Resident Evil Village is an emotional ride from start to finish, with players guiding Ethan Winters through the terror ridden plains of its Eastern European setting in search for his missing daughter. But while there is little chance for Ethan to sit down and catch his breath, let alone grab a drink to quench his thirst, during the main body of the story, there is a nice moment of calm before the storm at the very start of the game. The introduction for Resident Evil Village shows Ethan and Mia Winters living in a nice home somewhere in Europe with their baby. They have all the modern comforts one would expect but, rather bizarrely, they also have an absolute abundance of wine.
[Warning: Major Spoilers for Resident Evil Village below]
Wine within in Resident Evil Village is not a new thing. The Maiden demo, which offered fans their first taste of the horrors within Castle Dimitrescu, was littered with wine. There, however, it made sense. Castle Dimitrescu is famed for its wine and the residents run a vineyard that produces "Sanguis Virginis," or "Maiden’s Blood." In this instance, a lack of wine would have been more unusual than a bounty of it.
However, Ethan and Mia Winters do not reside at Castle Dimitrescu, or any other vineyard, at the start of Resident Evil Village. Rather, they live in a seemingly normal one up one down with an open-plan living and dining area. And yet, despite there only being two adults of age actually able to drink alcohol within their household, there are roughly a dozen bottles of wine scattered throughout the living area. And these bottles are no minis either. Rather, many of them appear to be magnums.
Resident Evil Village: Why Mia And Ethan Have So Much Wine
There is possibly a very good reason for this excess of wine within Ethan and Mia's house at the start of Resident Evil Village. The first, speculative reason, is that they have been buying in bulk. While exploring the house at the start of the game, players can come across a pantry just off the kitchen that has jars of premade baby food also stored up. Maybe they are expecting some harsh weather to come that would be make a trip to the grocery store harder to do - the game does take place in February, after all. However, this would not explain why the wine is left out and not stored away like the baby food jars.
Another reason could be that the Winters' use wine to cope with their past traumas. Alcohol is known to help relax muscles and ease tension. After the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, this is possibly something that they feel they need for their sanity, although excessive drinking is not to be encouraged.
There is a third, and perhaps most sinister, theory as to why there is so much wine in Ethan and Mia’s house at the start of Resident Evil Village, however. As the story progresses, it is revealed that Mother Miranda has actually been impersonating Mia. This increase in wine may have been part of Mother Miranda’s subterfuge. She may have been wanting to intoxicate Ethan to a point that he would not discover “Mia’s” true identity. Or it could simply be that Mother Miranda has a penchant for wine, having spent so much time at her village’s vineyard and Castle Dimitrescu. For Mother Miranda, maybe 12 or so bottles is not an excessive number for her immortal body.
Whatever the reason, Ethan Winters certainly does not seem to mind. He happily accepts a glass of red with his meal, just before Resident Evil Village’s action truly kicks off… and his house, along with his bottles of wine, are destroyed, as his life is once more thrown into chaos.
Resident Evil Village is out now for Google Stadia, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.