Bottle Shock

Although no wine was drank while watching this movie or even while I type this...I figure a review of a movie about wine fits this blog just fine. Recently Chris and I watched Bottle Shock, a light movie loosely based on the story of how California wines beat French wines in a blind tasting. A British wine merchant (Alan Rickman) sets up a blind wine tasting in France. He travels to California to sample wines from many vineyards and hand picks a few for the tasting. Two California wines, a Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena, and a Cab Sav from Stag's Leap beat out the French wines to the shock of the french judges. At this point in time French wine was the only wine that was considered good wine. The tasting blew open the doors for the rest of the world, and certainly gave California a name in the wine industry.

At times the movie is silly and corny, but worth it anyway for the hilarious 1970's clothing and who doesn't love Alan Rickman?

While discussing the movie w/ Miranda we decided the next time I'm in Cali we'll check out the vineyards that made the movie. That would be awesome, although I was at a high end wine shop w/ Theresa over the weekend and we found a couple bottles of Stag's Leap wine. The cheapest bottle was $70! So visiting the vineyard itself could be a bit pricey as well. Better start saving now!