2025 oscar bev pairings
getting you oscar party ready!
We’re one week away from the 97th Academy Awards, honoring the films of 2024. Whether you forgot or have an Oscar party coming up or watching it alone… I have some cocktails, wine, and non-alch pairings for some Oscar nominations. Or if you’re still making your way through the nominated list grab the bev to pair it with, a snack, and get streaming!
Last years Oscars I couldn’t be bothered making a whole spread. Maybe one year.. but this year still isn’t that year. If you also aren’t in the full Oscar party snack spread mood, this is a prime time for that takeout thai food, sushi, whatever your heart desires. I’m driving up to watch the Oscars with a friend that I’ve been making a very… I mean verrrrry casual movie podcast with (even if it only stays in our own computer drives).. and we’re getting some pizza from Little Coyote that I cannot wait to try. If you can’t even be bothered with that then… popcorn. I need something I can nervously and excitedly snack on that’s easy to refill. You eat popcorn at the movies.. so why not eat popcorn now. Besides, popcorn is one of the best snacks, imho.
Bjorn Qorn is one of my favorite popcorn brands right now. The truffle flavor is the perfect about of truffle that makes it just the amount of umami I want.
I love Pop Daddy pretzels (definitely get those too) but their popcorn is also perfect. I can never go wrong with a good big bag of white cheddar popcorn.
Cob is one I discovered recently that is popped sorghum instead of corn if you’re one of those who are allergic to corn. Sorghum is also easier to digest and higher in fiber.
Cheerie Lane has amazing flavors or ready to go popcorn pods that can be popped in a pot over a gas or electric stove, as well as a microwave.
I got a Popsmith popcorn maker last year and it’s been one of my favorite tools for making movie theater like popcorn at home. They have popcorn kits that come with everything you need to make a big bowl of popcorn, but of course you can use it to make your own and add whatever flavors you wish!
The Brutalist
It’s the Oscars after all.. so some champagne and a martini have to have its moment. The Brutalist is the one for this. Like you’re at the dinner party in the mansion of wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (played by Guy Pearce). If you really want to feel like the wealth, get yourself a wealthy industrialist who can get you this stunning ($360.. honestly a steal for its tier) bottle of a Burgundy Grand Cru: Chandon de Briailles, 'Corton-Bressandes' Grand Cru 2021. You best be in your Oscar party best dressed, holding the bottle, and snapping the photo to your IG story for me to see, if you do so!
Anora
Anora calls for vodka and something girly, and affordable but still feels classy. A cosmopolitan felt perfect, and something I could see Ani and Lulu ordering for a night out. If you want to put a fun spin, add rhubarb infused vodka or rhubarb syrup to add some seasonal flavor.
For wine, this Ercole Piemonte DOC Rosato 2023 is the one. It’s a whole liter for $26.. a great bang for your buck. Loads of juicy and bright red fruits like strawberries and raspberries. One that I would (and have) bought for a night watching movies with my gal pal.
A Complete Unknown
Bob Dylan co-created a whiskey brand called Heaven’s Door, so bourbon was needed. He spent a lot of years at The Hotel Chelsea in New York, so I imagine him enjoying his favorite bourbon and coke or mint juleps there. But in a song he wrote in 1965 called ‘Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,’ he says “I started out on Burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuff.” So I wanted to merge bourbon and “burgundy” together with a classic New York Sour: bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, with a top layer of red wine.
For wine, I chose this 2021 Barbichette, Le Rouge Saperavi from Seneca Lake, New York to honor his NY roots, but also because of the wines characteristics. It’s musky like your grandpa’s old cigar box vibes, all things I feel like are the same aromas of Bobby at NY bar (just sub cigars for his many cigarettes).
The Substance
The Substance activator was the inspo here, so my mind went straight to chartreuse. One of my favorite chartreuse cocktails is a Last Word, but feel free to go for your favorite here. The Last Word also felt particularly the correct choice here because of how Elizabeth Sparkle and Sue are constantly battling who has the last “word” and choice.
For wine, I went with Wonderwerk Lite Werk Pink Lemonade 2023 to honor Margaret Qualley’s iconic workout scene. The brand matches that vibe down to the font, plus this wine just makes me want to dance around with my gals. It’s zesty and fun!
A Real Pain
Go for anything casual here, a shot of vodka or anything you like from your local craft beer joint, a double win if you find a Polish beer.
For wine, I recently discovered Dom Bliskowice, a natural wine producer in Poland. Beside being a super funky and fun wine, the label for the R18 bottle felt right. It’s wanting to be classic and collected white wine (David played by Jesse Eisenberg), while surprising you with this sass and bold ending personality (Benji played by Kieran Culkin).
Nosferatu
Drinks by Evie Spooky Sangria was my ideal choice here. It’s easy to prep in advance and to make a batch, for your Oscar party. Plus gives the perfect dark moody vibes. Any recipe by Drinks by Evie is a showstopper, anyway!
For wine, I wanted to choose a red (obviously) that was made for aging. Some of the tertiary aromas and flavors of red wine is earth, mushroom, wet floor, and meat. These aromas and flavors are due to the maturation process. We know Nosferatu is out for blood, but that he lives in this ruined castle and sleeps in a coffin. Which in my mind could be a Halloween themed wine note at your local wine shop selling an aged bottle of a red. One red wine I thought of was 2022 The Boxer Shiraz Mollydooker, South Australia; the second I smelled it raw meat came to mind, but the palate is wonderfully peppery, with black fruit, high acidity and high tannin making it a really full-bodied and rounded drinking experience. But I also had to go with something German to honor Nosferatu roots, and it had to be this 2019 2Naturkinder Fledermaus Rot Franken, Germany Fledermaus means bat in German. This wine leans more towards red fruit vs the dark black fruits, but still has notes of that wet forest earthy floor, so a good option if you’re not a huge fan of those darker, aged reds!
Conclave
For Conclave and, to be honest, Stanley Tucci.. I had to go classic Italian vibes. Negroni is perfect, but if you want to switch it up a Giostra d’Alcol, an Italian Red Wine Spritz made with campari, red wine (traditionally one used from Barbera d'Asti), syrup, and sparkling lemonade (Baladin Cedrata, if you’re in Italy).
For wine, any Italian red will do. I feel like this 2023 Monastero Trappiste di Vitorchiano Benedic Rosso Lazio, Italy fits best. It’s made in the Lazio region (that includes Rome and the Vatican city). It can be hard to find and source Lazio wine in comparison to the other well known wine regions of Italy, and this one is very special. The wine is made up of equal amounts of Ciliegiolo and Sangiovese that are grown on the Monastery and co-harvested and co-fermented.
Dune
Had to go back for another Drinks by Evie on this one. To honor the Melange, I had to go with something that had spice: Evie’s Chai Bee’s Knees: chai honey syrup, lemon juice, and gin; or her Spiced Honey Spritzer Mocktail: cinnamon rosemary honey syrup, lemon juice, cranberry jelly, Red Bull Winter Edition Fig Apple (or I like to sub Olipop Crisp Apple), for a NA addition.
For obvious reasons in the name, I chose 2022 Sandlands Assyrtiko, Lodi California, USA for Dune’s wine pairing. Assyrtiko is native to Santorini, Assyrtiko, and Greece of course shares the water with Jordan, where Dune was filmed. This grape varietal loves growing in sandy soil (our ode to the sand dunes). Famously known wines from sandy soil are from the Northern Médoc region of France and Graves in Bordeaux. California however is known for Lodi being our sandy wine growing region. Sandlands Vineyards are one of those wineries in Lodi producing beautiful wines from primarily sandy soil. This bottle is crisp and refreshing, with some melon notes.
Wicked
Elphaba Cocktail: Going green of course. Unless you’re one of the few who own a bottle of Chartreuse in these days, or you splurged to get one for The Substance Last Word cocktail… one of my favorite subs for Chartreuse is Boomsma Cloosterbitter liquors. Isn’t necessarily a one-to-one replacement, but it does pretty well. One of my favorite uses of it is Gimlet. Make a regular gimlet recipe, but add a dash of some Boomsma (or chartreuse).
Glinda Cocktail: Going with class, elegance, and pink. A Rosé French 75. Sub the champagne in a tradition French 75 for rosé. It makes it perfectly pink!
Elphaba Wine: 2023 Christina Gruner Veltliner, Austria felt right. This wine is so delicious. It’s super aromatic, and has notes of green fruits like lime and fresh green grape, and also green herbal notes. There are bugs on the front label, but the back label says: “Celebrating bugs! Not all bugs are pests. Beneficial insects illustrated here are good bugs that perform pest control are beneficial to the to the health of the vines they inhabit.” Which is something that I fits very well to Elphaba’s personality, care, and characteristics.
I also feel like Elphaba wouldn’t drink through because she’s too busy studying up, so I also chose this Unified Ferments Jasmine Green Non-alcoholic. This wine alt is super elegant and floral from the jasmine tea pearls as its base. A super fun NA worth a try!!
Glinda Wine: To go with Glinda’s bougie, flirty, and bubbly personality, a sparkling rosé felt like an obvious choice. The labeling alone on this NV Champagne Laherte-Freres, Ultradition Brut Rose, France is elegant and the color of the wine is stunning. Pure elegance is the only way to describe this wine when drinking it.
For Glind’a NA wine option I chose my favorite NA rosé over the last year: Woody's Sparkling Rosé Sparkling Non-alcoholic. It’s perfectly dry, loaded with red berry palate notes with subtle floral notes.
Last Word and The Substance is what I’ll be drinking and rooting for!
Movie podcast dropping when??