Bottle Episode (The Simpsons)

"Bottle Episode" is the eleventh episode of the thirty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 781st episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on December 29, 2024. The episode was written by Rob LaZebnik and Johnny LaZebnik and was directed by Gabriel DeFrancesco.
In this episode, Marge and Smithers create a replica of Mr. Burns' wine that she accidentally used, and they try to sell another bottle to use the money to help the poor. Wine critic Robert Parker appeared as himself. The episode received positive reviews.
After Smithers finishes Mr. Burns' tasks, they celebrate by having Smithers perform a wine tasting for him. Later, Smithers has Homer help him escort a million-dollar bottle of wine owned by Napoleon to Burns' mansion for his wine club. When Burns phones Smithers to help him with another task, Homer must deliver the bottle himself. After retrieving the bottle when it gets away, he brings it home and places it in the safe while he takes a nap. Marge has Homer eat dinner before going to the mansion. When Homer complements her stew, Marge says she added some wine she found. Horrified, he opens the safe to find he previously punched a hole into the back of the kitchen cabinet and into the safe on the other side.
Smithers comes to check on Homer who explains what happened. He fears Burns will kill them, but Homer says they should cover up the accident. Lisa says to find someone who knows the chemistry of alcohol. Professor Frink analyzes the stew and reproduces the wine. Burns serves the replica to his wine club, and they are impressed. While Marge and Smithers celebrate by drinking some of the remainder of the replica, Smithers tells Marge not to feel guilty since the rich waste money on expensive wine. Marge suggests selling another bottle of the replica and use the proceeds to help the poor. They imagine themselves as Robin Hood and Maid Marian. The fake wine is sold at auction, but they are arrested for wine forgery.
Marge phones Homer and says she is in jail for selling the fake wine. At their trial, Marge accidentally demonstrates how she makes fake alcoholic drinks. Homer tells the kids what happened, and they tell him find a way to get Marge out of jail with help from the master of cover-ups.
At closing arguments, Marge says if the fake wine is the same original, then there is no harm. The prosecutor says wine is a story of civilization and must be protected from fraud. The judge dismisses the case and says the fake wine is real. After the judge leaves, Burns explains that he bribed the judge so that fake collectibles owned by the rich retain their value. He thanks Homer who alerted Burns of what was happening. Smithers is disappointed to be saved by an evil man, but Marge says they can now use the proceeds from the auction on charitable endeavors.
During the credits, a scene during Marge and Smithers' incarceration in wine prison has them shown other examples of wine-related crimes.
Co-writer Rob LaZebnik had been interested in art and other objects holding emotional and historical value. He had previously written the twenty-fifth season episode "The War of Art", which commented on paintings, and was also interested in wine. He was inspired by music publisher Hardy Rodenstock, who was a wine collector who claimed to have found bottles owned by Thomas Jefferson. LaZebnik co-wrote the episode with his son Johnny, who provided Marge's perspective on wine because he had less experience with wine while Rob provided Smithers' more experienced perspective. The Simpsons writers room had many wine lovers who wanted the episode to show that wine was both an art and a science and that it was difficult to fake wine.
The episode was dedicated in memory of former series writer William Wright, who died 13 days before it aired. Wright co-wrote the episodes "Dial 'N' for Nerder", "Chief of Hearts", and "Blazed and Confused".
Wine critic Robert Parker appeared as himself.
Smithers and Marge imagine themselves as the versions of Robin Hood and Maid Marian depicted in the 1973 animated film Robin Hood produced by Disney. The courtroom in the episode was based on the courtroom from the 2023 French film Anatomy of a Fall
The episode earned a 0.92 rating and was watched by 3.31 million viewers, which was the most-watched show on Fox that night.
John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode an 8 out of 10. He said the episode "serves up a nice tall glass of quality episode that will surely do fine among fans of upscale booze humor." He thought the premise of committing a crime to help others was "interesting" and compared it to the similar issue regarding the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which occurred several weeks prior to the airing of the episode. He also would have liked to have seen Marge interact with the inmates seen during the end credits.
Mike Celestino of Laughing Place thought the final act was "incredibly silly but still amusing enough to work" but liked the pairing of Smithers and Marge. He also liked the joke of Burns assuming Smithers and Marge were married.
Marisa Roffman of Give Me My Remote liked seeing Marge cause the predicament in the episode and also liked Smithers and Marge working together. She also highlighted the homage to the Robin Hood animated film and the cameo of the villains from the first season episode "The Crepes of Wrath".
Jess Lander, wine reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, called the episode "light-hearted and funny" and thought writers Rob and Johnny LaZebnik "came off as knowledgeable wine lovers who don't take wine too seriously." She liked the jokes geared toward wine enthusiasts such as the wine club being named "Oen Percenters" and having Robert Parker rate his conversation with Andrew Lloyd Webber. However, she also doubted the episode would help the wine industry with their need to make younger people more interested in wine.
Writers Rob and Johnny LaZebnik were nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation at the 77th Writers Guild of America Awards for their script for this episode.