On Bottle Shock, the Movie
September 1, 2008 · Print This Article · Written by Jennifer
This movie is just two stories in many about the Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976. I’m not going to recap the movie. There are reviews are all over the internet. You can either read them or just see the movie yourself and decide.
Personally, I liked the movie. Really. It was a feel-good movie. And what is entertainment if you don’t feel good about it? It also helps that there is a local history associated with the movie. I went on Saturday evening with a friend who is in the wine industry. He picked out things that I would never know (and for the life of me, I can’t remember now).
And two people in the audience last night introduced themselves as Charles and Helen Bacigalupi–who it turns out–own some vineyards over on Westside Road who supplied about 40% of the grapes to Chateau Montelena for their 1973 Chardonnay. They couldn’t stay around and talk later though, harvest had started and they needed to get back to it.
I tried to find out what the 1971 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay label looks like–to see if it had to reference the appellation. I don’t know what the regulations were in the 1970s. Regardless, I can’t find it on the internet. I might just have to go and pay a visit to the winery itself.
There were a few monologues that were a bit too much–for me. I mean really, do you know anybody who talks like that? “You have to grow up, with the soil underneath your nails.” If that is true, why isn’t growing hops as romanticized as growing grapes? What does a field of hops even look like? Or potatoes for that matter? Why aren’t there stories about the farmers who grow beets?
After the show, co-producers Marc and Brenda Lhormer talked to the audience a bit. They were excited to share their stories about making the movie, about taking creative license–in order to tell a movie story. But mainly, they were excited about making the Paris tasting a digestible historical event for the greater public. And filming it in the Napa and Sonoma Counties.
My favorite actor: Alan Rickman by far. I’m a fan of Alan Rickman. Maybe I’m just a fan of his British accent. His accent just added to his air of pomposity–especially when he speaks French.
My favorite quote–Jim Barrett saying to Steven Spurrier: “You’re a snob. It limits you.” My thoughts exactly. You might enjoy the finer things in life, but what those things are should be definitely be defined by the individual.
My favorite anachronism: the ice pack in the boxing ring. The friend I went with had a few more: “Merlot in the 70s? Nobody knew what that was then. They were only using it to blend.” I’ll have to look that up.
What did you think?
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