What could a novel and movie about misunderstood Italian olive oil importers have to do with wine? Quite a lot, it seems, given how often wine appears — at least in the book. In fact, wine appears so often in The Godfather that it almost qualifies as a character. Perhaps it is — perhaps wine is a sort of character in the novel and to a lesser degree the book. Let's take a look at what wine does in The Godfather, what it's social function is and what people do with wine.
To a certain extent, we can trace the role of wine in The Godfather almost chronologically. I'll be quoting primarily from Mario Puzo's novel, but most of these scenes are reflected to a greater or lesser extent from the film as well.