Wine Mess - 23nd Illinois Regiment Outside of Lexington, Missouri 1862

Lt. Aloysius May
Why are you so into Pinot*? It’s like a thing with you.

Col. James A. Mulligan ( Commanding Officer of Mulligan's Brigade)

I don't know. It’s a hard grape to grow. As you know. It’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s not a survivor like Cabernet that can grow anywhere and thrive even when neglected. Pinot needs constant care and attention and in fact can only grow in specific little tucked-away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing growers can do it really, can tap into Pinot’s most fragile, delicate qualities. Only when someone has taken the time to truly understand its potential can Pinot be coaxed into its fullest expression. And when that happens, its flavors are the most haunting and brilliant and subtle and thrilling and ancient on the planet.  

 
I mean, Cabernets can be powerful and exalting, but they seem prosaic to me for some reason. By comparison. How about you?

Lt. May
What about me?

Col. Mulligan 
I don't know. Why are you into wine?

Lt. May 
I suppose I got really into wine originally through my ex-C.O.. He had a big, kind of show-off cellar. But then I found out that I have a really sharp palate, and the more I drank, the more I liked what it made me think about.

Mulligan
Yeah? Like what?

May
Like what a fraud he was.

Regimental Sergeant-Major Colman Enright

No, but I do like to think about the life of wine, how it’s a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing, how the sun was shining that summer or if it rained…what the weather was like. I think about all those people who tended and picked the grapes, and if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I love how wine continues to evolve, how every time I open a bottle it's going to taste different than if I had opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive—it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks—like your ’61—and begins its steady, inevitable decline. And it tastes so fucking good.

Col. Mulligan

Really?  Did anyone ask your opinion?

*

The Wine Dialoguefrom the film, Sidewaysby Alexander Payne & Jim Taylorbased on the novel by Rex Picketty