Emmy Award Wine Pairings From ex-President of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
As we turn our attention from Golden Globes winners to Emmy hopefuls, there's a lot of excitement in the air from the top Hollywood television actors, producers, writers, directors, and production teams. That show you love and binged to get over an ex, to lament the loss of someone close to you, or simply to disconnect from your every day life...might win a life-changing award! I felt there was no greater source to bring in to grow the Emmy excitement than Rich Frank. Rich has lived many successful lives in the entertainment world, as well as in the wine industry as founder of Frank Family Wines, which he owned until 2021 when the brand was acquired by Treasury Wine Estates.
Rich Frank was the President of Paramount Television Group, prior to an executive run at Disney where he became President of Disney Studios from 1985 to 1994. With its dissolution he stayed on for a year as Chairman of Walt Disney Television and Communications. Under Rich's leadership, television and movie properties such as Cheers, Entertainment Tonight, Golden Girls, Ellen, Dead Poet’s Society, Pretty Woman, Aladdin, and The Lion King achieved phenomenal success. As if those responsibilities weren't enough, Frank also served three terms as President of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, from 1985-1987 and 1993-1997, making him the longest serving President of The Academy. For years Rich lived and breathed the Emmy's Awards, so I asked him if share with us the ideal wine pairings to some of the top award contenders in a few of the hot categories in 2024.
Courtesy of Rich Frank
The Bear: This is a tough one—there are so many good pairings for this show! I’d say one hand, an Italian Beef Sandwich should go with an Italian wine, such as Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico. As the menu evolves and becomes inspired and sophisticated, we’ll look to Coach K from Duke University, Chef Sydney’s motivational icon in season 2. He’s involved in a great charity called the V Foundation and is a big advocate of Napa Valley wines, so I’d pair the classic BV George de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon.
Jury Duty: We would definitely pair The Judge Chardonnay from Konsgaard. Mind you, there are no pretenders in the Konsgaard winery portfolio—these wines are highly collectible and very delicious! Just one bottle can sell for hundreds of dollars. Fifth-generation Napa natives Maggy and John Konsgaard began their journey in the 1970s planting The Judge vineyard on their family land near Napa. The wine is a special treat. We make great Chardonnay at Frank Family Vineyards, so I’m quick to judge other producers, and this one is not guilty!
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: We would pair our Frank Family Lady Edythe Reserve Brut for this show. Like this character, my mother Edythe Frank was a New Yorker, Jewish and worked at Macy’s during the same era that Midge worked at the Gimbals. Midge showcases her love for Champagne in this show so it makes sense to pop a bottle of bubble and celebrate the shows authentic and ingenuous sense of humor.
Courtesy of Rich Frank
The Crown: There are many wines to drink with the Crown as the show has had so many successful seasons. I’ll raise a glass to that! From British sparkling wine such as Chapel Down, to so many wines named after British Royalty, these are so many jewels to taste. For this, we’d pop open a bottle of Alpha Omega Beckstoffer George III Cabernet Sauvignon.
Succession: Frank Family Patriarch Cabernet Sauvignon—a wine that is strong and demands attention, just like this series. It is always a winner.
The Last Of Us: We love the scene in episode 3 where Frank and Bill share a bottle of Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Village that they nick from an abandoned liquor story. There are diminishing varieties here in California because of economic pressures to plant grapes that yield higher prices—if there were to be a “Last of Us” wine, it would probably be Old Vine Zinfandel. Our pick would be Nichelini Zinfandel. We buy fruit from this family for our own Frank Family Zinfandel bottling. The Nichelini Family holds the title of being the oldest family-owned winery in the Napa Valley.
White Lotus: Tasca d’Almerita Tenuta Tascante Ghiaia Nera; In season 2, Episode 3, Daphne and Harper stay at the “Noto Villa” in Palermo, which is actually Villa Tasca, owned by one of Sicily’s great historic wine families. This wine is from Mt. Etna, where the group goes wine tasting later in the season.
House Of The Dragon: The Trefethen Family is one of Napa Valley’s pioneering wineries, now in its third generation. They make a wine called Dragon’s Tooth Blend. The family’s Nana, Catherine Trefethen, was Welsh. Her twin loves of wine and family were the original inspiration for their estate in Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District. Celebrating their heritage, “Y Ddraig Goch”, the symbol of Wales, adorns this bottle of Dragon’s Tooth, a provocative blend born from the rockiest part of their vineyard.
Yellowjackets: For this, I have to think of what wine I’d personally want to drink if I were stranded in the Canadian wilderness. I think I’d pick two, because why not! These would be Penfolds Grange—which is hand’s down Australia’s most coveted wine, and then I’d also pick Flowers Pinot Noir because that is the first wine I shared with my lovely wife Leslie Miller Frank, and she’s originally from Canada!
Courtesy of Rich Frank
Beef: Of course, the wine must be Korean owned to have with this show. South Korean luxury company Shinsegae Property recently purchased one of the Napa Valley’s most historic estates, Shafer. Their delicious bottle of Syrah and Petite Sirah is called Relentless, which describes the two main characters to a tee.
Daisy Jones & the Six: Our good friend Cliff Lede of Cliff Lede Vineyards is a huge classic rock fan. So much so that many of his vineyard blocks in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District are named for some of the most famous songs from this era. The art gallery at the winery has art by the likes of Jerry Garcia, Grace Slick, Bernie Taupin and John Lennon. We would pair one of his wines to this—perhaps his Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc, or the forthcoming release, Cliff Lede Rhythm Cabernet Sauvignon.
Today, Rich is Vice Chairman and Executive Board Member of the American Film Institute. His wife Leslie (pictured above together with Rich at the Emmys) had an Emmy Award-winning career in journalism which allowed her to see the world, and sparked her own interest in wine. She spent more than 25 years covering many major stories, and the last nine years of her TV news career reporting and anchoring at the number-one-rated station, KABC in Los Angeles. Together they continue their robust charitable giving initiatives with eyes on the future and more news to come.
