08 Mar 2009
By Paul Mitchell
http://www.bottleshockthemovie.com/
There are few really good movies about drinks. Sure, there are plenty of teenage angst films where the characters get bombed or where alcohol plays a large part of the humour, but these are not the movies that we need to consider. Sideways was a surprise hit that educated people about wine while it entertained with an interesting story. Cocktail tried to highlight (with mixed results) the bartending business, much like Waiting did with the restaurant trade. Alcohol and drinks were the focus of Swingers, but that movie is a classic for different reasons (“drinks first, questions later”).
I was pleasantly surprised then when I heard about and finally watched Bottle Shock. A great movie that treats the subject of wine with respect, it informs as well as entertains featuring some of the most incredible cinematography in recent years.
Bottle Shock is a movie about wine. Pure and simple. There are primary characters, supporting characters, and spectacular locations, but the star really is winemaking itself. It may not get into the technical details of winemaking as much as Sideways did, but the emotive inspiration behind why people risk their fortunes and devote so much to the craft sets the movie apart.
Typically, people who drink in movies are seen as degenerates, criminals or snobs, and booze is simply a vehicle for outlandish behavior or plot twists. Bukowski films are bathed in liquor but his movies, at their very heart, are about characters and their attempt to rise above their surroundings. Bottle Shock has no other pretense but to showcase winemaking, and the characters are only there to facilitate its role.
The movie’s plot revolves around Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant who travels to Napa Valley in 1976 to gather wines for a tasting that he hopes will help to save his business. In the process of scouting wineries and sampling bottles, we are introduced to a variety of winemakers and their reasons for loving the wine making art so much. All the general characterizations are present: the wealthy businessman who is trying to recapture his passion; the upstart farmer trying to build his own reputation; and students trying to start careers. This mixed bag of “wannabes” and their dreams end up colliding in a revolutionary tasting that built California’s wine business and taught humility to the complacent French industry.
I really recommend this film for the pure enjoyment of the journey and the love of winemaking. It stars Allan Richman and Bill Pullman, but the wineries and the wine are the ones that really shine.
Here are a few quotes from Bottle Shock that will help provide background into its relevance to drinks enthusiasts:
Jim Barrett (American wine entrepreneur): [voiceover] Before Paris, nobody drank our wine. Well, friends did. But their palates were… less discriminating.
Gustavo Brambila (Mexican labourer turned winemaker): You people, you think you can just buy your way into this. You cannot do it that way. You have to have it in your blood, you have to grow up with the soil underneath your nails, the smell of the grapes in the air that you breathe. The cultivation of the vine was an art form. The refinement of the vine is a religion that requires pain and desire and sacrifice.
http://www.bottleshockthemovie.com/
There are few really good movies about drinks. Sure, there are plenty of teenage angst films where the characters get bombed or where alcohol plays a large part of the humour, but these are not the movies that we need to consider. Sideways was a surprise hit that educated people about wine while it entertained with an interesting story. Cocktail tried to highlight (with mixed results) the bartending business, much like Waiting did with the restaurant trade. Alcohol and drinks were the focus of Swingers, but that movie is a classic for different reasons (“drinks first, questions later”).
I was pleasantly surprised then when I heard about and finally watched Bottle Shock. A great movie that treats the subject of wine with respect, it informs as well as entertains featuring some of the most incredible cinematography in recent years.
Bottle Shock is a movie about wine. Pure and simple. There are primary characters, supporting characters, and spectacular locations, but the star really is winemaking itself. It may not get into the technical details of winemaking as much as Sideways did, but the emotive inspiration behind why people risk their fortunes and devote so much to the craft sets the movie apart.
Typically, people who drink in movies are seen as degenerates, criminals or snobs, and booze is simply a vehicle for outlandish behavior or plot twists. Bukowski films are bathed in liquor but his movies, at their very heart, are about characters and their attempt to rise above their surroundings. Bottle Shock has no other pretense but to showcase winemaking, and the characters are only there to facilitate its role.
The movie’s plot revolves around Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant who travels to Napa Valley in 1976 to gather wines for a tasting that he hopes will help to save his business. In the process of scouting wineries and sampling bottles, we are introduced to a variety of winemakers and their reasons for loving the wine making art so much. All the general characterizations are present: the wealthy businessman who is trying to recapture his passion; the upstart farmer trying to build his own reputation; and students trying to start careers. This mixed bag of “wannabes” and their dreams end up colliding in a revolutionary tasting that built California’s wine business and taught humility to the complacent French industry.
I really recommend this film for the pure enjoyment of the journey and the love of winemaking. It stars Allan Richman and Bill Pullman, but the wineries and the wine are the ones that really shine.
Here are a few quotes from Bottle Shock that will help provide background into its relevance to drinks enthusiasts:
Jim Barrett (American wine entrepreneur): [voiceover] Before Paris, nobody drank our wine. Well, friends did. But their palates were… less discriminating.
Gustavo Brambila (Mexican labourer turned winemaker): You people, you think you can just buy your way into this. You cannot do it that way. You have to have it in your blood, you have to grow up with the soil underneath your nails, the smell of the grapes in the air that you breathe. The cultivation of the vine was an art form. The refinement of the vine is a religion that requires pain and desire and sacrifice.
