James Bond drinks various wines, famously favoring Bollinger Champagne, especially in the films, while Ian Fleming's novels featured Taittinger and red Bordeaux like Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Angélus; he also enjoyed simpler wines like Chianti and Liebfraumilch. His choice reflects luxury, but can vary from premium Champagne to everyday Italian reds.
Far more interesting however, is his choice of red. On the train to Montenegro in Casino Royale when he first meets Vesper Lind, they enjoy a bottle of Chateau Angelus 1982, a vintage generally regarded as the best ever.
A vesper martini is unique as it combines both gin and vodka with Kina Lillet. Unfortunately you can't get Kina Lillet anymore, so it's substituted with Lillet Blanc or dry vermouth to get the same sweet yet botanical taste. Bond himself describes the perfect recipe: 'A dry Martini,' he said.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. "Shaken, not stirred" is how Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond prefers his martini cocktail.
This exclusive release unites Champagne Bollinger's signature Special Cuvée with the bold, unmistakable 007 style, marking over 45 years as the Official Champagne of James Bond. The Special Cuvée 007 Limited Edition is housed in a sleek, black collector's box that embodies the elegance and intrigue of James Bond.
Food Theory: Why Does James Bond Like His Martinis Shaken Not Stirred?
What is the 20 minute wine rule?
The 20-minute wine rule is a guideline for serving wines at their optimal temperature: take red wines out of the fridge for 20 minutes to slightly warm them up, and put white wines in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool them down, allowing the intended flavors and aromas to shine by avoiding extremes that muddle taste or suppress scent. It's about finding that perfect middle ground, making reds less "hot" and whites less "closed down," so you experience the winemaker's vision.
We all know James Bond prefers his martinis shaken, not stirred, but the super spy has even more exacting requirements for his ideal cocktail. Specifically, Bond created the Vesper martini in the 1953 book "Casino Royale," and the drink has lived on in infamy ever since.
It wasn't until the third Bond novel, "Moonraker," that Bond first ordered a vodka martini. According to Fleming's description, the drink was "shaken and not stirred" and served with a twist of lemon. It wasn't until the films that the vodka martini truly became Bond's go-to drink.
Dom Pérignon 1946 accompanies Bond and M for their dinner in Moonraker, Veuve Clicquot Rosé in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Thunderball (1965) then Bond seems to find his favourite (that or it's just a very lucrative product placement deal) with Bollinger. So Bond, perhaps unsurprisingly, has expensive taste.
In truth, a large glass (250ml) of 13.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) wine consists of more than three 'units', so drinking two large glasses quickly can constitute binge drinking for some people."
The "75 rule" for wine in the U.S. means that if a wine label names a specific grape (like Chardonnay or Merlot), at least 75% of the wine must be made from that grape, with the remaining 25% being other complementary varieties, a standard set by the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) to ensure transparency, though some regions like Oregon require 100% for varietals. It's part of a broader labeling guideline, including 85% for American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and 95% for vintage years, often remembered as the 75/85/95 rules.
You should not chill full-bodied red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, and Malbec. These wines have more tannins, and cooling them makes them taste bitter. Instead, serve these wines at room temperature or just slightly cooler, around 65°F.
Generally, it is quite normal for an extremely old Bordeaux to show mid-shoulder levels or below and still be drinkable. A 200-year-old wine with levels into the neck or top-shoulder would be very suspect, unless it had been recently recorked.
Experts say a a good maximum amount of wine for women would be a 5 oz glass of wine, and for men two 5 oz glasses of wine, no more than several times a week. Experts strongly advise women against having more than 3 drinks of wine per day, and for men, 4 drinks of wine per day.
Some recent studies suggest light-to-moderate wine consumption (like a bottle a week, especially with a Mediterranean diet) might offer cardiovascular benefits similar to statins for high-risk individuals, but this isn't a recommendation to start drinking; major health bodies warn against starting alcohol for heart health due to addiction risks and other dangers, and heavy drinking negates benefits, while statins remain proven medical treatments for high cholesterol.
INDICATION OF VOLUME: This shows the volume amount of wine in the bottle. It may be stated in milliliters, centiliters or liters (the conventional abbreviations ml, cl and l are allowed) and they are always followed by the letter “e” indicating “estimate”.
In the ongoing debate about wine versus vodka, it is essential to note that there is no worst alcohol for your liver; all forms of alcohol can harm the liver when consumed excessively.
Is a glass of wine every night bad for your liver?
Liver damage from alcohol most often happens when a person drinks alcohol every day over several years. Enjoying an alcoholic drink every now and then isn't likely to cause any long-term harm.
That's iconic as well. But a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, however, casts a shadow on all this booze, saying Bond displayed "severe alcohol use disorder" over the course of six decades and 24 movies. The study authors found that in his entire onscreen career, Bond drank 109 times.
Numerous major actors turned down the role of James Bond for various reasons, including Cary Grant (too old, wanted only one film), Liam Neeson (ultimatum from his wife), Clint Eastwood & Burt Reynolds (felt an American couldn't play Bond), Hugh Jackman (didn't like script direction), and Michael Caine, Patrick McGoohan, and Michael Gambon, who felt the character was too promiscuous or they weren't right for it, while Richard Burton wanted more money and Mel Gibson feared typecasting.
