The Pitch:
Eva Perón, the beloved former first lady of Argentina, famously asked her fellow countrymen not to cry for her.  Considering the extraordinary quality of affordable Argentinean wines available today, one wonders why they should cry at all.  Great weather, beautiful people and the best beef on earth (the average Argentinean eats over 140 lbs. of it every year) is a tough combination to beat.  So imagine my delight in finding a bottle of Michel Rolland’s 2008 Clos de los Siete at my doorstep.  This blend (56% Malbec) exemplifies the classic characteristics of the high-altitude Mendoza region: fruit-forward, well-structured tannins, good aging potential and a screaming desire to be drunk while tending the coals of a parrilla.

Movie Pairing:
The above reference notwithstanding, I don’t have the heart to suggest you actually watch “Evita.”  No one should be subjected to duets between Madonna and Antonio Banderas.  Since my dear friend Dan “The Imbiber” Dunn is usually too blattered to notice anyway, there is no one to prevent me from indulging in a little self aggrandizement and suggesting you drink this wine while watching my debut film, “And Soon the Darkness.”  This taut little thriller was filmed on location in Argentina and produced under the influence of tremendous amounts of beef, empanadas and wine.

What to serve it with:
Beef, lots of it.

Price: $18

Imbiber Rating: 89

Our own Marcos Efron, author of the wildly popular Cinema Vino column, has a pretty cool day job as well: Film director.

That's right, Marcos is a big-time Hollywood baller, yo! It all started a few years back, with an award-winning short called "Common Practice" that wowed moviegoers and critics alike at the Sundance Film Festival. Click here to watch Common Practice.

Marcos parlayed the Sundance buzz into a feature film deal. His big screen directorial debut, "And Soon the Darkness," will be in theaters December 17th and stars Amber Heard, Odette Yustman and Karl Urban. The Texas native is featured in this month's Houston magazine (see photo), and was recently interviewed by Fangoria.

In short, the dude is killing it, and deservedly so... now, if I could only get him on the phone I'd congratulate him myself. And it's high time for another Cinema Vino column, too, eh?

Marcos, you there? Hello? MARCOS????

The Pitch:
With election season thankfully behind us I thought it appropriate to drink a wine that in name at least reminds me of the beating my senses took from the 24-hour cable news punditry. Talk about a hangover the morning after the elections. With the dust settled I knew the time had come for a drink so I reached for the Sledgehammer Zinfandel, the kind of no-holds-barred, big and robust red that simply satisfies. And at about $14 a bottle you can’t go wrong. Strong on the blackberries and black pepper, and with a lingering spicy note, for a few minutes I was able to forget that over $4 billion was spent on campaigns this year. There’s only 728 days until the 2012 presidential election and it’s never too early to start drinking, so bottoms up!

Movie Pairing:
In the spirit of election season I’d like to draw a parallel between wine and political films. Like wine, these movies can be easygoing (“Bulworth”), serious (“All The President’s Men”), or even quirky (“Election”). And then there are some that make you stand up and take notice, kind of like the Sledgehammer Zinfandel. It was a toss-up between two great movies, “Wag The Dog” and “The Candidate.” In the end Bill McKay, aka Robert Redford in “The Candidate” gets my vote.

What to serve it with:
The great thing about Zinfandel is that it’s a pretty versatile wine and the Sledgehammer is no exception. It’s fun to drink and its fruit-forward qualities would pair well with almost any meat, even lighter ones like chicken or pork, provided it’s liberally seasoned.

Price: $14

Imbiber Rating: 88

In addition to the stellar work he does for this site writing the Cinema Vino column, Marcos Efron also happens to be a close friend. So I couldn't be more excited about Marcos' feature film directorial debut, which will be in theaters this December.

"And Soon the Darkness," a remake of a 1970s British thriller, stars Amber Heard ("The Pineapple Express"), Odette Yustman ("Cloverfield"), Karl Urban ("Star Trek," "The Lord of the Rings") and Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza ("Babel"). It's the story of two young American women (Heard and Yustman) on a bike trip in Argentina. When they run into trouble and one of them disappears, the other must find her before the darkness comes and it's too late. Pretty intense!

Be sure to go see it when it hits theaters, and in the meantime, check out the trailer...