Not a Drinking Game, but it does Involve Wine

Let’s keep running with the wine theme this week. Last week, I waxed eloquent (snicker!) about the terroir of character. This week, I pose the question: If your favorite character was a wine, what wine would he/she be?

In an attempt to be somewhat universal in my example, I’ve chosen the “Pride & Prejudice” Characters (as portrayed in the BBC mini-series):

Jane Bennet. Something light, sweet, and inoffensive. Probably a Moscato or Spanish Vinho Verde.

Mr. Bingley. Bubbly and a little effusive… Something that can please the crowd. Like perhaps a drier Lambrusco.

Elizabeth Bennet. A wine with some substance and some spice! I’m thinking an Australian Shiraz with a bit of heft. Or, a drier German Gewurztraminer… sweet yet with a zesty backbone!

Mr. Darcy. Stiff and a little unyielding. Definitely a bold Cabernet with enough tannins to suck the moisture from your mouth (which often come in bottles with broad shoulder, much like the statuesque Colin Firth...).

Mr. Wickham. A hedonistic bad boy. So something dark and sexy, but without the structure of Darcy’s Cabernet. Perhaps a Grenache blend from the Rhône area, or a Petite Sirah from California.

Lydia Bennet. Bud Light. Sorry, but she is a character so unpalatable to me, I can’t even think of her in terms or wine. So I’ll go with a flavored-water sort of beer that quickly becomes gag-worthy when the chill wears off.

Naturally, because I love Sci-fi, I can’t leave this exercise without also doing the same thing with some other beloved characters:

Judge my wine glass by its size, do you?

Luke Skywalker: A young wine that could benefit from some maturity. A white wine (Light Side reference!) such as a Burgundy or maybe a white Bordeaux.

Princes Leia: Something regal yet with some sass and a lot of backbone. Maybe an old vine Zinfandel. Or an Italian Super Tuscan.

Han Solo: A wine with attitude. Boisterous at first, disappears in the middle, but finishes strong so you want another sip. A Spanish Rioja might not have the weak mid-palate I’m describing in Han, but they both make me light-headed and giddy, so I’ll stick with that one!

Chewbacca: Not wine, tequila. Lots of tequila. And some social smoking. So, the next morning you wake up, smack your lips together to get the saliva juices flowing again, and wonder if it’s possible to shave the fur off your teeth.

Darth Vader: Without a doubt, Vader is Cahors from the southwest area of France. Known literally as the “black wine” (Dark Side reference!), this wine is a deep, inky product of primarily the Malbec grape.

So, what are your favorite characters, and what kind of wine would they be?