This is a wine that definitely has to be decanted. Straight from the bottle it exhibits a tangy nose and musky taste, but let it breathe and develop for 30 minutes to two hours and it will astound you with its bold aromas, explosive flavors and buttery velvet mouth feel. It goes on to reveal intense black fruit, vanilla, cloves, figs and anise with a hint of leather on an extensive finish.

Three years ago I purchased at least half a dozen cases of Australia's Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz. It had an awesome nose, it drank well and was inexpensive at $12/bottle. If you like inky wine this is the one for you. It was in such demand that the last case I purchased had the words, "Outback Steakhouse" printed on the box. I need to revisit this wine. I've seen it priced recently for about $13/bottle for the 2006 vintage.

For the deal of the century I would have to look to Columbia Crest. I still have 23 - 750 ml bottles and 6 - 1500 ml bottles of 2003 Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot. This is their lowest tier wine, and I understand it is mass produced, but it has aged very well. I bought all I could find at less than $10 per bottle, and I received an additional 10% off for case pricing. The 2003 Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot has an awesome nose with lots of spice and all the vanilla, cocoa and ripe cherry and berries you can savor with a lingering hint of chocolate on a smooth finish. I highly recommend you buy all that you can find.

When anyone in my family, among my friends or at work has a question about wine they usually come to me. A young man at work in his late 20s came to my office in a panic before Christmas last year. He had purchased some expensive red wines for his father-in-law and had left them in his car in the garage overnight. He was concerned they might have been ruined. I told him as long as the wine hadn't crystallized and frozen I thought it would be okay. He didn't think the wine had gotten that cold. I told him I was confident the wine was still good. He gave it to his father-in-law and I hear that the nose, taste and mouth-feel were as expected.

I'm a wine lover just like you. I certainly don't know everything about wine. There are thousands of wines that I have never tried. But, I know what I like, and I think the Aussie's, Californians, and most of the visionaries in Washington State are making some great wines. Wine is my greatest passion. Some of the best moments of my life have been centered around wine with family and friends. Here's to the best in all of us and here's to your next glass of white or red wine. Salute!

© 2009 by Mick Harrison