(Thislittle wine 101er has met both Pavitt’s, was lucky enough to be a guestin their Napa home two years ago, and even more lucky to have had DateNight wine. Thrilled that they named a movie after the wine, orsomething like that.)
Proprietors of Date NightCabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley—-Suzanne Phifer Pavitt and ShanePavitt—-mingled with the stars of Date Night (the movie) at its premiere inNew York on April 8. The Pavitts had a chance to chat with star Steve Carell (all three are pictured above) atthe party following the screening at Aureole Restaurant.
During the month of March,leading up to the premiere, Date Night (wine) offered a competition on Facebookfor ‘date night’ anecdotes; the judges were winery proprietor Suzanne PhiferPavitt and Autumn Millhouse, the author of Romantic Napa Valley: AnInsider’s Guide for Couples.
The practice of regular date nights with your spouse is newly in the news—–whetherit’s Michelle & Barack Obama or Claire & Phil Foster in the movie orSuzanne Phifer Pavitt and Shane Pavitt. The movie opens with a couple’s date night beginning in aposh restaurant.
Date Night, the wine, wasestablished in 2005 by the Pavitts, who came up with the idea over severalyears of date nights. Date Night Cabernet Sauvignon is an organically farmedwine made in the Napa Valley; the Pavitts have just released their secondvintage, the 2006; only 300 cases were made and it sells for $75.00 from theirwebsite (www.datenightwines.com); it is in very limited distribution in only ahandful of cities around the country.
Date Night CabernetSauvignon has attracted rave reviews from wine critics, including a 93-pointscore for the 2006 vintage in The Wine Spectator, described as “well-crafted, with a complex blend ofcurrant, boysenberry, black cherry and plum fruit framed by chewy, integratedtannins.”
The winery is known for itsannual Pick-Up Party when customers arrive to collect their purchases and enjoyfood, friends and music by local musicians, The Buckshot Boys. Customers enjoy adding their favorite “datenight” experience on the chalkboards which adorn the barn wall.
Produced and directed byShawn Levy, the 20th Century Fox movie is the story of Claire and Phil Foster(Tina Fey and Steve Carell), a typical suburban couple whose lives – includingtheir weekly date nights of dinner and a movie – have become routine. Toreignite the marital spark, they visit a trendy Manhattan bistro where a caseof mistaken identity turns their evening into the ultimate datenight-gone-awry. But as Claire and Phil take their unexpected walk on the wildside, they begin to remember what made them so special together. The screenplaywas written by Josh Klausner; the movie also stars Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P.Henson, Mila Kunis, Jimmi Simpson and Leighton Meester.