The Spirit World

While characters in movies are often seen drinking wine, the wine itself usually doesn’t take center stage. However, as evidenced by a rash of recent movies, this seems to be changing.

In 2004, the big screen saw the release of Sideways and with it, Miles’ admonishment about Merlot. That same year, Jonathan Nossiter’s Mondovino gave oenophile cinema lovers a documentarian glimpse into the wine world. And, two years later, Russell Crowe starred in A Good Year, providing movie-goers with beautiful scenes of a French vineyard near Gordes. Now, there is another wine-oriented flick due out this summer and two more in development.

Opening August 6, 2008, Bottle Shock tells the story of the Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting staged by Steven Spurrier in 1976 at his L’Ecole du Vin shop in Paris, France. This novel competition pitted established French wines (specifically those from Bordeaux and Burgundy) against upstart California wines (specifically Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay). In a dramatic reveal, the world, and the tasters themselves, were shocked to learn that the California wines had outshone the French wines. As a result, the event proved to be quite scandalous, but forever placed the California wine industry on the world wine map. The movie stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Bill Pullman, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodríguez, Bradley Whitford, Eliza Dushku, Dennis Farina, Miguel Sandoval and was directed by Randall Miller.

Slated for release in 2010 is The Billionaire’s Vinegar, based upon the book of the same title by Benjamin Wallace. Another tale of scandal, the film (and book) focuses on a 1985 auction purchase of rare bottles of wine attributed to Thomas Jefferson. The bottles, which were supplied to Christie’s by Hardy Rodenstock, were later purported to be fraudulent, with billionaire William Koch sueing Rodenstock for fraud. HBO Films and producer Ben Karlin are also pursuing this same story, except that, having lost the option to the book, this movie is based on an article about Mr. Rodenstock published in The New Yorker (Sept. 3, 2007).

With this continued pursuit of wine in film, it is clear that wine is no longer confined to dining scenes, but rather, now plays a starring role… one which will soon come to a theatre near you.