It felt like summer while vacationing down on North Padre Island near Corpus Christi in early June, which is why we had no show last week. This week’s show was inspired by some Italian red wines I served as part of a wine event on June 18. So we begin with notable Italian red wine regions, because there is always time for a good Italian red when pasta is on the table. We follow this with the best femme fatale actresses on film. For those that love reading we have a wine book about France in WWII. Finally, a heads up for the upcoming Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta. All this on Salon Saturday.
New Italian Reds
Italian red wines are always on my table. But how do you decipher the labels to find the ones you’ll love? Which wine regions offer great value and what new wines should you try. We cover the wine regions where our two choices originate.
Maremma wine region
Maremma is in the southwest part of Tuscany and along the sea. The region was a backwater area until the 19th century when winemaking began. But in the 1970s a lot of innovation led to the creation of Super Tuscan wines and Maremma was the launching point. This all began with winemakers creating red blends using Sangiovese and non-indigenous grapes; primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah.
Maremma is the wine name associated with Grosetto province. It was a marsh land, drained during the Medici and Leopold II reigns, but now includes the installation of powerful draining machines and the planting of pine forests. As a result, today’s Maremma is equally known for sandy beaches, rolling hills, wildlife preserves, and a wealth of agriculture ranging from olives and Maremma Cattle to viticulture and wine production.
In 1992 this led to a new wine designation: IGT. Some wines like Tignanello and Sassicaia currently go for hundreds, but there are many less expensive alternatives that are steeped in quality. To identify a super Tuscan wine the things to look for are:
- The winery name if you know it
- The word Toscana on the label
- The designation IGT
- A unique name, like Tignanello on the label
The term Maremma is also used as a geographical indication for wine—as in the Maremma Toscana DOC. The Maremma was first established as an IGT region in 1995; it was promoted to a DOC in 2011.
In later 2020 the rules were updated to permit dual varietal designations such as Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot, of which the first grape must comprise 50% to 85% of the blend; and the second grape listed must comprise 15% to 50%. Reserva regulations were also updated.
For your consideration: Vigna Allegra 2018 “Montecucco, DOCG, 14% ABV, $20-25.
Montecucco Sangiovese DOCG is made from grapes from the villa of the same name, located at about 500m above sea level, fermented and aged for 14 months before in large Slavonian oak vats and subsequently in small French wooden barrels. Elegant wine with structure, characterized by hints of red fruit with notes of undergrowth, fresh and savory, persistent on the palate, it goes best with the great Tuscan first courses, roast meats and cheeses. 14%
Note: This does not qualify as a super Tuscan since it is 100% Sangiovese, but still shows the influence of the Maremma wine region.
This wine from Tuscany has vibrant acidity, elegant tannins, and warm, inviting aromas of dark fruits, tobacco and vanilla. Still under the “radar” of most well- known wines from Tuscany, experts consider Montecucco one of the best expressions of Sangiovese, and a new star of Tuscan wine. It’s located in the Maremma area, between the Brunello di Montalcino and Morellino di Scansano appellations.
La Banditaccia winery is located in Montecello-Amiata in Maremma wine district and is part of a large organic farm that also has B & B rooms for rent. This wine was sent to me to review and was part of a wine tasting event at my home in Corrales on June 18.
Results of tasting:
This wine brought lots of satisfied sighs during our tasting. It followed a very rich wine, but still brought the goods. It did remind me of Brunello wines I’ve had; rich, smooth and complex. Prices vary depending on where you find it, but this is a very good value wine.
Abruzzo wine region
Abruzzo is an Italian wine region located in the mountainous central Italian region of Abruzzo along the Adriatic Sea.
From Decanter: Although the rediscovery of ancient varieties is always welcome, the focus in Abruzzo remains firmly on Montepulciano. It’s a versatile grape, in the sense that it can give pleasure in numerous guises. It can be vinified and aged in stainless steel to give a simple, attractive wine with freshness and transparency of fruit. If cropped low, it can be aged in casks or barriques – even new barriques – to create wines of altogether greater depth, concentration and complexity.
Montepulciano, the grape is far away from the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, which uses Sangiovese in their Vino Nobile de Montepulciano wines. On the label Montepulciano D’Abuzzo clearly identifies that this is a very different wine.
For your consideration: Capo le Vigne 2017 Montepulciano D’Abuzzo DOC, 14.5% ABV, $22-25
This is a classic red made from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grapes grown in the Abruzzo region. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is known for its intense color, good structure, and soft tannins, and can be produced differently, from young, easy to drink wines to the more complex and ageable Montepulciano Reservas. Some common aromas of Montepulciano wines include hints of oregano, pepper, tobacco, and black fruits. However, its aromas and flavors can be dramatically influenced by how it is aged.
While this wine is not labeled a Reserva, it spends 18 months in stainless steel tanks and 12 months in French and American oak barrels used for the first or second time and then 18 months in bottle. This results in a rich smooth wine with great complexity. It’s one of the best Montepulciano wines I’ve ever tasted.
This wine and the previous one were sent to me to introduce some new wines for our listeners to seek out. Both of these wines were tasted and judged by our Middle Rio Grande (MRG) Vine & Wine members. Showing six years age and high ratings this vintage might not be available locally, but later vintages should be. This is a wine to seek out.
The Best Femme Fatale Actresses on Film
Previously we covered film noir and neo-noir movies, but this time we are focusing on one of the primary elements of these films: the femme fatale role. Without it the doom our anti-hero experiences would be lacking. The female has to be devious, scheming, seductive and coolly beautiful. Obviously not every actress can make that role believable, but when we find one that can, we are also seduced.
Although they existed in movies made before 1940, the character type was solidified during the noir boom of that decade. The pulpy detective novels of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain, defined these characters that later lit the screen. Read More: https://www.slashfilm.com/
After a dry period in the ’50s to the ’70s, the ’80s and ’90s brought the femme fatale back with a vengeance. Directors such as Adrian Lyne, Paul Verhoeven, and Brian De Palma ushered in the age of the erotic thriller, which features some of the best femme fatales.
Double Indemnity (1944): Dir Billy Wilder with Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray E.G. Robinson
Femme fatales generally fall into two visual images: black hair and black outfits, or the icy blond who wears white (see: Body Heat and Basic Instinct). Perhaps the prototype of the latter category is Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson. Imagine, Wilder’s two co-screenwriter are Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain from his novel. One could make a good case for this as the best film noir of all time. Stanwyck had just finished two screwball comedys; The Lady Eve and Ball of Fire in 1941 and now delivers one of the best femme fatale performances in history.
The Killers (1946): Dir Robert Siodmak with Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien
The deadly Kitty Collins (Gardner) and what a great name, is our femme fatale and the low-cut black dress with the single strap clues us in that the Swede (Lancaster) is a doomed man in Ernest Hemingway’s short story. The hook begins with the killing of a man that accepts his fate and the why of that comes later. Kitty is the ultimate self-centered femme fatale, who only cares about saving her own skin, and doesn’t mind who gets sacrificed along the way.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Dir Tay Garnett, with Lana Turner, John Garfield
A femme fatale needs to make a great entrance, often one that seals the fate of the protagonist. Once Lana Turner emerges through a doorway dressed from head-to-toe in white, in an outfit that shows plenty of leg, its curtains for poor John Garfield. She continues to wear white throughout the film (apart from a couple of rare uses of black at key moments), which is a veneer of purity that belies her rotten core. Like many femme fatales, Turner’s Cora is trapped in a life she doesn’t want and desperate for a way out. She entices Garfield’s Frank into a classic “kill the husband” murder plot, but the story goes through many unpredictable twists and turns. This movie was redone in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange in the main roles, but the original is still the best.
Out of the Past (1947): Dir Jacques Tourneur, with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
Jane Greer isn’t a name that comes up as a femme fatale, but her performance made this a film noir classic. Robert Mitchum plays the perfect protagonist, who has tried to escape a life of crime, but it comes knocking at his door. “Out of the Past” contrasts the hometown girl Mitchum is trying to build a new life with, contrasted with Greer’s beautifully dangerous Kathie.
Kathie runs through the femme fatale playbook: seduction, blackmail, murder, double-crossing, and framing her patsy. Jeff tries to escape her clutches but keeps getting drawn back. And all we can do is stare helplessly as her net widens, or we are moved to shout at the screen . . . noooo!
Farewell, My Lovely (1975):Dir Dick Richards, with Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling
After appearing in some of the best noirs of the 1940s and 1950s, Robert Mitchum returned to the genre decades later by playing Raymond Chandler’s detective Philip Marlowe, in 1975’s “Farewell, My Lovely” and again in 1978’s “The Big Sleep.” I’m glad that neo-noirs exist, because if one woman was born to play a femme fatale that would be Charlotte Rampling.
When Marlowe visits the Grayle mansion in the course of his missing-person investigation to find a woman named Velma, he meets Judge Grayle and his much younger, beautiful wife, who immediately starts a seduction. After playing the victim in The Night Porter (1974) she turns up the heat here and no man is safe. These two Marlowe movies helped to jump start a neo-noir era.
Body Heat (1981) Dir Lawrence Kasden, with Kathleen Turner, William Hurt
A direct descendent visually of both Barbara Stanwyck and Lana Turner, including being clad in white silk for most of the movie, Turner’s Matty Walker is a scarily seductive femme fatale. Body Heat helped usher in the erotic thriller boom of the ’80s and early ’90s. Her initial meeting with the patsy Ned (Hurt) is full of flirty banter, with remarks like, “You’re not too smart, are you? I like that in a man.”
When I first heard those lines I thought, watch out Bill, you should not be responding to that by smiling knowingly. But he did.
The heat of the title has different meanings in this movie. It’s set during a Florida heat wave, everyone is constantly sweating, fans turn slowly and Matty’s wind chimes cast their own siren song which eventually leads to steamy sex in the boathouse. Hurt does a good job of projecting his helplessness in Matty’s embrace as he is led inevitable to his doom. Meanwhile the unrepentant Matty enjoys herself at the beach. “She was relentless,” Ned says in the end.
Black Widow (1987): Dir Bob Rafelson with Theresa Russell, Debra Winger
Our first look at Theresa Russell’s titular black widow, she seems like a cipher in her black fur coat, and dark sunglasses set against a shock of blond hair. As the film progresses, she gradually looks and becomes more human. Catharine adopts many identities throughout the movie, making herself appealing to different rich men, only later to dispatch each one. But the most interesting relationship in “Black Widow” isn’t with any of the men that Catharine weds-then-sheds. It’s with Debra Winger’s Alex, who starts to obsess over the woman she’s hunting, determined to prove that a series of mysterious deaths in different states are connected.
While we don’t know why Catherine needs even more money after each kill, perhaps the thrill of getting away with it, but having another woman trying to track her down does provide an interesting spin on the neo-noir playbook.
Fatal Attraction (1987): Dir Adrian Lyne, with Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer
Glenn Close’s Alex has a similar motivation to Gene Tierney’s Ellen in Leave Her to Heaven, in that her motives are an obsessive need to wholly possess the man of her desires, rather than attain money, power, or freedom. Fatal Attraction is very much of its time and along with “Basic Instinct” helped define the era. They both grossed over $300 million worldwide. “Fatal Attraction” was the second highest-grossing film of 1987.
Glenn Close delivers an extraordinary performance as Alex, and an interesting contrast to the femme fatale she played the following year as the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons. Michael Douglas is also perfectly cast as Alex’s “victim” Dan, and Anne Archer is just as important as his wife, Beth. Fatal Attraction has gone on to have a cultural impact beyond the film itself.
Basic Instinct (1992): Dir Paul Verhoeven, with Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Geo. Dzundza
With its San Francisco setting, emphasis on voyeurism, and its femme fatale with swept-back blond hair and dark eyebrows, suggesting the influence of Vertigo, on Paul Verhoeven’s most successful erotic thriller. Sharon Stone’s Catherine is a crime novelist, who has great power in the film. She totally commands the screen when brought in for an interview. Catherine presents a threat on many fronts, not least her oozing sexuality and the fact that she doesn’t need a man to be fulfilled.
Michael Douglas’ alcoholic cop is a classic noir protagonist, with the ’80s element of cocaine added into the mix. He is pushed and pulled around by three femme fatales, including Catherine’s lover Roxy (Leilani Seralle) and former lover Beth (Jeanne Tripplehorn), whose identities blur and merge at times.
Elements of Basic Instinct have become as iconic as Fatal Attraction, with the ice pick, or at least a plastic version, adorning the cover on my deluxe copy of the film. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Stone’s look, surely influenced by Katherine Turner’s look in “Body Heat” over a decade before. Verhoeven took the ingredients of noir, including light filtered through blinds and rain-soaked windows, and has enormous fun splashing around in the tropes. Stone’s Catherine is an all-time great femme fatale, which she proved again in Basic Instinct 2.
To Die For (1995): Dir Gus Van Sant, with Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix
Loosely based on the true story of Pamela Smart, Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne is an ambitious and ruthless femme fatale, who kills to achieve her 15 minutes of fame. After all, “You’re not anybody in America unless you’re on TV.” To Die For captured a moment in time when reality television was on the rise, and also when such events as the O.J. Simpson trial were must-see television. Matt Dillon plays the victim, Suzanne’s husband Larry, and Joaquin Phoenix plays the teenage patsy who Suzanne seduces in order to get him to commit murder. Illeana Douglas delivers a delectable performance which she relishes in the small role of Larry’s ice skating sister, Janice.
Kidman’s Suzanne is a deliciously devilish example of the femme fatale as a professional woman who will do anything to climb the corporate ladder. And she didn’t even need a black slinky dress to establish her devious character.
Femme Fatale (2002): Dir Brian De Palma, with Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas
Brian De Palma is one of the great neo-noir directors, beginning with Dressed to Kill (1980) and later Body Double (1984) as early erotic neo-noir. In the 2000s, he revisited the genre with Femme Fatale and The Black Dahlia (2006). It’s impossible to have a list of the best femme fatales and not include this homage to the archetype.
The opening sequence, set at the Cannes Film Festival, is phenomenal and pulls off a very Bond-like diamond heist, but with Rebecca Romjin seducing a female victim. A common feature of the femme fatale is assuming multiple identities, and Romjin is no exception here. It probably didn’t help its critical or box office reception that it was similar to Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive,” released the year before, including the “was it all a dream?” final act.
Wine Books: Wine & War
Wine & War by Don & Petie Kladstrup 2002 relates to the Second World War and the experiences of winemakers in France and what they had to contend with besides weather. Subtitled: The French, the Nazis and the battle for Frances greatest treasure.
The steel door would not budge.
French soldiers used picks and sledgehammers to no avail and had to use explosives. The blast shook the mountaintop as debris cascaded to the valley below. When the smoke cleared the door was ajar and Bernard de Nonancourt, a 23 year old sergeant from Champagne squeezed through. What he saw left him speechless.
That would be over half a million bottles of Frances finest wines, but what Bernard focused on were hundreds of cases of 1928 Salon champagne. Five years earlier he had witnessed the Germans coming to the winery and taking this very same wine. Ironically, these wines from Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s wine cave, were seized but never drunk since Adolph didn’t even drink wine.
Thus begins the story of Wine & War; a well-written chronicle of France, wine and war.
Wine Events: Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta
Even though the event is the end of September, its popularity means getting tickets early is a good idea.
- Santa Fe Wine & Chile recognizes Cakebread Cellars as the Honorary Winery of the Year
- Champagne Taittinger is honored as the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta Champagne of the Year
- Tickets go on sale July 5th
- Event dates: September 27 to October 1
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