The new movie “Bottle Shock” just hit selected theaters, and as you might expect, it’s already generating a great deal of discussion in the wine community. “Sideways” had a big impact on the wine business, aside from being a fantastic movie, so I guess it’s natural for wine people to take a real close look at the next major motion picture dealing with vino. Perhaps unfairly to Bottle Shock or any future wine flicks, Sideways set a real high bar for cork dorks, a group that tends to have an unparalleled propensity toward critiquing everything in its path. When it’s all said and done, despite its flaws, I found it to be a feel-good movie that won't win any awards but managed to leave me with a smile on my face.

Like bottle shock (the condition), the movie is a little bit disjointed at the beginning, and there are a few decisions the filmmakers made which will leave them as easy targets for critics and people looking for Sideways II. The cast includes Alan Rickman and Dennis Farina, both of whom deliver solid and occasionally hilarious performances. Maybe it’s my love of ‘80s crime drama television, but I found Farina’s character to be really entertaining. Bill Pullman is one of the main actors in Bottle Shock, as Chateau Montelena’s Jim Barrett. After that, you get a cast of models that make the pool scene at the Hollywood Roosevelt look like a convention for ugly people (we spent more than a few occasions doing some phenomenal people-watching during our trips to get the K&L Hollywood store open). Those casting choices are going to turn off anybody looking for pure authenticity. Seeing the gorgeous bartender in a random Napa dive bar whipping out a bottle of ’47 Cheval Blanc will force you to suspend reality, and once you can do that and get through the random love story chucked into the first section of the movie, you’ll be on your way.

In the movie, the Barretts are rightfully concerned about how their wines are going to be treated as they make their journey to France for the big tasting. Bottle shock is something we deal with on a frequent basis, particular when we receive in big shipments of direct-imports that just landed. During transit the wines can get shaken up and temporarily show some weird and disjointed characteristics that later clear up after a few weeks. When those huge shipments arrive and the bills come due, we’re obviously motivated to crank up the sales process and show the wines to our staff. Bottle shock is a huge pain when it occurs because it ruins the experience for the staff, potentially causing a great wine to show poorly in front of the gang responsible for promoting it. Our staff won’t wax on about wines they don’t like, so we’re then caught in a bind. Most importantly, a customer who gets a wine going through bottle shock may not necessarily want to wait for it to settle, or taste the wine before it’s settled, leading to all kinds of anguish.

Fortunately for Jim and Bo the wines showed remarkably well, carving out Chateau Montelena’s place in California wine history—that makes for a good story. I suspect most wine people will see this movie sooner or later. Just like every war movie doesn’t need to be Apocalypse Now or Platoon, this one doesn’t have to exceed Sideways in order to provide enjoyment. Alan Rickman, as British wine authority Steven Spurrier, has more than his fair share of solid scenes, including a funny moment when he samples guacamole for the first time. The combination of little segments like that are what turned me into a fan... a decidedly different feeling than than I had during the first half of the movie when I was still hoping for a geniune wine flick - this really isn't. If you like Hollywood fluff, I’d encourage you to check it out, and bring your non-wine-geek friends along with you. They’re likely to enjoy it just as much, if not more than you.