Oh Manolo–If you have not seen it already, you must seek out “The Secret of Santa Vittoria”. It’s a wonderful wine movie as well as a true story about how a small Italian town hides one million bottles of its finest from the Nazis during WWII. And you must have some red wine when you watch it–imperative.

“Sideways.” Ugh.

Movie responsible for creating bizarre strain of ignorant Pinot Noir snobs.

Snobs whose previous knowledge of wine was limited to the Ripple Blanc Vino de Plastic Bladder en un Cardboard Box they drank while watching TiVo’d episodes of “The View” and “Inside the NFL.”

Until the point at which they saw “Sideways.” Then their knowledge of wine expanded slightly to loudly lauding whatever Pinot Noir was on the menu at Appleby’s, and hating Merlot. Why do they hate Merlot? Because the loser in the movie did.

The only good thing about the movie was the long-awaited return of Thomas Hayden Church. This must be why the Manolo could tolerate the movie.

The Annalucia, she has never seen “Sideways,” but still she does not like the Merlot. This is because it tastes like the Welch’s grape juice which has been boiled and then returned to the room temperature.

If the Manolo wishes to read good wine writing, he should be sure to buy the Friday edition of the Journal of the Wall Street. The wine writers for the paper are the Mr. John Brecher and the Ms Dorothy Gaiter (who is also the Mrs. Brecher) and they are witty, informative and not at all insufferable.

Oh, dear. Didn’t mean to offend those who like Pinot, or dislike Merlot. My comments are *not* directed at those form their opinions based on experience.

Rather, they are directed at the legions of people for whom “Sideways” is their one and only “how-to” guide about wine. You know the ones: pretentious people who had pink Franzia in their fridge one day, saw “Sideways” the next, and were rolling their eyes about how “maaaahvelous” some Pinot was the very next night.

I can’t really compare Blahnik and wine. It takes a little more dedication and sacrifice to get your hands on a pair of $400 kitten heels than it does a $10 glass of Pinot at Appleby’s.

I am in the wine industry – the retail side, where i get to deal with all these types of people! I think Sideways was positive as a whole – it made many people want to learn more about wine, and these are the funnest customers – those who trust in your expertise and want to try new things. The insufferables mentioned above are a lesser percentage. And if they want Pinot over White Zin, I am more than happy to provide it!

I suppose the problem is that now we’ll see an ocean of cheap (and gross) pinot being made to satisfy the demand, which is exactly what happened to Merlot in the past 5 or so years! There are many merlots out there that are fabulous and can stand up to any cab – Clos du Val, or Matanzas Creek for example.

In “Sideways,” the Cheval-Blanc that Miles drinks near the end is actually a blend of Merlot and Cab Franc (which he also claims to hate in one of the tasting rooms!). Though, of course, Bordeaux Merlot is very different from Gallo merlot. Still, it makes Miles’ character that much more deliciously dispicable.

I recommend the documentary ‘Mondovino,’ about the globalization of the wine industry.

And for magazines, definitely check out the Wine Enthusiast – much more down to earth than the Wine Spectator.

and completely unrelated: I predict KARA WILL BE OUT!!!