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[MIMIC]

Quirky 'Sideways' Sends Pinot Noir Sales Soaring

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pinot noir repartee between Paul Giamatti's and Virginia Madsen's characters in the movie "Sideways" has helped spur dizzying sales of the red wine during a lingering U.S. glut, wine experts say.

U.S. consumers are salivating over the scene in which Giamatti's "Miles," a neurotic, failing author, evangelizes pinot's subtle delicacy to Madsen's "Maya" in an attempt to wow her with his wine knowledge.

"People come in and immediately say, 'Where's the pinot noir?"' said Steve Villani, manager of Columbus Circle Liquors in Manhattan. "After a while, we began to ask them if they saw the movie, and they laugh out loud and say, 'yes."'

As the Oscar-nominated film generated a buzz through the holidays, U.S. consumers bought 22 percent more pinot noir in the four weeks ending Jan. 15 than the year before, ACNielsen data show. The big winner is Constellation Brands Inc.'s Blackstone Pinot Noir from California, with year-over-year sales jumping 147 percent in the 12 weeks after the film hit theaters on Oct. 22.

"People have really latched onto the romance of the scene, which made pinot the star, no doubt about it," said Phil Lynch, spokesman for Louisville, Kentucky wine producer Brown-Forman Inc. .

Reuters

I don't drink, but I want some "just because."

 

[xsarien]

50/50 on-topic, but am I the only one on this planet that saw "Sideways" not as a comedy, but as a remarkably depressing drama?

Maybe it was just the mood I was in.

 

[MIMIC]

50/50 on-topic, but am I the only one on this planet that saw "Sideways" not as a comedy, but as a remarkably depressing drama?

Miles WAS a pathetic individual.

 

[Dan]

50/50 on-topic, but am I the only one on this planet that saw "Sideways" not as a comedy, but as a remarkably depressing drama?

Maybe it was just the mood I was in.

Nope, this is what I said in the main Sideways thread:

Yeah, honestly, I thought the movie was sad as hell. When the rest of the audience was cracking up, I was sitting there dying on the inside. It was just so sad. I mean, I know it was funny, but at best it was a bittersweet feeling. The rest of it was just so extraordinarily sad that laughing wasn't something I could muster up. Which isn't a bad thing by any means, I loved Sideways. Undoubtedly among my top 3 of the year, among The Incredibles and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which are impossible for me to rank.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

50/50 on-topic, but am I the only one on this planet that saw "Sideways" not as a comedy, but as a remarkably depressing drama?

Maybe it was just the mood I was in.

Dark comedy. It was depressing as hell, but fucking hilarious at the same time

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

50/50 on-topic, but am I the only one on this planet that saw "Sideways" not as a comedy, but as a remarkably depressing drama?

Maybe it was just the mood I was in.

No, it definitely was of the Cameron Crowe/dramedy school, IMO.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

I AM NOT DRINKING ANY FUCKING MERLOT!

 

[Scrow]

meh, pinot noir isn't really a great variety of red. pretty shallow flavours.

try a cab sav/merlot or cab sav/shiraz blend for a decent red

 

[Eminem]

50/50 on-topic, but am I the only one on this planet that saw "Sideways" not as a comedy, but as a remarkably depressing drama?

Maybe it was just the mood I was in.

yep, same here. and really(not to be a hater in here, i'm just saying) i didn't think it was all that[/t] good. worth seeing, definitely. but nowhere near a best picture of the year nomination IMO.

although, i was fucking dying when

Spoiler

Jack got back to the motel room naked

 

[MIMIC]

yep, same here. and really(not to be a hater in here, i'm just saying) i didn't think it was all that[/t] good. worth seeing, definitely. but nowhere near a best picture of the year nomination IMO.

although, i was fucking dying when

Spoiler

Jack got back to the motel room naked

I died laughing after

Spoiler

Jack crashed the car into that tree

. The far away vantage point made it hilarious. :lol

 

[Duck of Death]

There were some hillarious parts at the end, but Sideways is first and foremost a moving, bittersweet drama.

 

[Inumaru]

meh, pinot noir isn't really a great variety of red. pretty shallow flavours.

try a cab sav/merlot or cab sav/shiraz blend for a decent red

Wine noob. It's been said that all oenophiles' (evolving wine taste) journey ends with red Burgundy (made from Pinot Noir).

And Pinot's needn't be shallow, thin wines. Try some from the Central Coast A.V.A. if you're looking for something with a little more weight. Wines from this area in California get a lot of heat and are often massive, extracted fruit bombs. Try a Sanford, Williams-Selyem (if you can find it), Ojai, or a Siduri for good examples of these, they may change your mind!

I think I may be the only person who drinks wine and hasn't seen this movie...I gotta get out this weekend.

 

[Celicar]

I felt back for the engaged dude. This is how he spent the week before his wedding. Touring different wineries. BORING!!! I'd be fuckin porkers too.

 

[Memles]

Miles wasn't trying to impress Maya with that speech at all. He is simply that fucking passionate about wine. Making it seem like a big ploy to get a chick completely devalues the great scene. Assholes, the lot of them at Reuters.

I found it more sad than funny, but a whole lot of both.

 

[Scrow]

Wine noob. It's been said that all oenophiles' (evolving wine taste) journey ends with red Burgundy (made from Pinot Noir).

yeah, and it's bs.

And Pinot's needn't be shallow, thin wines. Try some from the Central Coast A.V.A. if you're looking for something with a little more weight. Wines from this area in California get a lot of heat and are often massive, extracted fruit bombs. Try a Sanford, Williams-Selyem (if you can find it), Ojai, or a Siduri for good examples of these, they may change your mind!

meh, I'll stick to the better Australian wines we have here thanks. I used to only like pinot noir but then my tastes matured.

 

[kablooey]

There were some hillarious parts at the end, but Sideways is first and foremost a moving, bittersweet drama.

I think I'd agree with that. In the theatre I was in when I saw it, there were definitely a lot of people that'd walked into the theatre expecting a straight-ahead comedy, and laughed at parts that obviously were not meant to be funny at all. That said, there were some parts that had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Off the top of my head, one of these would include

Spoiler

the scene where Miles has to retrive Jack's wallet. :lol Even if it did result in some gratuitous floppy man-penis action, it was still highly entertaining.

 

[nitewulf]

yeah, and it's bs.
meh, I'll stick to the better Australian wines we have here thanks. I used to only like pinot noir but then my tastes matured.

Do you get the Yellowtail Shiraz over there? you recommended blends before, personally i dont like cabarnet souvignon, Shiraz is perfect for my tastes. Earthy, flavorful, spicy, not too sour, not too dry.

 

[Jim Bowie]

Was anybody else sort of scared when

Spoiler

Miles went to get Jack's wallet? I totally thought that the husband was going to shoot him, with all of the rolicking heavy metal going on.

 

[MIMIC]

Was anybody else sort of scared when....

Spoiler

...the guy came running out of the house with no clothes on?

:lol

Yes. Yes I was.

 

[Jim Bowie]

Spoiler

...the guy came running out of the house with no clothes on?

:lol

Yes. Yes I was.

Well, that too.

 

[Scrow]

Do you get the Yellowtail Shiraz over there?

never heard of yellowtail shiraz. what region is it from?

you recommended blends before, personally i dont like cabarnet souvignon, Shiraz is perfect for my tastes. Earthy, flavorful, spicy, not too sour, not too dry.

cab sav is not really a good variety to have on its own. it's what people in the field sometimes call a doughnut wine (there's a hole in the flavour), however in a blend in complements other varieties very well, or rather they complement it by filling said hole. also keep in mind what types of oak they use in the creation of the wine. certain oaks can greatly change a variety of grape to taste almost like something else entirely.

 

[sefskillz]

never heard of yellowtail shiraz. what region is it from?

it's from austrailia, new south wales.

it's pretty trendy/popular among my peers, which means i steer away from it. it's not bad and pretty cheap.

 

[Scrow]

new south wales?

there are no wines of note that I know of from NSW. Victoria and Western Australia (Margaret River) have the better wines in general for Australian wines.

 

[nitewulf]

it's from austrailia, new south wales.

it's pretty trendy/popular among my peers, which means i steer away from it. it's not bad and pretty cheap.

sucks to be you then,
cause it's pretty damn good.
oh i also love italian red wines, chianti etc.