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My favorite part of all this is that Giamatti’s character actually loves Merlot, it’s just that he’s adverse to drinking it because it reminds him of his ex-Wif

My favorite part of all this is that Giamatti’s character actually loves Merlot, it’s just that he’s adverse to drinking it because it reminds him of his ex-Wife. The Chateau Petrus that the two had saved (that he ultimately drinks out of a fast food cup at the end) is a 100% Merlot wine. Your average movie-goer and wine-drinker doesn’t know that context, and so all they remember is “I am not drinking any f*cking Merlot!” [Edit: others were kind enough to remind me that the saved wine is actually Cheval Blanc, a 55-40-5 Cab Franc, Merlot, and Cab Sauv blend. It’s been awhile since I’ve thought out talked about this movie.]

readams 5y ago
He had a 1961 Cheval Blanc, which is not 100% but is a primarily Merlot blend.
- sanedigital 5y ago
  Ah yep, thank you for the refresher. It’s been awhile since I’ve thought about this. The point still stands!
  - kcarter80 5y ago
    I'm not sure it does. Merlot isn't even the primary varietal in that wine.
    - plugger 5y ago
      In the book it was Petrus which is 100% Merlot. They approached the chateau to see if they'd green light the use of Petrus as his unicorn bottle. The chateau refused, and they instead landed on Cheval Blanc. I've always been left wondering if the "I am not drinking any fucking Merlot" line was a direct result of the snub by Petrus.
    - sanedigital 5y ago
      In most years it’s at least 40% of the blend. If you’re saving a wine that’s 40% Merlot and you hate Merlot, that’s on you.
- MrGando 5y ago
  The defining feature of Cheval Blanc is the huge amount of Cabernet Franc that goes into the blend, not the Merlot in general... some vintages like the 2011 one have less Merlot than Cabernet Franc. Yes, it's a right bank Bordeaux, but it's by far the most atypical. Petrus for instance is one that I would call primarily a Merlot Right Bank Bordeaux. source: https://www.chateau-cheval-blanc.com/en/vintages/chateau-cheval-blanc-2011/ https://www.chateau-cheval-blanc.com/en/vintages/chateau-che... (you can check other vintages there etc)
shiftpgdn 5y ago
This article is a weird bit of serendipity for me as I rewatched this movie over last weekend; having only originally seen Sideways in college nearly 20 years ago. College me didn’t like wine and didn’t even really understand at the time why this movie had such rave reviews. Now that I’m the age of the characters in the movie I realize that the wine is literally the least important factor in the movie (and also that it’s implied Paul Giamatti’s character kills himself at the end.) It’s funny that such a small subplot in a feature film can have a dramatic effect on a major industry like wine making.
- pstuart 5y ago
  Ow. Spoiler alert.
  - itisit 5y ago
    Don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler. More like irrelevant internet fan theory. I’d enjoy the film free of this taint.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - Godel_unicode 5y ago
    Sideways came out in '04. If you had it ruined for you in 2022, that's on you.
    - mprovost 5y ago
      My new metric for whether it’s too soon to discuss something: can you uproot a vineyard, plant new vines, wait 5 years for them to grow and then harvest.
- tptacek 5y ago
  The case for Miles killing himself at the end of Sideways seems really weak.
rgrieselhuber 5y ago
It shows the anxiety people have about wanting to look smart about wine. Just drink what you like. I've always liked Merlot.
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  Funny, I've always been a pinot noir guy. I never watched the film, but I would've turned 21 roughly five years after this movie came out, and now I can't help but wonder whether my preference for Pinot was influenced by this movie and how it affected the quality and quantity of wines that were available to me as I started drinking it. Would I have preferred Merlot if this movie had never come out or if I was older, and I'd been around when quantities of Merlot were roughly equal to pinot? An interesting counterfactual. My parents prefer cabernet sauvignon, by the by.
- jandrewrogers 5y ago
  What many people miss is that it is not about the grape varietal, but the intersection of varietal and geography. Every famous wine region will produce poor wine from varietals not suited to that region, and varietals are sensitive to the local environment. This is where I think the Europeans get it right. They don't focus on the varietal, they produce a blend from varietals that make sense in the region they are grown, producing a wine with somewhat unique characteristics (modulo production skill). Merlot can be the basis for excellent wine (see: Petrus). However, I think California generally produces mediocre merlot. California's strengths are Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc) and Zinfandel. For Pinot Noir, there are a couple spots like the Russian River Valley that do a good job, but Oregon has a stronger claim. In the US, you kind of need to know what varietals grow well in what regions. In Europe, they typically produce varietal blends that are optimized for the region where they are produced, but which have very different characteristics depending on the region. I prefer the European model of branding on the region rather than the varietal, because the wine experience is more consistent and predictable. You know it will usually be an appropriate varietal for the region in which it is produced. That is not always the case in the US; we seem to grow any varietal anywhere if we think we can sell it. That said, if you want to look smart about wine without spending a ton of money, the best choice is something from a region relatively few people have heard of, and therefore inexpensive, that nonetheless produces brilliant wine. Sommeliers often appreciate people that can identify those hidden gems on the list because people trying to be flashy don't even recognize them. Of course, you learn this by drinking wine from literally everywhere, and especially places you've never heard of, until you form an opinion. Availability varies widely with geography but in 2021, with the globalization of wine, there is little reason to spend much more than $10-20 bottle (retail, not restaurant) for almost any style if you know your regions and quality is the sole objective (local availability notwithstanding). But then, I'm just a random wine drinker on the Internet. :-)
steelstraw 5y ago
Wow. Good example of how easily context can get lost, even without confirmation bias. Also how important context is to meaning.
tptacek 5y ago
He's drinking a Cheval Blanc in the burger joint at the end, which is a Bordeaux Cab Franc/Merlot blend.
- vatys 5y ago
  The burger joint was in real life “Orcutt Burgers” in Santa Maria. At the time the movie came out, I often visited a friend who lived a block from there, and we ate there regularly. It was a trip to see the movie with him and instantly recognize the restaurant in that scene. By now the place has probably changed name or owners. It was a pretty good local flavor burger joint at the time.

readams 5y ago

He had a 1961 Cheval Blanc, which is not 100% but is a primarily Merlot blend.

sanedigital 5y ago
Ah yep, thank you for the refresher. It’s been awhile since I’ve thought about this. The point still stands!
- kcarter80 5y ago
  I'm not sure it does. Merlot isn't even the primary varietal in that wine.
  - plugger 5y ago
    In the book it was Petrus which is 100% Merlot. They approached the chateau to see if they'd green light the use of Petrus as his unicorn bottle. The chateau refused, and they instead landed on Cheval Blanc. I've always been left wondering if the "I am not drinking any fucking Merlot" line was a direct result of the snub by Petrus.
  - sanedigital 5y ago
    In most years it’s at least 40% of the blend. If you’re saving a wine that’s 40% Merlot and you hate Merlot, that’s on you.
MrGando 5y ago
The defining feature of Cheval Blanc is the huge amount of Cabernet Franc that goes into the blend, not the Merlot in general... some vintages like the 2011 one have less Merlot than Cabernet Franc. Yes, it's a right bank Bordeaux, but it's by far the most atypical. Petrus for instance is one that I would call primarily a Merlot Right Bank Bordeaux. source: https://www.chateau-cheval-blanc.com/en/vintages/chateau-cheval-blanc-2011/ https://www.chateau-cheval-blanc.com/en/vintages/chateau-che... (you can check other vintages there etc)

shiftpgdn 5y ago

This article is a weird bit of serendipity for me as I rewatched this movie over last weekend; having only originally seen Sideways in college nearly 20 years ago. College me didn’t like wine and didn’t even really understand at the time why this movie had such rave reviews. Now that I’m the age of the characters in the movie I realize that the wine is literally the least important factor in the movie (and also that it’s implied Paul Giamatti’s character kills himself at the end.) It’s funny that such a small subplot in a feature film can have a dramatic effect on a major industry like wine making.

pstuart 5y ago
Ow. Spoiler alert.
- itisit 5y ago
  Don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler. More like irrelevant internet fan theory. I’d enjoy the film free of this taint.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Godel_unicode 5y ago
  Sideways came out in '04. If you had it ruined for you in 2022, that's on you.
  - mprovost 5y ago
    My new metric for whether it’s too soon to discuss something: can you uproot a vineyard, plant new vines, wait 5 years for them to grow and then harvest.
tptacek 5y ago
The case for Miles killing himself at the end of Sideways seems really weak.

rgrieselhuber 5y ago

It shows the anxiety people have about wanting to look smart about wine. Just drink what you like. I've always liked Merlot.

ashtonkem 5y ago
Funny, I've always been a pinot noir guy. I never watched the film, but I would've turned 21 roughly five years after this movie came out, and now I can't help but wonder whether my preference for Pinot was influenced by this movie and how it affected the quality and quantity of wines that were available to me as I started drinking it. Would I have preferred Merlot if this movie had never come out or if I was older, and I'd been around when quantities of Merlot were roughly equal to pinot? An interesting counterfactual. My parents prefer cabernet sauvignon, by the by.
jandrewrogers 5y ago
What many people miss is that it is not about the grape varietal, but the intersection of varietal and geography. Every famous wine region will produce poor wine from varietals not suited to that region, and varietals are sensitive to the local environment. This is where I think the Europeans get it right. They don't focus on the varietal, they produce a blend from varietals that make sense in the region they are grown, producing a wine with somewhat unique characteristics (modulo production skill). Merlot can be the basis for excellent wine (see: Petrus). However, I think California generally produces mediocre merlot. California's strengths are Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc) and Zinfandel. For Pinot Noir, there are a couple spots like the Russian River Valley that do a good job, but Oregon has a stronger claim. In the US, you kind of need to know what varietals grow well in what regions. In Europe, they typically produce varietal blends that are optimized for the region where they are produced, but which have very different characteristics depending on the region. I prefer the European model of branding on the region rather than the varietal, because the wine experience is more consistent and predictable. You know it will usually be an appropriate varietal for the region in which it is produced. That is not always the case in the US; we seem to grow any varietal anywhere if we think we can sell it. That said, if you want to look smart about wine without spending a ton of money, the best choice is something from a region relatively few people have heard of, and therefore inexpensive, that nonetheless produces brilliant wine. Sommeliers often appreciate people that can identify those hidden gems on the list because people trying to be flashy don't even recognize them. Of course, you learn this by drinking wine from literally everywhere, and especially places you've never heard of, until you form an opinion. Availability varies widely with geography but in 2021, with the globalization of wine, there is little reason to spend much more than $10-20 bottle (retail, not restaurant) for almost any style if you know your regions and quality is the sole objective (local availability notwithstanding). But then, I'm just a random wine drinker on the Internet. :-)

steelstraw 5y ago

Wow. Good example of how easily context can get lost, even without confirmation bias. Also how important context is to meaning.

tptacek 5y ago

He's drinking a Cheval Blanc in the burger joint at the end, which is a Bordeaux Cab Franc/Merlot blend.

vatys 5y ago
The burger joint was in real life “Orcutt Burgers” in Santa Maria. At the time the movie came out, I often visited a friend who lived a block from there, and we ate there regularly. It was a trip to see the movie with him and instantly recognize the restaurant in that scene. By now the place has probably changed name or owners. It was a pretty good local flavor burger joint at the time.