The best wine matches for your favourite films

The most common way to enjoy a bottle of wine in Britain is while having a meal. And the second most common? It’s while watching TV.

We have entire books telling us the best wines to pair with meals, but what about those to enjoy with films and television shows?

Readers, I am here to redress the balance. You can even turn it into a kind of parlour game as you try to link the wine and the show.

Who can forget Hannibal Lecter’s famous line in The Silence of the Lambs that he ate a victim’s liver with some ‘fava beans and a nice Chianti’?

Perhaps a wine like Monte Bernardi Sa’Etta Chianti Classico Riserva 2020 (13.5%, £34.99), one of the finest estates in Chianti Classico. There are ripe red fruits and cherry with a floral scent.

If your budget went on the liver (calves’, I trust), try Corte Alle Mura Chianti 2022 (12.5%, £5.29) for great value with lovely soft spice.

Sometimes wine is at the heart of the story.

The film Sideways, which is 20 years old, tells of two men on a wine-tasting tour in California, and it disrupted the fortunes of the entire industry. Miles, a wine snob, rages about how much he hates merlot and loves pinot noir.

But Daniel’s Drift Fairtrade Merlot 2023 (11%, £6.50) is packed with juicy, plummy fruit and a hint of pepper.

While you’re in M&S, grab a bottle of Tierra y Hombre Pinot Noir 2023 (13.5%, £7.50) for gorgeous, fleshy fruit and hints of vanilla. They’re both delicious, Miles.

Some wines take you into a small bit of film history. When Francis Ford Coppola was making Apocalypse Now, he had to film the notorious ‘Playmate’ scene (where Playboy bunnies entertain the troops) in California, so asked a friend with a vineyard if he could build a set there.

Today, that vineyard makes Black Stallion Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (14.5%, £44.99), a classic Napa cabernet with blackcurrants and spice.

Sometimes wines are used to tell part of the story.

For instance, what does a billionaire serve to his family? A famous dinner scene in TV hit Succession sees paterfamilias Logan Roy opt for below-the-radar-class Chêne Bleu Abélard 2020 (14%, £75). A clever choice.

It’s a ‘Super Rhône’ – a modern take on wines like Chateauneuf du Pape, with layered rich and spicy fruit.

Not on a billionaire’s budget? Go for the Chêne Bleu Astralabe (14%, £30) instead: a ‘lunchtime’ style with a fresher, younger fruit and brighter character. It’s also the better wine to watch Succession with.

My favourite movie and wine combination’s in The Godfather Part II, when Michael Corleone drinks Bardolino at his son’s first holy communion.

It’s a fab, fruity, fresh red with bright cherry characters – like Ca’ Vegar Bardolino DOC 2023 (12.5%, £13.99) – and with alcohol light enough that you’ll make it to the end of the film without nodding off.

Which reminds me. The UK’s third most common thing to do with a bottle of wine? It’s to sit and chat in the front room – once you have turned off the TV.

The perfect opportunity to discuss how the wine went with what you just watched.