The wine movie I'd like to introduce this time is "Sideways," a road movie set in California.
This film, which was made in 2004, garnered worldwide attention, winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture at the time. It is still loved by many movie fans, not just wine lovers.
I heard that this is a classic movie among wine lovers!
It's a well-known and highly acclaimed film, and if you're interested in wine, I think you'll enjoy it even more.
Source: Amazon
The main character, Miles , is a middle-aged English teacher who aspires to be a novelist. Because he is a wine geek, he often ends up sharing his knowledge.
His best friend, Jack , is a struggling actor who has a frivolous personality but is good at getting along with people, and ends up marrying a young lady from a wealthy family.
To celebrate Jack's wedding, the couple went on a winery tour of Santa Barbara, California .
Miles accompanies his best friend on his trip, visiting wineries and his favorite restaurants one after another, but Jack's main goal is to find a woman . As an incomparable women's lover, all he can think about is having fun with the women he encounters on the road.
Meanwhile, Miles, who has a sensitive personality, is still hung up on his ex-wife from two years ago, and the novel he spent years writing has not received any recognition, and he is even losing confidence in himself as a person.
New encounters and turmoil await the two, who are uneven in appearance and personality, on their journey.
[Characters in this article]
- Mika is 35 years old and works at an apparel company. She is getting into wine and is really interested in wine glasses.
- Iwasu is a sommelier who oversees this website. He runs a bar in Nagoya that stocks a wide range of New Zealand wines.
"Sideway" detailed information
Director and writer Alexander Payne is renowned for his skillful blend of satire and black humor, and his films have won multiple international awards.
In 2002, "About Schmidt" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for its lead actor, Jack Nicholson, and became a hot topic. He went on to win two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, for this film in 2004 and for "The Descendants" in 2011.
The worldwide success of "Sideways" has made Santa Barbara , the setting of the film, extremely popular. Many real wineries and the wines produced there appear in the film, garnering attention from wine fans.
A remake of the film, "Sideways," was produced in Japan in 2009, starring Fumiyo Kohinata. The film is set in Napa Valley, a famous wine-producing region in California.
| Movie genre | Road Movie |
| theme | About adult youth, love, and life |
| Original title | Sideways |
| Production year/country | 2004/USA |
| time | 130 minutes |
| director | Alexander Payne |
| Screenplay | Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor |
| Cast |
Paul Giamatti ("Planet of the Apes", "American Splendor" etc.) ・Thomas Haden Church ("Spider-Man 3", etc.) Virginia Madsen (Candyman) "Little Red Riding Hood", "Joy", etc.) Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy drama series, etc.) |
Sandra Oh played the role of Cristina on "Grey's Anatomy." I was also obsessed with this show at the time, so she is a memorable actress.
My thoughts on "Sideways"
Perhaps due to the appearance and middle-aged air of the lead actor, Paul Giamatti, the film has an overall melancholy atmosphere.
The original title "Sideways" means "side roads."
Is life really the way it should be? Two middle-aged men who are drifting along while worrying about it find themselves at a crossroads in life on a side trip. This is a story about "side roads in life." There are no dramatic developments, but there are many parts that I can empathize with, such as the worries, worldly desires, and regrets that anyone can experience, and I found myself deeply moved while watching the film.
Since the story is centered around two men, the perspective may lean a little more towards the male. Some people may feel that this is so true and feel that it is something they can relate to.
Maya and Stephanie , the love interests of the two, also play important roles, but there are few scenes where you can empathize with them. If you watch it from a female perspective, you may be surprised and think, "Men are...". Some people may laugh and think, "That's cute."
Miles' pathetic and effeminate appearance looked a little cute to me. As for George, I can only think that he is the worst for going on a trip just before the wedding just to cheat on his wife! But of course he gets hurt, so I felt good about it (lol).
There are also many comical scenes, such as when he gets into a fight with other golfers at the golf course, or when he purposely smashes the front of a car to make it look like a traffic accident when he was punched by a woman...I can't write everything here because it would be a spoiler, but there are also many comical scenes.
Also, scenes such as secretly wandering around the winery and sitting on the grass at dusk drinking wine are lovely and enviable.
The story unfolds at a leisurely pace, but is well-balanced, and I think it's one you can enjoy right to the end without getting bored.
There are many scenes in which the conversation centers around wine, but one of the most memorable is when Miles and Maya talk about wine and seem to compare life with wine .
This is a scene that could be said to contain everything about the movie, so be sure to pay close attention when you watch it.
It really bothered me, but there's a lot of drunk driving going on from start to finish.
I'm sure many people are surprised to see him driving while drinking wine from a glass.
Currently, it seems that the US is cracking down on drunk driving, but not as much as in Japan. Because the US is a car-oriented society where the distance traveled each day is incomparable to Japan, there are some areas where enforcement is not enough.
Of course, in Japan, even tasting just one glass of wine is considered drunk driving, so be careful. Most of Japan's famous wine producing regions, such as Yamanashi and Nagano, are areas where you can't get around without a car. If there are winery tours you can enjoy by bus or shared taxi, we recommend joining one.
About the wine region "Santa Barbara"
Santa Barbara, California, is a port city located 150km west of Los Angeles. It has always been a popular beach resort, but its popularity soared after it was used as a filming location for the movie "Sideways."
It has now become a famous wine-producing region comparable to Napa Valley and Sonoma, with over 100 wineries.
The long hours of sunshine allow the grapes to soak up plenty of sunlight during the day, and then at night they are cooled by the cool breezes that blow in from the Pacific Ocean. This difference in temperature allows the grapes to fully ripen, resulting in wine with a rich flavor.
It is known mainly for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but the climate and soil differ between the west side, which is close to the sea, and the east side, which is surrounded by mountains, and various varieties such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are produced here. Next, we will introduce some of the wineries that appear in the Sideways movie.
Sanford
The first winery the two visit in the film is located in the Santa Rita Hills and is famous for producing high-quality Pinot Noir.
Miles, who loves Pinot, also said, "They make some good Pinot Noir there."
The climate of Santa Rita Hills is very similar to that of Burgundy in France, with extreme temperature differences between day and night, making it ideal for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The founder of this winery, Richard Sanford, was the first to recognize this characteristic and cultivated the vineyards. Thirty years after Sanford's founding in 1971, Santa Rita Hills was recognized as an AVA (Agricultural Viticultural Area) in 2001, and has continued to make great strides.
Other famous wineries in the region that appear in the story include Melville and Seasmoke.
Firestone Vineyard
This is the winery where the scene where Miles, Jack, Maya and Stephanie sneak out of a wine seminar and explore the winery was filmed.
The Santa Ynez Valley, where this winery is located, has two distinct regions: on the western side, close to the Atlantic Ocean, Burgundy varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown, while on the eastern side, surrounded by mountains, Rhone varieties such as Syrah are mainly grown.
Leonard Firestone, founder of Firestone, was the first to start growing wine grapes in the region in the early 1970s. Since then, Santa Ynez has become a famous winery with many wineries, and Firestone remains one of the oldest and most highly regarded wineries.
Fess Parker
In the film, it was named "Frass Canyon."
While the other wineries appear under their real names, the reason why this one's name was changed is probably because in the film "Frass Canyon" is portrayed as a winery that produces commercial wine, something that Miles really dislikes.
Many tourists arrived on tour buses, and the lavishly decorated tasting room and the stock of merchandise such as logo T-shirts emphasized the atmosphere of a winery selling wines that appeal to the masses.
Commercial wines have a slightly negative image among discerning wine fans, and are generally not intended to be used in such situations.
Also, in this winery scene, Miles does some crazy things and some not so good things happen...
The founder, Fess Parker, was an actor in his younger years, so he may have had an understanding of film production and agreed to rent the winery facilities as a filming location.
Fess Parker was founded in 1989. It currently has a vast vineyard in Santa Barbara and produces a wide variety of wines under several labels that are shipped around the world. In the film, Miles harshly criticizes the wines of Frass Canyon, but that is of course fiction. The real Fess Parker is a winery that specializes in Rhone varieties, especially Syrah, and is highly regarded internationally.
Not only is the beautiful tasting room used as a filming location popular, but the spa and accommodations are also popular. This winery is taking advantage of the benefits of being in a resort area.
summary
"Sideways" is a road movie that depicts the "side roads of life," and is touching with scenes that overlap the maturation of wine with life itself, but is also peppered with humorous scenes.
Set in the scenic resort town of Santa Barbara, the story features several real wineries, stimulating curiosity to actually visit them. This is a perfect work for adults who love wine.
Why not open a nice glass of Santa Barbara wine and take your time to browse?
We have compiled a list of 15 movies reviewed on this site. Please take a look!
▶ 15 recommended wine movies! Introducing them with comments from sommeliers
