Sideways: road movie or “wine’ movie?

Posted on | May 24, 2005

If one didn’t think the movie “Sideways’ was a “wine’ movie then one could be forgiven in the light of the tours and wine clubs that have grown up since its release: maps featuring the 18 locations of the film including the wineries and restaurants, a special “Sideways Package including wine tastings and accommodation, and of, course the Sideways Wine Club…

Without giving too much away, the main protagonist Miles (Paul Giamatti) is having a crisis”he is divorced and still in love with his ex-wife. His novel (the third he has written?), “The Day After Yesterday’ is being considered by a publisher whose name doesn’t exactly inspire confidence ” Conundrum, although it has a certain resonance with his novel’s title. He is down on his job, teaching “middle’ English. He has two things, which sustain him: his love of wine and his love of his old college buddy Jack (Thomas Haden Church). Miles is taking his friend for a tour of the Santa Barbara wine country as a final “fling’ before his friend gets married. Miles wants to eat, drink and play golf and all his friend can think about is getting laid.

So does this belong to that recherchè genre in films ” the “wine’ movie? Unlike Babettes Feast (1988) whose whole plot has as its culmination the creation of the ultimate food extravaganza, the same in Vatel (2000) starring Gerard Depardieu, these are both clearly “food’ movies, Sideways doesn’t begin to tug at the real wine lovers’ strings and indeed throws it all away at the end when the characterisation breaks down for the sake of a popular moment of poignancy.

Miles does not like California Chardonnay but loves Pinot Noir, no matter its provenance. And he is “not drinking any fucking Merlot’. Which sounds pretty final. As he and his pal drive around Santa Barbara we pick up a few wine tips. How to savour the wine in the glass and that by finishing the day after a tour of wineries at the one closest to the motel one has less far to drive home. Miles’ love of wine is the vehicle by which his buddy finds his first date. She is working in a winery where the Syrah doesn’t match Miles’ expectations (she agrees) – “flabby’. And Miles himself finds company with a local waitress who shares his passion. She even likes his book which Miles describes as some kind of “Robbe-Grillet’ mystery ” she gives a knowing look but I’m not sure how many people would have the faintest idea what he was talking about. The film makes a strong attempt in developing the characterisation of the players although the women come across as stereotypical.

The tenderest moment in the film is when Miles and Maja are sitting out on a porch still unsure of each other. When Maja asks Miles why he is “so into Pinot’ it reveals him at his most articulate. Continuing the self-revelations Miles probes Maja as to how she got her love of the beverage which she reveals was down to a bottle of 1988 Sassicaia and because “if I opened a bottle today, it would taste different from any other day”.

Towards the end of the movie, after Miles and his pal have basically upset everyone around them they return home and Miles meets his ex-wife. She is pregnant. It is enough to send Miles home to dig out his Cheval Blanc ‘61. He takes it to the local diner and there, while he eats a burger and fries, he drinks the bottle on his own from a large polystyrene cup eschewing all his earlier instructions on appreciating wine. Thus, in one small gesture he repudiates all his earlier character which was so painstakingly constructed. He treats the wine like a cup of Coke. And, Cheval Blanc is, if course, more than 40% Merlot (see note at the bottom of the page).

No, this isn’t a “wine’ movie but it’s an entertaining comedy which is worth the price of a cinema ticket.

Some wines they mention:

1992 Byron “100% Pinot Noir”
Fiddlehead Sauvignon Blanc “12 months in French oak”
Whitecraft Winery 2001 Pinot Noir
Sea Smoke (Botella) 2001?
Kistler Vineyards
Pommard 1er Cru
Richebourg “wow”
Andrew Murray “too much alcohol which overwhelms the fruit”
Château Cheval Blanc 1961 – Miles’ bottle which he is saving for a special occasion.
1988 Saissicaia: the wine that introduced Maja to wine loving.
Frass Canyon “that’s a joke” – and it was. Based on another winery.

Based on a book by Rex Pickett of the same name. Script: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. Sideways was produced by Michael London with George Parra, as co-producer. Studio/Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures. Director: Alexander Payne. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Gallagher, Alex Kalognomos, Virginia Madsen, Joe Marinelli, Sandra Oh, Alysia Reiner.

Fabian Cobb

NOTE
According to Olivier Berrouet (Responsable de Qualitè) at Ch. Cheval Blanc currently 45% of the blend is Merlot (Cabernet Franc making up 55%). In 1961, when he wasn’t there, he reckoned it was of an order closer to 50%.

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