It was a critically acclaimed movie which not only did well at the box office, it also helped put Santa Barbara County’s wine country, and Pinot Noir on the map.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the movie Sideways, the story of two men who make a road trip to the Santa Ynez Valley which spirals out of control.
But, the movie also had the unexpected effect of introducing many audiences to Santa Barbara County, wine tasting, and of course Pinot Noir.
Two Central Coast journalists are celebrating the anniversary of the film with a new book about it, and its lasting impacts.
"We were at the original premiere of the film at the Toronto Film Festival 20 years ago, and I wrote ecstatically about the film as a film critic for the Hollywood Reporter, but then again most film critics wrote ecstatically about it," said Kirk Honeykutt.
He, and his wife, Mira wrote Sideways Uncorked: The Perfect Pairing of Film and Wine. It looks at the story and success of the movie, as well as what became known as the “Sideways” effect: The unexpected impact the movie had on Santa Barbara County, and the wine industry.
"My wife is a wine writer, so we were also surprised at how large the impact was from a film on the wine business," said Honeykutt.
The research for the movie included looking into the story behind the film, and studying what it did for the wine industry.
"Wine was something that the average American probably didn't think much about," said the journalist. "You were either into wine, or weren't. And suddenly, there was this film that was teaching you how to go to tasting rooms, how to have romance with wine, and somehow it caught on, and had a great impact on the wine industry."
He said it was huge for Santa Barbara County, because at the time it wasn't as well known to wine drinkers as places like Napa, and Sonoma. As part of their research, the couple traveled to wineries not only in the region, but on the West Coast to look at what happened to wines, especially Pinot Noir.
The San Luis Obispo County man talks about what the couple hopes people get from the book.
"I hope people look at how powerful culture works, and how movies kind of get into our brains, and make us think about things we didn't think about before," said Honeykutt. "It's an interesting phenomenon...how movies can impact people's lives. Not every movie, obviously most don't. But, along comes a movie that actually does, and it was a surprise even to the filmmakers."
While the movie was a boon for Point Noir, which was little known at the time, it wasn’t so good for Merlot. Perhaps the most famous line from the movie is when actor Paul Giamatti’s character, Miles, is telling his friend Jack, played by Tomas Hayden Church, in no uncertain terms that there’s no way he’ll drink Merlot at the double date dinner they are about to have.
"If anyone orders Merlot, I am leaving," yelled Miles. "I am not drinking any (expletive) Merlot!"
Two studies showed that Merlot sales actually dropped, while Pinot Noir sales skyrocketed after the film’s 2004 release.
As for author Kirk Honeykutt…does he prefer Merlot or Pinot Noir?
"I love Pinot Noir," he exclaimed.
The book “Sideways Uncorked: The Perfect Pairing of Film and Wine” was released this month, and is now available in bookstores and through online sellers.
The authors will appear at a special event on Friday, November 22, at the Au Bon Climat wine tasting room in Santa Barbara. The event will take place from 3-6 p.m.
