The Second Glass

In 2004 it only took 128 minutes and seven quick words to turn the American wine industry sideways. In the movie Sidways, Paul Giamatti’s character Miles yelled, “I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!” Since this fictional character knew more about wine than most people’s friends, consumers took this at face value and stopped drinking merlot.

Ok, here’s the deal:

Fact: Miles, loves Pinot Noir.

Translation: This was a metaphor for his life. Pinot Noir is a fickle graph that requires a lot of love and care. When this happens, it can blossom into something of beauty. This describes the character of Miles perfectly.

Fact: Miles hates on Cabernet Franc. Early in the movie, while at a tasting, he boldly states, “I tend to not expect great things from Cab Franc,” as he dumps the wine into the spit bucket.

Translation: This is his opinion, but also, Cabernet Franc is never made into a world class wine by itself. In the Loire Valley, it flies solo, but these are simple, everyday wines. It is blended into some of the great wines of the world, but usually in low percents.

Fact: Miles hates Merlot.

Translation: Merlot has has a connotation of being cheap, mass produced swill. It is possible, what he is really saying is that he doesn’t want to date just anyone. He’s looking for someone special. OR - more simply put, Miles is a snob.

Fact: Miles has a prized bottle of 1962 Cheval Blanc.

Translation: The wine is from Bordeaux, France and it’s made up of… wait for it… 66% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot, 1% Malbec. That’s right, the exact grapes Miles hates on for the entire movie. A single bottle will run you about $2,200 today and the stuff is pretty much recognized as one of the best bottles of wine in the world. The producers originally wanted to use Château Pétrus (made up of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc) but the owners declined.

Conclusion: IT WAS MEANT TO BE IRONIC!

Miles hates on these grapes but, when done in the right way, loves them to death.

That’s it! There is no other reason for this conflict other than irony. Different people like different wines. Thanks to this movie Pinot Noir prices have sky-rocketed and Merlot prices dropped. Four years later the tides are getting back to normal but it hasn’t stopped a group of people from making a movie titled “Merlove.”

Yeah, that’s right, a movie about the fall of Merlot because of Sideways. Although the trailer looks like it was put together in iMovie, I highly applaude and support the effort.