Best Actor
He finally did it. Leonardo DiCaprio has won an Oscar and the internet has gone crazy. After 6 Oscar nominations for some incredible roles, Leo, to the sound of momentous applause, rose to collect his gold statuette for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in The Revenant. The movie, a terrifying true story, is gritty, dark and took the Actor, and a certain bear, to the limits.
I hope the actor went nuts at the after party, it must have been glorious not having to wear his fake “I’m going to be okay but will probably cry into a cheese burger later” smile.
My wine pick has to be: To celebrate this momentous occasion, one should of course be splashing out on bubbly and I think a cool glass of Graham Beck Brut zero 2009 would suit the Oscar winner perfectly because right now, I bet he gives zero F's about anything other than his gold statuette.
Best Actress
Brie Larson’s portrayal of a captive woman is harrowing and quite mind-blowing in the dark and critically acclaimed Room. Held captive for seven years in an enclosed space, Larson plays the mother to a 5-year-old son and the movie follows their journey to freedom and the outside world.
It's not an easy watch so a lot of wine would help.
My wine pick has to be: I want to counteract the seriousness of the movie with a lighter style red and whilst you might not feel emotionally stable whilst watching the movie, at least, by choosing Seriously Cool Cinsault 2014 by Waterkloof you can pretend to regain your composure.
Best Costume Design
I will never understand the hype around Mad Max: Fury Road but it did brilliantly at the 2016 Oscars and so I feel inclined to include it...also because the winner of the award, Jenny Beavan, is a total rock star and showed up to the awards in a leather jacket and knitted scarf combo that had people shaking their stiff upper lips in despair. Not that Beavan cared. The movie itself was a crazy, rollercoaster ride of weirdness so why wouldn't the costume designer be a step away from the norm.
My wine pick has to be: I couldn't very well pick a "normal" wine from a "normal" winemaker. Maybe it was Beavan's nonchalant attitude, the long, untamed hair or her closing line on watching out for pollution and keeping things clean, but the first wine that sprung to mind was A.A Badenhorst white blend made up of some pretty funky white cultivars. I think Beavan would drink this by the gallon.
Best Music (original score)
Sam Smith won best song for Writing’s On the Wall from the James Bond film Spectre which I personally think is a giant leap backwards when compared to Adele's Skyfall. Nevertheless, he wrote it with the help of Jimmy Napes and it was his first Oscar appearance so kudos to him.
My wine pick has to be: We know that James Bond loves his Martinis, Heineken (sadly) and has, on occasion, emptied a bottle of Bollinger or two, but I'm pretty sure he would forsake all his previous tipples if you placed a bottle of Le Lude Brut Reserve NV in front of him. With its fine mousse, subtle flavours and steely precision, it's the Aston Martin of SA bubblies.
Best Animated Feature Film
Inside Out might be one of Disney/Pixar's greatest original concepts. It's moving, yet hilarious, and beautifully animated with a perfect voice cast. It's a movie that both kids and adults enjoy which is often very hard to achieve...and it's the tenth highest-grossing animated film of all time.
My wine pick has to be: If we're all made up of contrasting emotions, then the only way we can make each of them happy is with a mixed case. We have three choices to choose from and each specially selected mixed case has 6 very different wines so you have an opportunity to see which appeals to you most, and then come back and stock up on those you really love.