Monthly Archives: October 2008

When a friend informed me he had just received Rob Zombie’s 2006 remake of Halloween in the mail I figured what the hell. I grabbed a bottle of the most unsuitable horror film watching wine I had, Quénard 2006 Vin de Savoie Chignin Jacquere VV, and walked over for an evening viewing.

As the wine chilled Michael Meyer’s newly conceived redneck childhood unfolded. A more profound study of the possible causes of his psychopathic behavior in this version was diluted by second-rate acting and Malcom McDowell looking like a tall leprechaun with an impossibly red face and white hair.

We opened the wine just before the cinematic blood spilling began in earnest. From a glass wafted delicate aromas of tiny white flowers, windswept meadows and a touch of tangy, unripe pear. I soon realized the carving of wanton teenagers doesn’t frighten me as it once did and began wondering what the menu of Roast (celebrity chef Michael Symon’s meat restaurant opening in the newly restored Westin Book Cadillac Hotel downtown) was going to look like. One should not be thinking about a nice carpaccio during a slasher film, generally.

Quite in line with a better Muscadet the Savoie wine has a nice texture, bright without being sharp, with a bit of stone running through it. Compared to the Boniface Apremont I can get locally it is more intricate and balanced and has more flesh. Writing this tasting note a few days later I look to see who this Quenard person is and discover there’s a dozen Quenards making wine in the Savoie. I suppose if enough of them were shipped over you might get by memorizing the labels. This bottle happened to be imported by Dressner and sold through Chambers Street. I pray they won’t run out before my next order.

It’s pointless to expound on the movie any further. My friend and I had a short discussion on the state of horror films at present and decided the genre as we know it has been stale for years and won’t be revived by any amount of jittery camera work. Perhaps my next bottle will be better consumed watching something like Teeth or a good existential zombie flick. But I would gladly take suggestions.