Mr. Vino and I were watching Seven Samurai, starring the great Toshiro Mifune and directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa. Made in 1954, this cinematic masterpiece is about a 16th century Japanese village that hires seven samurai to defend their village against bandits. Known for its great action sequences, superb acting and humanistic themes, the film has influenced countless filmmakers and was remade into the classic Western The Magnificent Seven.

I had to read the subtitles, but Mr. Vino didn’t because he speaks Japanese fluently (as well as a dozen other languages). He started to recite his favorite lines as the actors said them, and he fought with an invisible samurai sword. I had to laugh.

When the film finally ended, Mr. Vino poured me a glass of Pommery brut and then our conversation turned to wine.

“Seven has always been a lucky number, and in wine it means the magnificent seven, the grape varietals that influence world wine trade,” Mr. Vino said. “These seven varietals define what varietal-based wines are all about, and understanding the nature and the differences between these define what fine wine is all about.”

“Then these seven varietals are the basic language of fine wine,” I said, taking a sip of champagne.

Mr. Vino nodded his head. “Yes, my friend, these varietal-based wines have created an international language of wine that is recognized throughout the world,” he said. “These wines are the most commercially marketable.”

“And therefore recognized by most consumers,” I finished.

“Right,” Mr. Vino said as he poured more bubbly into his glass.

“And these seven varietals are comprised of the white grapes chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and riesling, and the red grapes pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah,” I said.

Mr. Vino went on, “These wines dominate new-world winemaking, whether it is here in California, in South Africa or anywhere wine is produced. But the reception in Europe, particularly in Italy, has been far chillier.”

Mr. Vino cracked open another bottle of champagne and declared: “In Tuscany, where wine has been produced for thousands of years and they have their own noble varietals such as the chief chianti grape, sangiovese, they look at cabernet and merlot as upstart foreign French varietals and an attack on the tradition of Tuscany.

“To a degree, they fear a loss of culture,” he continued. “For wine and culture have always been mixed, and they think of the magnificent seven as the seven deadly sins, so to speak.”

“A lot of Italian winemakers don’t want to see wines become homogenized. Do you think that fear is warranted?” I asked.

Mr. Vino shook his head. “No, I don’t think it is,” he said. “I doubt we will see wines coming out of Montalcino that taste like a cabernet from the Stags Leap district in Napa, but what we will see is more wines made in the new-world style. And that is troublesome to many.”

“What do mean?” I asked.

“There is a lot of economic pressure to produce wine with high alcohol, sweet and excessively grapey, particularly in the lower price range like Yellow Tail because of the great success of the wine from Australia,” he explained. “The earthy European style is unknown to most people who drink Yellow Tail-like wines. The true greatness of European wines is the balance and lingering finish.”

I took a long sip of champagne and said: “But don’t you think these styles run in cycles? Like, for example, chardonnay in Napa was so oaked that you felt you were sucking on a piece of firewood, and now there are many unoaked chardonnays that truly express the sleek style of the varietal.

“I think the greatness of the European style and the use of their own noble grape varietals will win out,” I asserted. “Wine drinkers will tire of the overripe style of wine and will be looking for interesting terrior-structured wines.”

Mr. Vino pleaded yes with his hands. “I hope you are right, my friend. Until then could you pour me another glass of champagne?”