As many of you know, the primary inspiration of Humanitas wines was/is Paul Newman’s Own. When I first dreamed up Humanitas back in 1997, my thinking was that if a winery could use the Paul Newman’s Own model of creating an excellent product as a means to generating revenues that in turn would drive charitable donation, it would be a success. And in 2001, I finally took the leap following this model, with a minor twist in that I’d give back to charities local to where the wine was sold rather than to the national headquarters. This ensures the money goes back to the community rather than spread eveywhere.
So why do I write this? Because today, January 26th, is the anniversary of Paul Newman’s birth. And although Mr. Newman has passed, his legacy, as an actor, as a racecar driver/owner, as a philanthropist, and as a businessman is enormous. And as I was thinking about his career(s), I couldn’t help but wonder…if Paul Newman were a wine, what would he be?
I like this game. I did it a few weeks ago with Faye Dunaway (well, not WITH her — she was the topic) and really enjoyed thinking about it so I thought I’d continue the game with Mr. Newman. And as I think about Paul Newman, I cannot help but think about all of his movies. Like so many great actors, he had career stages — young, middle & old — resulting in not one Paul Newman, but at least three. And as I muse on what wine I think he would be, I realize it really be three wines…at least. So join me on this one, will you? Let me know what wine you picture Paul Newman to be.
I think I most identify with the early films — especially The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke & Hud (which was the movie made from a wonderful book by Larry McMurtry called Horseman Pass By). But I believe that the two movies he made with Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, and The Sting, were perhaps the best movies. And in the later years, The Color of Money was a delight.
In all of these phases, Paul Newman showed completely different sides of his acting — yet there is an unmistakeable ‘nerve’ that runs through all of his movies, putting his own stamp on the acting. In so many ways, this is like a winery. The wines from that winery evolve over time, but the common nerve runs through all of them. Think of the Caymus Cabs, the Silver Oak Cabs, the Robert Mondavi Cabs — that direction. Each vintage has it’s own stamp, but the signature is still there running through all of the wines.
But for me, I don’t picture Paul Newman as a Cabernet. I don’t know why — but I get a lot of Zinfandel out of him…or maybe a Syrah. Something with a little spice, something with some wonderful depth…but ultimately something with a little twinkle in it’s eye. And something very giving in it’s nature. Paul Newman was a model philanthropist — he certainly was a model for me.
So tonight, in honor of Paul Newman’s birth & life, raise a glass of something charitable. Humanitas would be my choice — but that’s probably because I have a house (actually a warehouse) full of it. But grab a couple of different wines, plug in Cool Hand Luke or Butch Cassidy and figure out which wine most closely ‘resembles’ Paul Newman and give me a comment back. Let’s not have a ‘failure to communicate’ here!
P.S. — If you are interested in reading a nice story honoring Mr. Newman with a cool mention of Humanitas in the Huffington Post — click here: Huffington & Humanitas
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