By Liz Miller, West End Wine Manager
Once a month, my roommate hosts a good old fashioned movie night with all the bells and whistles. He builds props, buys and/or makes theme appropriate snacks and beverages, and his friends will generally bring over a simple bottle of wine or two to help set the mood. In this industry, it’s easy to forget that wine doesn’t always need to be taken so seriously - sometimes it’s just meant to be a simple pleasure shared with good company.
I’ve curated this list of themed screening parties to accompany each of these no-frill wines, but watch whatever floats your boat and just enjoy the ride.
Col di Luna Flora prosecco 15.99
Sip on a glass of Flora prosecco with apricot juice at a Call Me by Your Name themed brunch. Bring the kiddie pool indoors, wear your short shorts and sunglasses, make menus out of old books, and serve latkes with a soft boiled egg, chocolate mousse with raspberry (nosebleed) sauce, and of course a bowl of fresh peaches and cream (yes, I went there).
Flora is a brut (totally dry) prosecco with notes of green apple, Asian pear, and fresh cut flowers.
Ercole Rosato 15.99
Did you say girl’s night? Enjoy this bottle with your closest girlfriends while watching Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Paint your nails, make friendship bracelets, and shrink your pores with a mint julep mud pack. Share a bowl of edible cookie dough, and make treat bags filled with gummy bears, jelly beans, and candy corn that have Post-It notes with each guests’ name written on them. If you know Romy and Michele’s choreographed dance to “Time After Time”, this is your chance to bust a move.
This vibrant rosato is a blend of two classic Piedmont grape varietals, Barbera and Dolcetto. It expresses fresh aromas of strawberry, ruby grapefruit, and watermelon.
Gulp Hablo Garnacha 16.99
Treat your senses with a feast for the eyes and gut at a Pan’s Labyrinth themed party. Make a full spread including berry tarts, cranberry gelatin, roast pork with pineapple and maraschino cherry, and oven roasted pumpkin. The tart fruitiness of this Garnacha makes the perfect gluggable wine for such an indulgent occasion. Fill a hand-shaped piñata with eyeball candy, drink the wine out of horn goblets, and give everyone a different antique key tied to each goblet by twine in place of the usual wine charm.
Gulp Hablo Garnacha is uncomplicated, light, crisp, and easy drinking. Flavors of juicy black cherries and tart cranberries on the palate, with rounded tannins and an easy finish - great served chilled!
Lo-Fi Aperitifs Gentian Amaro 26.99
If you’re with a larger group and want to amp up the party with a bigger punch of alcohol and flavor, then try one of my favorite cocktails - the “Pink & Smoky” (equal parts Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro and mezcal of your choice). To keep with the “lo-fi” theme, cosplay as your favorite characters from Empire Records and make Rex Manning lunch trays that include pizza, cupcakes, brownies, and M&Ms. This party works best in the daytime, because you’ll want to tell someone you love them at exactly 1:37 p.m.
Lo-Fi’s Gentian Amaro boasts aromas of sweet citrus with hints of ginger and exotic spices that are supported by a framework of cinchona bark and bitter root extracts. It adds refreshing fruit flavors and crisp bitterness to a variety of cocktails.
