Bottle Shock

I love that this film is light and fun but also tells a real story of importance. I'm sure they took some artistic liberties (like the requisite "hot girl"), but regardless, it made a historical tale entertaining and intriguing. Loved Alan Rickman as usual. I watched after watching "Somm 3," which made it even more interesting. Would watch again!

what a treasure and fun break from the woes of the 21st century, social media, and all the rest! I can't believe I never watched this movie before. I was from a family that had a wine press in the basement in the 70s - in DALY CITY - how obscure is that?!? maybe that's why I avoided this movie despite all the hoopla when it came out - too close to home.What jumped out at me here was the family dynamics and how easy it is to judge each other and how much can good can be done by simply be open to another person on a very basic level - sans all the "professional" ladder climbing, competition and money, money, money. And to think, how easy it would have been for that father and son to NEVER have reconciled throughout their whole lives if the stars hadn't aligned for that wine to be discovered. Maybe this movie is a reminder to live in a state of reconciliation and love no matter what is going on professionally, for better or worse, no matter how good your loved ones look "on paper." Let's face it, after the college admissions scandal broke out into the news including payments for "test taking" at our finest universities those pieces of paper are really not indicative of anything, especially brains. Hate to be rude but...Which reminds me of my favorite movie line EVER from an obscure little 1980s GEM of a film called "SLACKER" - "It takes a REAL MAN to make it without a job." - stepson hitch hiking home from stepdad's funeral - this is the dark side of how that other relationship could have played out without all the unlikely success. Not sure why that line fascinated me so much at the time -because i was working at a hedge fund for pete-sake when i saw the film - but in a strange way i thought that crass loser in a frayed suit with no wheels had a point. At the time, the guy that made the movie SLACKER was also a guy without a real job, bumming around with a camera, and a dream who's Dad was harrassing him to get a REAL JOB maybe join him in the insurance biz - sage advice ignored...and look how THAT worked out...but what im recently understanding is that those white pieces of paper aren't even good for wiping butts and it is a big mistake to measure the value of others or ourselves based on what is written on them - especially if it is someone you actually love.

If you have any interest in wine - particularly, American wines - you absolutely must pick up and read George M. Taber's "Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine". The title is lengthy, but the book tells the true story of California's emergence onto the world stage as a preeminent wine region."Bottle Shock" is the Hollywood adaption of "Judgement of Paris"; as a result, it takes a great liberties with various elements of the story for the sake of colorful storytelling. Therefore, don't expect it to be 100% true to Taber's excellent book -- it's "inspired by" a true story, not THE true story -- in fact, you can currently take a tour at Chateau Montelena that helps "separate fact from fiction" in regards to the film vs. history.Alan Rickman is at his grumpy best as Steven Spurrier, a Brit living in Paris who runs a wine store. Spurrier's primary customer is an American, Maurice (Dennis Farina, who absolutely steals every scene he's in, as usual), who bluntly tells his friend that despite the grand name on his store (The Wine Academy), which might lead his customers to believe they could receive a wide education of wine, his store has a very limited selection beyond copious French selections. New American wines, he tells Spurrier, are not only excellent, but he would put them side by side with the top European wines. Spurrier is highly dubious, but he has nothing to lose at this point, so he books himself a trip to California with the idea of staging a California vs. French blind wine tasting. He is still skeptical that the Californians may be producing anything vaguely drinkable.I would call this film a romantic valentine to charming, laid-back, mid-1970s Napa Valley - the land of the farmers and dreamers - before it was discovered as great American terroir, before they charged for wine tastings, before the crowds and the high-end hotels and pricey restaurants cluttered the valley floor. The photography is lush, and you can practically feel the heat rising out of the vineyards and smell the dirt as seen on a warm summer's day.As stated, there's various liberties taken by the filmmakers - such as adding the female character Sam as a love interest; the film could have been told just as well without her, and eliminating one of the most important characters in the true story (winemaker Mike Grgich). But if you've never read the book - watch the film, then read the book, so you don't mistake the two. The film is well-cast, and the editing and music choices set the stage well while keeping the pace briskly moving along.And while it romanticizes reality, it makes for a delightfully charming film for wine enthusiasts. Pair it with "Sideways" for the two ends of California wine tasting: "Bottle Shock" tells the story of California's emergence onto the world wine stage, and "Sideways" shows modern California wine culture (albeit in Santa Barbara wine country vs Napa).

I value my weekend nights....I am discerning about wines...and I prefer to spend my time with the family.Not only did this bring together the generations, because my mom had read about this, years ago, my wife and I have often debated the differences between French, Washington, California, Upstate New York, Long Island, Australian, German, Austrian, and other wines, and my son is 15 and starting to come into some consciousness about alcohol, but, also, my son walked in and said is that Snape...and he sat and watched something with us.Maybe I am just overjoyed that my 15 year old would hang with his parents, aunt, and grandmothers, but I really enjoined the movie, and also learned about a cultural event....the movie itself 4 stars...but also teaching me about this event...5 stars..

Based on actual events which occurred in 1976 this is an entertaining, inspiring and heart-warming, if somewhat corny tale of how a Paris-based English sommelier staged a blind wine tasting outside that city and introduced Californian wine to the then French-dominated global market. Alan Rickman is at his sneery comedic best as the outwardly snobbish but entrepreneurial Steven Spurrier who travels to the Napa Valley vineyards to initially taste and thereafter transport twenty-six American wine bottles to his ‘Judgement of Paris’ taste trial, while Bill Pullman and Chris Pine give solid performances as an idealistic former lawyer pursuing his vinicultural dream and his layabout son who just doesn’t seem to get it. Despite not achieving the quality of Alexander Payne’s hilarious study of mid-life male crisis Sideways, I feel that this movie genuinely manages to bring to the screen a sense of the way of life of the people who work the land. There were times when I was totally transported to the 1970s, not just with the music and costumes and on occasions was reminded of the man from Del Monte as Rickman toured the Californian vineyards sampling the produce while one of his voiceovers was decidedly Keith Floydian in tone and content. The movie is not without its flaws (a little melodramatic at times) but I really liked it, and I would definitely recommend seeking it out (probably through LOVEFILM, as I did) if you appreciate a glass or two and enjoy looking at some gorgeous landscapes and sunsets.

I know the late Alan Rickman was regarded as a great actor and this film was a pet project of his but it somehow fails to hit the mark, partly because of Rickman's underpowered performance. It's a nice story and I'm all for puncturing French arrogance when it comes to their wine but I should have cared more about the people. The most remarkable thing about this film is that it manages to make pretty-boy Chris Pine look unattractive.

This film is less known than it deserves to be. I found out about it after Alan Rickman passed away and finally got it a few days ago. What a treat! The soundtrack reminded me of how good the Doobie Brothers were and it evoked the 1970s. I had heard about American wines doing well in a Paris competition during a cooking programme, so had a reference point for the story. The title is neat - 'bottle shock' being a vintners' term and the effect that New World wine actually being good had on the French experts. Make no mistake, the French make some great wines, but for many years they persisted in denying that anybody else deserved to share the glory - especially wines from the New World. This tale has Rickman delivering dialogue with aplomb (or is it 'a plum'?) and the performances from all the actors are equally convincing.This blue-ray is German, so the subtitles are not available in English. My limited French was just about enough to comprehend those parts.Anyway - Grand Cru entertainment IMO.

While based on a true story, the film takes some liberty at embellishing the facts with romance and family feuds, but this does not detract from it being highly instructive for wine lovers.The 1976 competition itself should have been given more time in the movie in my view, as it was the event that justified making the movie in the first place and changed the world of wine ever since.Also, the movie does not make it clear that the competition was only for Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvigons/Merlot varieties, and as such can in no way be interpreted to be an overall match between Californian and French wines.Finally, one can not help but notice somewhat of a pro-Californian bias in the movie, but this is perhaps inevitable given the nature of the real historical events. I would like to see a film of the 2006 rematch, which California, again, won hands down, in fact by an ever greater margin.

Good story (based on a true one), central character just on the right side of overplayed (perfect for the tone of the film) by Alan Rickman, the boxing matches between dad and son jarred a bit but I guess were based on truth; great views of California vineyards and a good sense of period. Did the huge success of Napa Valley wine really come down to a mildly eccentric Englishman, a bunch of arrogant Frenchmen, and a dozen or so volunteer couriers at an airport? Great fun.