The film "Sideways," which was released exactly 19 years ago (October 2004), shows its absurdist antihero, Miles Raymond, trashing the merlot grape variety and the wines it makes.
The film is intended, in part, to elevate pinot noir to a position of prestige. And the movie does pay homage to that Burgundian grape variety from start to finish.
However, the film also came out at about the same time that a lot of fairly mediocre merlots were being produced, which filmmaker Alexander Payne emphasizes often.
Updated: Wed Nov 08, 2023