Wine in The Sopranos

Tony Soprano is a full-blooded Italian. His grandparents were off the boat from Naples, and his whole crew loves lasagna and spaghetti. His best friend from high school runs an Italian restaurant, Vesuvio. So it's no wonder that wine - especially Italian wine - figure heavily in their lives.

Just watch the scene where Janice is fighting with Richie, her fiance. Sure, Richie punches her in the face, and she promptly fetches a gun and shoots him. But on the table is a bottle of Ruffino Chianti, a wine I enjoy a lot myself. I'm just not quite as violent.



Even Tony's kids get into the act. Little Tony Jr. in 8th grade manages to get into some sacramental wine with his buds. "It's not sacramental until they bless it," the say as they pass the bottle.

Which leads us to priests. Carmela is quite friendly with Father Phil, and one night while Tony is out college-hunting with Meadow, Father Phil swings by. She asks him if she would like anything, and he says, "Some wine ... if it's open ..." which of course it is. She pours him some into large goblet-glasses and he's thrilled. "This Chianti, though,is beyond reproach! Word up!" he says, smiling. Soon they've finished that and gone onto another bottle, maybe a Cab, while they watch a movie.

In the meantime Tony's having dinner with Meadow, and while Meadow has soda, Tony's drinking a red. The bottle is quite out of focus, but it appears to be a Columbia Crest Cabernet.



From a visitor: "With much attention and effort, one can notice that the most prominent wine featured on the Soprano family dinner table, is a 2002 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserve Ducale. An excellent choice for America's favorite mob boss."

Yes, most of the time the Sopranos are definitely drinking red wine.



However sometimes they do drink white wine -



Always in the mood to celebrate, they drink sparkling wine as well!



Being Italian, the Sopranos don't feel a need to stick with French Champagne. In this above image they seem to be drinking a Spanish Cava - the Spanish style of sparkling wine. This is a Segura Viudas bottle.




Buy the Soprano Family Cookbook!

Cava Wine Information
Chianti Wine Information


Wine in Movies, TV Shows and Books




All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.