Are you having friends over to watch the Academy Awards© on February 26? If so you might consider including Oscar-themed wines in the festivities. With that in mind I offer here a few random ideas of wines to incorporate into a vinous Oscar/Bacchus evening. As is true in filmdom, these nominees range widely in style.
Let’s begin with the Posthumous Award, a notable category at the Awards Ceremonies honoring a distinguished deceased actor. Past silver screen recipients of the award have 
included Spencer Tracy, Walt Disney and James Dean. The obvious winner in the wine division this year would be MARILYN MERLOT, in honor of this year’s film nominee “My Week With Marilyn.” It also deserves recognition for longevity. This wine is celebrating its 25th anniversary (can you believe it?) while Marilyn Monroe’s own career spanned only 14 years, beginning in 1947 and ending with her role in The Misfits in 1961. The wine is nicely rounded, youthful and friendly–just the sort of wine you’d like to spend the evening with, or at least take to dinner (Marilyn Merlot “25,” Napa Valley, California, $29.)
Best Director: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA “DIRECTOR’S,” PINOT NOIR a lithe, fragrant, nicely produced Pinot with highlights of cherry and strawberry flavor. The happy ending includes a gloss of soft tannins (Francis Ford Coppola, “Director’s” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California, $21.)
Best Costume: LADY OF SPAIN, whose bottle is sheathed head to toe in a sleek yellow wrapper emblazoned with a colorful caricature of–well, a lady of Spain. Crisp and sparkling, this is budget bubbly at its best. (Paul Cheneau Lady of Spain, Cava Brut Méthode Traditionnelle, Pasternak Wine Imports, $13.)
Best “Adult” Film: (Wait–is there such a category?) NAKED EARTH ROUGE gets the Oscar/Bacchus for its string of sexily silhouetted women dancing around the capsule, and for its well-endowed body, penetrating fruity flavors and provocative hints of spice. Rouge is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Carignan, and its seductive French accent comes from its origins in the Languedoc-Rousillon. (Naked Earth, Certified Organic Vin de Pays d’Oc, France, Imported by Canon Wines, $12.)
Best Animal on a Wine Label: Always a contender for this award, multitalented GOATS DO 
ROAM wins for its cleverness, humor, and pleasing design, as well as for the wine’s fresh, earthy blend of Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Grenache (Goats Do Roam Red, Western Cape, South Africa, $10, Vineyard Brands.)
Best Foreign Language Wine: DOMAINE SIGALAS, a steely, mineral-laden white wine made from two indigenous Greek grapes named Assyrtiko and Athiri. A recent review at Wine Review Online described it as “not at all unlike a youthful Chablis.” (Domaine Sigalas, Santorini, Greece, Assyrtiko/Athiri 2009, Diamond Importers, $19.)
Best Supporting Actor: China, for its role in helping to support the Bordeaux wine industry. Recent purchases of Bordeaux chateaux by Chinese investors include CHATEAU LATOUR LAGUENS (Entre-Deux-Mers), CHATEAU CHENU LAFITE (Côtes de Bourg), CHATEAU VIAUD (Lalanded-de-Pomerol), CHATEAU LAULAN DUCOS (Médoc), and CHATEAU BRANDA (Fronsac). Most appropriately from the point of view of the Bacchus/Oscar Awards CHATEAU MONLOT (St. Etienne) was recently purchased by Zhao Wei, a Chinese film star.
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