As a technology luddite, today is my ultimate nightmare. After endless procrastination I am replacing the battle-fatigued PC with a Mac and, despite the fact that the man who has the job of easing me through this process swears blind it is easy, I have a feeling of doom about the transition.

And, just to add to the stress, I had a crazy notion that it would be fun to have a ‘cinema evening’ in the as-yet-unconverted barn for about 20 friends.

I had no idea that this would require projectors, cabling, speakers and heaven only knows what else. What, I ask myself now, is so wrong with charades?

The reason I am sharing this with you is that one of my guests sent me an email asking what the film of wine writers is. According to him, all professions have their film . . . Really? I must ask the chiropractor, graphic designer and economist that are coming.

As it was, I did not have a quick answer for him, which was pretty disappointing. So I have temporarily shelved my technology concerns to come up with a (modest) list of films for wine writers.

The most recent and obvious choice is the comedy/drama Sideways (2004) that starred Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. The story is a fantastic week-long romp round the vineyards of California that makes excellent fun of us wine nerds whilst throwing in a little romance, beautiful scenery and some great one-liners.

For many, it is the film that temporarily pricked a pin in the Merlot bubble when lead character and wine-snob, Miles declares: “If anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving.”

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are magnificent in the Hitchcock-directed film Notorious (1946) that tells the story of a woman who becomes a spy for the USA following the conviction of her German-born father for treason. It is classic Hitchcock and a great wine-lover’s pick because the wine cellar and, in particular, a bottle of 1934 (the best Burgundy vintage of the decade) Pommard are at the core of unravelling the mystery.

My favourite though is the charming Second World War film The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969). It stars Anthony Quinn in the role of accidental mayor of a small Italian village who finds himself in a battle with the Nazi occupiers who come determined to alleviate the wine-producing Santa Vittoria of its million-odd bottles of wine. It is not exactly a masterpiece but the story of wine-producers hiding wine from the Germans during this time is not as far from the truth as many may imagine.

Three great films I think and I am confident that the chiropractor and graphic designer would not have such a fun night in as us wine fanatics if it came to picking their film of profession.