Wine and Movie Pairing: Not F*cking Merlot!
“Why are you so into Pinot?”
Okay, everyone. It’s time to revisit a classic movie for cinephiles and oenophiles alike. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film, I’m pairing Sideways with a classic Santa Barbara Pinot Noir from Au Bon Climat.
Sideways (2004) is now regarded as one of the fundamental films about food and wine. Based on a novel by Rex Pickett, the plot follows two middle-aged men at turning points in their lives as they escape to Santa Barbara wine country for a week to bond. Miles (Paul Giamatti) is a struggling fiction writer and recently divorced middle school English teacher. He is also a classically insufferable wine snob with strong opinions about specific grapes and a tunnel vision view of the world of wine. His best friend, Jack (Thomas Haden Church), is a voice actor who’s getting married as soon as the Santa Barbara trip is over. When Miles goes into the week away looking for lots of great wine and a few rounds of golf, he loses his mind when Jack announces that he wants to have at least one fling with a stranger before the wedding. Soon after arriving in Santa Barbara, Miles reforms a connection with Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress with a sharp palate, and Jack finds himself head over heels for Stephanie (Sandra Oh), Maya’s friend who works in a tasting room. Many bottles of wine are consumed, inhibitions and lips are loosened, hijinks are pursued, and perceptions are altered over the course of one week in Santa Barbara.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2005, and received nominations for Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Haden Church), Best Supporting Actress (Virginia Madsen), and Best Picture. While the male characters are misanthropic, chauvinistic products of the pre-Me Too era, the structure of the script still holds up 20 years later. The female characters are largely written as accessories to men (this is not a film that will pass the Bechdel Test), but Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh imbue their two-dimensional characters on paper with a warmth and humor that transcends their relationships to two selfish men. At the end of the day, this is Paul Giamatti’s movie - Miles is the role that took Giamatti from character actor to leading curmudgeon, and a performance that was sadly overlooked by the Academy that year. But whatever you do, don’t send Mr. Giamatti any f*cking Merlot.
The wine world latched on to Sideways because of the appreciation for Pinot Noir and Santa Barbara wine country, in addition to the lambasting of the stereotypical “wine guy”. I’ll periodically revisit this film as my own wine knowledge continues to grow, and every time I cringe at Miles’ self-effacing rants about the virtues of de-stemmed Syrah, I come away with more great wines to study. Director and co-writer Alexander Payne, himself a wine aficionado, made it a point to sneak his own “aha moment” wine into the script - 1988 Sassicaia - and gifted a bottle to Virginia Madsen when she was cast as Maya.
While Sideways infamously tanked Merlot sales across America for years, Payne said in a recent interview for Wine Enthusiast, “The choice for Merlot was simple: Back then, it was the over-produced, over-marketed, over-consumed flabby wine. When asked to order at a restaurant, people with little idea about red wines would stammer, “Merlot.” Now Pinot has become the over-produced, over-marketed, over-consumed flabby wine. What goes around comes around. Personally, I like Merlot. You know, good Merlot… This year marks the 20th anniversary of the movie, and at any celebratory events, I’m going to insist we serve only Merlot.”
While I appreciate a good Merlot just like Payne, I do not have the budget to splurge on the 1961 Cheval Blanc that is the trophy bottle of the movie (but if anybody out there is feeling especially generous and wants to share a bottle and some burgers with me, I am more than willing to accept). My wine pairing reaches for something a little more typical, but with solid structure, a classic feel, and one of the best priced California wines available - Au Bon Climat’s “La Bauge Au-dessus” Pinot Noir.
Au Bon Climat was founded in 1982 by Jim Clendenen, a lover of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. From the very beginning, Clendenen walked the walk and adhered to strict Burgundian techniques in order to create complex and restrained wines from beautiful Santa Barbara fruit. New French oak barrels from François Freres were employed to give that authentic caress to whites and reds alike. And while the rest of the region was making high alcohol fruit bombs and labeling them as Santa Barbara Pinot Noir, “The Mind Behind” insisted on the consistent house style of Au Bon Climat, a part of Clendenen’s legacy that has continued since his sudden passing in 2021.
“La Bauge Au-dessus” translates to “the party upstairs” in French, and this wine is all that and more. A solid entry level Pinot Noir that captures the heart and soul of the beautiful Santa Barbara wine country, all the fruit from the 2020 vintage comes from the storied Bien Nacido vineyard. The party opens on the nose with tart strawberry and cranberry, dotted by Christmas spices like cinnamon and clove. On the palate, the wine is light and lithe, pronouncing the oak presence a little more, but never allowing it to get in the way of the wine. It finishes unbelievably clean, making the drinker instinctively reach for another sip. Pinot Noir lovers (like myself) go nuts for this wine - it’s accessible at the point of release, but if you have the patience to let it sit in a cellar for a few years, it’s an unbelievable reward that homages the classics in a modern Californian way. I love both the special edition Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from Au Bon Climat, but there’s something so special about returning to “La Bauge Au-dessus” time and again that reinforces its status as a treasure of California winemaking.
Any of the food pairings in the movie would work well with this wine. The Hitching Post, the real life restaurant depicted in Sideways as the unofficial gathering spot for the ensemble cast, is a barbeque and burgers restaurant, and both of those would be delightful with “La Bauge Au-dessus”. As for my personal favorite pairing? Poutine fries and a duck burger with fig jam, lightly fried onions, and arugula.
The 2020 vintage of Au Bon Climat’s “La Bauge Au-dessus” Pinot Noir is available directly on the Au Bon Climat website and through wine.com. You can also check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you. Thank you for shopping at your local independent wine store!
Sideways (2004) is now available to stream on Hulu and Disney+. You can buy or rent it Prime Video, YouTube, and Fandango At Home. A note for physical media nerds: There is a 4K digital restoration of the movie currently in the Apple Store, so stay tuned for a potential updated Blu-Ray and/or DVD formats as they become available. The 10th Anniversary edition is available wherever you find physical media.