What is Hannibal Lecter's favorite wine ?

Wine in the cinema : Why does Hannibal Lecter eat liver with a Chianti ? Discover the reasons for this ill-advised choice…

After several weeks of trying to contact renowned psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter, I started to give up finding no lead. Last night, my phone is ringing, it was Hannibal.

The most famous : le Chianti

"I was interviewed by a census worker. I tasted his liver with butter beans, and an excellent chianti. » Hannibal Lecter, Thesilenceofthelambs

Where does Chianti come from??

Chianti Classico DOCG is the star of Italian wines. Intense and refined, it is produced in the heart of the Chianti region, and Tuscany. The generous hills located between Florence and Siena give birth to the Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva.

What is Chianti ?

This wine can contain up to 5 different grape varieties, but the most important is the Sangiovese, which gives all its character to this powerful wine. It presents aromas of red fruits and spices with hints of vanilla, cinnamon, violet and iris which refine over time.

There are three main categories of Chianti :

1. Chianti
2. Chianti Classico : denser and rounder than the previous one, the production rules are much stricter
3. Chianti Riserva : prolonged aging in barrels gives this wine more complexity and will generally ensure a cellaring potential of at least 5 to 8 years

Food and wine pairing

Even though Professor Lecter is a man of taste, I would rather recommend a roast chicken with chanterelles or a chicken with a Chianti. Liver human goes much better with a light and slightly oaked red wine: a Burgundy Nuit-Saint-Georges premier cru.

Beans in butter to accompany the liver are not the best solution. I would rather have opted for fresh tagliatelle or an endive recipe with caramelized pears.

How can a man of letters have it all wrong about this meal ?

In fact, Professor Lecter confessed to me that this was a message to Agent Starling so that she would not go too far with her questions. People who take MAOIs - either a class of antidepressants called monoamine oxidase inhibitors - receive a long list of tyramine-rich foods and beverages to avoid or limit. On this list : liver, beans, and red wine. Although MAOIs are most commonly used to treat depression, they have also been shown to be effective in treating people with various personality disorders.

As an FBI intern, Starling should have inquired to understand what this meant for Lecter, a psychiatrist himself, that he was not taking his medication because the combination on an MAOI could prove fatal.

You want to think of yourself as Doctor Lecter ?

It's possible! A Chianti soberly called Cannibal Chianti is just for sale at 22 € on personalwine.com