Once Upon a Wine
Frequently Asked Questions
What's your angle? Why are you trying to pair wines and stories?
What wine you pair food with is pretty deeply embedded in the idea of wine but I don't remember anyone ever telling me I can only pair wine with things that go in my mouth.
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I want something to put me in the right mindset for any story. That should include all of our sensory experiences, not just what we look at and listen to. (This is why the rides at Disneyland have distinctive smells.)
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Also, this blog is a pretty fun excuse to rewatch my favorite movies and re-drink my favorite wines.
How did you come up with this idea?
I genuinely do not know. I come up with lots of ideas. Most of them are bad but this one seemed interesting. I bounced this idea off of other people. Usually when I do I get funny looks but this time they agreed with me that this idea was interesting. Now we're here.
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To be clear, I am not the first person to come up with the idea of pairing wine and stories. I only found out about said pioneers after the idea occurred to me and I wanted to check if this was a crowded field. News flash: It isn't. Until now, most of the time people only tried to pair wine and classic movies because they and/or their audiences are snobs.
How do you decide which wines and stories go together?
Sometimes I watch/read/listen to a story and I think about what wine would be appropriate. Other times I start with the wine and try to come up with a story that matches. I often use reviews of either to help guide me. How else is there?
I don't agree with the pairing that you came up with.
That's not a question but I'll answer it anyway. Go ahead and suggest your own pairing. That's what the Comment section is for.
Are you a sommelier?
Sigh. Did we learn nothing from the "Judgment of Paris" about credentialism?
No, I'm not a sommelier. That is not an easy certification to get – I have not even tried. I respect those who are sommeliers and I know several. I'll be the first person to admit that I know way more about books, movies, and TV shows than I do about wines. When it comes to wines, I'm still learning.​
How DARE you suggest that book/movie/show that I don't respect pairs well with any wine?
Wine is like the color black, it goes with everything. It's just a question of which shade. Given enough time and effort, I could probably come up with a pairing for "Jaws 3D."
What wine would you pair with "Jaws 3D"?
Consider your sadistic attempt to get me to rewatch "Jaws 3D" successfully parried.
What wine would you pair with "Sideways?"
If you would like to suggest a wine pairing for "Sideways," have fun and let me know what you decide. You can e-mail me at eddie@onceuponawine.com.
Is it responsible to suggest wine pairings for children's stories?
Yes. I doubt any children read this blog and even if they did, I doubt they have decent wine access. Also there's nothing on this blog that facilitates that access.
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I suspect what you're really implying is that children's stories are fundamentally unworthy of our consumption. That's a common misconception, there are plenty of children's movies that can, should, and do appeal to adults too.
I'll also say that one of the things that I enjoy about being an adult is that I can watch or read whatever I please. If I want to watch a cartoon and drink wine while I'm at it, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Good news: You can too.
Do you recommend these wines?
Generally, yes, but not always. This blog doesn't seek to answer what wines are good, there is already plenty of content out there on that subject. This blog only tries to find the best matches.
The same goes for the stories. Generally, yes, I do recommend these books, movies, and shows, but not always.
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That all said, I will probably never pair a wine that I don't like with a story that I don't like either. I like to think that y'all are playing along at home and I want you to enjoy yourselves.
Do you make any money off of the wines you suggest?
No, though if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm not opposed. Before you clutch your pearls, ask yourself who would pay for anything on this blog? How would they go about it? I have to match the flavor of a wine and the flavor of a story literally every time, it's a small target to hit, how do you as an advertiser monetize this?
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You can check for yourself if any of the wines links are affiliate links. The links to individual wines is for your convenience not because any wine retailer is paying me.
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Also, please notice that there are no ad banners and there is no "Buy Me a Glass" page/pay portal of any kind.
Do you make any money off of the stories you suggest?
Maybe? If you ever use an Amazon link here to buy something, in theory it might get me a few cents of a gift card. I never check. It took me all of five minutes to set up this system with Amazon and I sleep fine. Other websites may have affiliate programs but they looked like more trouble than they're worth so I don't bother.
Why don't you ever cover newly-released movies?
It could happen someday but to accomplish that studios would need to give me passes to advance screenings and I doubt they want to encourage people to sneak wine into movie theaters.
Can I suggest a book/movie/TV show or a wine for a post?
You sure can. Go here. And yes, it's free.