Wine movies

Some decent wine movies have reached our screens over the years, Bottle Shock being the most recent. But do you remember the classics like A walk in the Clouds and French Kiss?

Sideways

Paul Giamatti stars as Miles, a wine fanatic trying to teach his friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) the finer intricacies of the vine in California wine country. However, Jack is more interested in the finer intricacies of the fairer sex.
Famous movie line:
Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot.
Miles Raymond: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!

 

Bottle Shock

Although criticized for its factual accuracy, Bottle Shock is an entertaining movie about the Judgement of Paris. It stars Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier, who visits the Napa Valley in search of the best wines to take with to Paris for the big taste-off. He meets Jim Barrett (Bill Pullmann) from Chateau Montelena whose chardonnay is rumoured to be the best in the valley…
Great quote:
Steven Spurrier: Great wine is great art, my friend. I am, in effect, a shepherd... whose mission is to offer the public another form of great art and to guide its appreciation thereof.

A walk in the clouds

A movie with all the elements you’d expect from a romantic film. A couple in love, a domineering father and beautiful vineyard scenes… Returning from the war Paul (Keanu Reeves) meets a pregnant (and unmarried) Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) who is dreading returning to her family’s estate to help with the harvest – in order to help her face her father Paul proposes to act as her husband for a day.

A Good Year

Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) is a hotshot British investment broker that cares about little else but himself. But then he hears he’s inherited his uncle’s chateau, and vineyards, in Provence…
Soppy wine quote:
Max Skinner: I would like a lifetime spent with an irrational and suspicious goddess, some short-tempered jealousy on the side, and a bottle of wine that tastes like you, a glass that's never empty.

French Kiss

Kate (Meg Ryan) boards a plane to Paris to win back her fiancé who has broken off the engagement. On board the flight she meets charming vine smuggler Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline), who unbeknownst to her, sneaks a grape vine and necklace into her bag…
Great tasting note:
Luc: First, you must take some wine. Can you describe it, the taste?
Kate: It's a nice red wine.
Luc: I think you can do better.
Kate: A bold wine with a hint of sophistication and lacking in pretension.
[beat]
Kate: Actually, I was just talking about myself.

Mondovino

A documentary that explores the impact of globalisation on different wine regions. Winemakers from Anaine, Sardinia, and Argentina join the debate.

And then, as yet unseen, but hopefully soon to be released:

The Ways of Wine

Blood into wine