Wine News

John Cleese has revealed that his love for burgundy stopped him committing suicide while shooting Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He said that he was suicidally depressed at the appallingly dismal weather in Scotland and discovering the wine kept him from killing himself.

In John Cleese's Wine For The Confused, a two-part series currently been shown on the Food Network on American Televison, the actor revealed that his love for wine grew from his experiences at the Woodside Hotel in Doune, Scotland. "I was shooting Monty Python And The Holy Grail in Scotland in early 1974 and the weather was wet and cold and miserable and damp," he said. "The only thing that stopped me killing myself was a restaurant where I discovered, for the very first time, French White Burgundy, which is made entirely from the Chardonnay grape. It persuaded me to go on shooting the movie instead of shooting myself."

Jacqueline Ross, whose mother-in-law Violet ran the Woodside Hotel with her husband at the time, remembered Cleese as a loner who did not seem to be getting on with his co-stars. "Quite often he'd sit on his own, and it seemed as though he wasn't speaking to the others and didn't want to be there. In between shots of the film, he'd lie flat on his back with his arms on his chest for an hour at a time, and wouldn't speak."

Susanne Rae, current manager of the 11-bedroom Woodside Hotel, said that the Monty Python connection is an attraction for visitors. "There is talk about it when we have guests. We still serve French Burgundy … but it probably wouldn't save your life!"