The 87^th Annual Academy Awards will be held live Sunday, February 22 on ABC. I am not a big awards show watcher; however, every year I really look forward to watching the Oscars. The excitement begins the first “Oscar worthy” movie I see in the preceding year and continues to build up to the nominations and then the big night. You see we watch a lot of movies. We enjoying going to see movies in the theatre (even though the cost is getting out of control) and when we cannot make it to the theatre for a new release we watch plenty of movies in the comfort of our home as well. I shudder to think what our average spending is each year on movies, so when Oscar night rolls around you bet I am watching and anticipating the big winners! I try to see all the movies nominated for Best Picture each year as well as the movies of Best Actor and Actress. I have enjoyed so many of the Best Picture nominees this year that I do not really have a favorite. Selma was by far this most emotional movie for me to watch and I thoroughly loved it but so many of the others were good as well. Do you have a favorite?

Another fun Oscar night ritual is watching the Red Carpet arrivals. I try every year to have dinner made for my family before all Oscar festivities begin so I can sit down for 5+ hours of uninterrupted Oscar bliss. This year I am keeping dinner simple and pairing it with great wine for a perfect Academy Awards evening!

When looking for an Oscar night wine, who better to share the evening with than Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola is one of six people in Academy Award history to win Oscars for Producer, Director and Screenwriter. The list of his movie making achievements are as staggering as the list of outstanding movies he has created. I had no idea until researching for this article Coppola made one of my favorite “coming of age” movies: The Outsiders. I would love to see that movie again. In addition to his perennially incredible list of movies Coppola is also recognized as a premier wine maker.  I am thankful and blessed to have received this sample because Coppola wine and the Academy Awards are the perfect pairing!

Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut 2012 Dry Creek Valley Sonoma Zinfandel: This wine was crafted from 80% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah. It poured an inky purple into the glass and opened with aromas of  ripe black and blue fruit, spice, pepper and a hint of tobacco. This wine danced across the palate with fine tuned flavors of black cherries, blackberries and black raspberries along with smoke, tobacco, espresso, dark chocolate, pepper and burnt cedar, and finishing with vibrant black licorice on the back of the palate. This wine was rich and well structured with concentrated fruit and earthiness balanced with round acidity and integrated tannins. It was medium in body and offered a lingering finish. Surely a Zinlovers delight; this wine was very modern and sexy. RP 90 pts. This wine would pair beautifully with steak, lamb or barbeque as well as my pairing selection. SRP $27; click here to order direct.

Since I hope to have a full night of Oscar viewing with limited interruptions what better food to pair the Zinfandel with than pizza! Of course Coppola would enjoy drinking his wines with pizza in honor of his Italian heritage and Zinfandels pair beautifully with pizza. We ordered this particular pizza from a family owned local pizza shop called Mama’s, which is legendary in our suburb. Mama’s pizza is simply, fresh crushed tomato sauce and mozzarella blend on top an outstanding homemade crust brushed with garlic butter; add any additional toppings you desire and you have yourself a delicious Mama’s pizza. Due to the freshness of the sauce, crust and cheese I prefer my Mama’s pizza plain. Furthermore, Mama’s makes the world best cinnamon rolls out of their pizza dough; a perfect ending to a perfect pizza meal. However, because the Oscars are so long you can’t stop there; Oscar night requires snacks as well. So additionally snack pairings with the Director’s Cut Zinfandel include popcorn: Maple Bacon (paired beautifully with the zin), Sriracha, and Black and White Drizzle Corn; as well as Lay’s Wavy Milk Chocolate covered potato chips (Holy Cow those things were good!). All this great food and the Director’s Cut Zinfandel should make your Oscar night great no matter who wins. Furthermore, the Director’s Cut Zinfandel would make a great addition to any meal any night of the week!

“Winemaking and filmmaking are two great art forms that are very important in the development of California. They both start with raw ingredients – in the case of wine, the land and the grapes, in the case of film, the script and the actor’s performances. The winemaker takes these raw materials and ferments and blends. He says yes to the batch, not to that one. The director does the same thing; a series of yesses and nos, from casting and costuming to edits and sound mixes. In both cases you have to start with top notch raw materials – whether it’s the land or a script.” -~Francis Ford Coppola

Filmmaking and Winemaking Intersect in Sonoma

“In the film business, the “Director’s Cut” emerged as a means for filmmakers to present their own creative vision of a story. Athe Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Director’s Cut wines were created as a way for the wine “director” Corey Beck to craft wines that would reflect his own unique interpretation of the quintessential Sonoma wine. Corey’s vision for Director’s Cut embraces appellation-specific sourcing, meticulous fruit selection, and numerous blending trials so that our wines capture the distinct nuances of Sonoma’s micro-climates in a highly refined style well-suited to fine cuisine and premium wine lists.”

Francis Ford Coppola’s journey in the wine industry is fascinating. I encourage you to read the linked article by Wine Spectator entitled “Francis Ford Coppola: From Feature Films to Fine Wine” to learn more about important role Coppola has played and continues to play in the California wine industry. Furthermore, I encourage you to visit the Francis Ford Coppola Winery web site to learn more about his wineries, view his extensive portfolio of wines and order the Director’s Cut 2012 Zinfandel today!

Please enjoy Francis Ford Coppola’s interpretation of “Wine and Film.”

My Song Selection:  Since I am pairing the Director’s Cut Zinfandel with a great night of movies and Oscars song I have chosen to pair with it is one of my all time favorite movie songs: Live and Let Die by Sir Paul McCartney and Wings. Furthermore, this song represents the essence of the Director’s Cut Zinfandel, bold yet smooth, dark yet lively, full of flavor and gusto yet well balanced and palate pleasing.  I am only sorry I did not personally record Paul McCartney singing this song when he came to Dallas last fall; his performance brought the house down! It went something like this:

Get your own bottle of Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut Dry Creek Valley Sonoma 2012 Zinfandel for the Oscars or any occasion and let me know what song you would pair with it. Happy Oscar viewing. Cheers!