Movie Review: Sideways

Wine Film Review

Film: Sideways

Setting: California, USA

Sideways follows Miles and Jack on a road trip to Wine country in California (around Santa Barbara County). Miles is an unhappy, fraught writer who turned into a middle school English teacher. He seems pretty distressed and displeased with where he is in his life. In his downtime, he has developed an intense passion for wine. He takes his past college roommate and comrade Jack, an actor, on an adventure before Jack gets married. A small bachelor party if you will. Both have different expectations around this trip. Miles is a consistent visitor to several of the wineries in the Santa Barbara area. Miles expects to relax, play some golf, and bond over some good wines with his friend Jack. Jack, on the other hand, is looking to drop his pants (for real, that literally all this character incessantly talks about in the movie), get laid, and party hard before getting married.  

Upon their arrival to the Santa Barbara County, Miles lectures Jack about Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. He tells Jack he doesn't like the way they handle Chardonnay in California. He describes it as having "too much oak and secondary malolactic fermentation". For Miles, this region is superior for Pinot Noir, one of the hardest and fussiest grapes to grow for winegrowers. It’s a grape that requires optimal growing conditions. This is probably why I’ve never come across them all too often during wine tastings. Even when I do taste Pinot Noir during tastings, I’m never blown away. Pinot Noir is typically a lighter-medium bodied, fruit-forward red wine. Pinot Noir is also Burgundy's most famous Noble grape. Pinot Noir from Burgundy cost a pretty penny- far too much for a broke college student like me. Anyway- back to the movie. In Santa Barbara County, the cold air from the pacific cooling down the fruits at night. As Pinot is a thin-skinned grape, it helps it grow and maintain its levels of sugar. 

When the two characters departed for Santa Barbara County, Jack opens a bottle of 1992 Byron while in the car. This is apparently a very rare California Champaign. This wine is about 100 percent Pinot Noir and is not produced anymore. That’s pretty crazy that it’s champagne that’s 100 percent Pinot Noir. I’m not even sure they get that swanky in Champagne Country. Some of the most expensive champagnes these days include the Krug Brut Vintage 1988 (blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay), Armand de Brignac (blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier), Salon Blanc de Blanc Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 1997 (Chardonnay blend), and Dom Perignon Rose 2002 (blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). All of these bottles exceed the $300 price point and aren’t even 100 percent Pinot Noir.

In the movie, the main character Miles explains Jack that the color from red wine comes from the skin of the grape. When it comes to white wine, there is no skin contact during fermentation. There’s nothing really new about white Pinot Noir. It’s probably incredibly complicated when it comes to actually making white Pinot Noir but not when you think about it. White Pinot Noirs are very rare. I’ve never enjoyed a white Pinot Noir but apparently they are described as being seductive, perplexing, and extremely interesting. Sounds more like my friend’s description of his ex-girlfriend, not a rare wine… but I digress. A blush wine can also be made from Pinot Noir grapes. But as said before, a white Pinot Noir is made by removing the grape skins from the juice to produce what is called a 'blanc de noirs' (a white wine from red wine grapes). The larger the grape used the whiter the wine, due to the increased juice to skin ratio. However, nearly all the wines made from the Pinot Noir grape are red wines.

In the movie, the main character Miles also explains to Jack how to taste wine. First, the drinker is supposed to hold up and examine the wine in the light. Two key components to look out for are color and clarity. After examining the wine, the taster should look at color density but tipping the glass. This can provide information on how old the wine is. This is especially true for red wines. After the wine gets a full visual examination (seriously), the drinker should then smell the wine and get a good idea of all the scents and notes the wine has to offer. Swirling helps. Then sniff. Then swirl again. Repeat this for as long as you like. After using your x-ray vision and big ole shnoz, the taster can finally, well, taste the wine. 

Other wine related movie highlights:

• When the two characters meet Stephanie at a winery. They have a taste of the estate Chardonnay. Miles finds it "quaffable" and far from transcendent. Jack, obviously hitting on her says he likes it. Then they taste a straight Cabernet Franc, which apparently is a rare variety in the region (vineyard located in Santa Maria, California). The wine is described as a silver medal winner at Paso Robles. Miles finds it not very good and describes it as "hollow, flabby, overripe…” Stephanie agrees with Miles. Then finally taste a Syrah
• Later in the day, Miles remember drinking a bottle of '95 Opus One during a pic nic with his ex-wife. He mixed it with artichokes and salmon but "didn't care".
• On their double date, Maya drinks a glass of a Fiddlehead Sauvignong Blanc aged 12 months in French Oak. They go on drinking a Whitcraft Winery 2001(Pinot noir from Santa Maria Valley), what appear to be a "Sea Smoke", a bottle of "Kistler", a Pommard (French wine).
• After the date, they head to Stephanie's. Maya and Miles are allowed to open any bottle they want except a Richebourg. They settle on a bottle of "Andrew Murray". They mention the 61 Cheval Blanc owned by Miles. Maya mentions it's peaking. Her passion for wine started drinking a '88 Sassicaia. Maya and Miles go on a philosophical discussion about Pinot Noir and wine while drinking the bottle they opened. Miles admires Pinot for his difficulty to be cultivated and the constant attention it needs, while Maya admires wine as a living and constantly evolving thing.
• After his issues with Maya, Jack decides to take Miles to tour of "Frass Canyon" winery.
• Spoiler alert! Finally, the last bottle mentioned is the '61 Cheval Blanc that Miles drinks in a Styrofoam cup in a fast food restaurant.