June 21st, the first day of summer brought the heat index into three digits for the first time this year. There are things to do, places to be but who wants to leave the air-conditioned indoors and step outside. Not me! To stay cool and entertained I decided to combine my two interests- movies and wine- and watch a wine movie at home.

I watched the movie ‘Bottle Shock’ which was released in 2008. I have been meaning to watch it since I heard about it several months ago, but got discouraged reading not so great reviews. Finally I decided to watch it without any expectations. The premise of the movie is the 1976 ‘Judgment of Paris’ wine tasting.  This was when a small American winery outdid the glorious French wines of the time and sent the wine industry into a frenzy, putting California wines on the map. The movie is about the events leading up to ‘Judgment of Paris’ tasting, told through the lives of father and son, Jim and Bo Barrett, the owners of Chateau Montelena winery in Napa, California.

The character of Jim Barrett played wonderfully by Bill Pullman was the highlight of the movie for me.  The movie portrays Jim Barrett as someone who is totally consumed with the art of wine making; he is a perfectionist who never thinks his wine is ready. He is very self-respecting and guarded in a way. He is suspicious of the British wine store owner from Paris, Steven Spurrier, who is sponsoring the ‘Judgment of Paris’. It takes a lot of convincing from his then slacker son Bo Barrett to enter their wines for the contest. The character of Jim Barrett is multi layered and I just loved some of the conversations that he has in the movie about wine and Napa terroir. He says, “It is alluvial, sedimentary, volcanic soil. You want to limit the irrigation because it makes the vines struggle, intensifies the flavor. A comfortable grape, a well-watered, well-fertilized grape grows into a lazy ingredient of a lousy wine”. He also says,” Vineyard’s best fertilizer is the owner’s footsteps” again underscoring his dedication to his vineyard. Other characters were fine but did not really stand out except may be, Gustavo Brambila, played by Freddy Rodríguez, who plays an employee at Chateau Montelena who secretly makes some fabulous wine of his own. It is interesting to know that now Gustavo Brambila owns a boutique winery in Napa called Gustavo Thrace Winery. The movie portrays him as an ambitious young man who does not want to end up like his father who was a field hand at a winery. He is a very soulful winemaker and knows that he has what it takes to produce great wine.

The ‘Judgment of Paris’ wine tasting scene is very amusing in a way with all French judges on the panel, on their home turf. The judges came in assuming a victory by French wines. Most of them thought that they will have no problems distinguishing California wines from French wines. Midway though the tasting some of them are confused and uncomfortable. At the end of the tasting as Steven Spurrier announces the results you can see the eagerness on the faces of the judges. It was a monumental day for California wines.

Jim Barrett, in a statement to The Time magazine said “It’s not bad for the kids from the sticks”, yet again showing humility in his character.

Although the direction leaves a little more to be desired, its all in all, a treat! Great views of Napa Valley and an enjoyable visit to a historical event. I would totally recommend it to all wine lovers. Do not forget to get yourself a nice bottle of California Chardonnay from ‘Vineyard on the Square’ while you watch a California Chard win French judges over.

I would love to hear from the readers. Please email me at gunjan@discovervineyard.com with comments and suggestions. Salud!

Vineyard on the Square

16135 City Walk

Sugar Land, Texas 77479

281-277-1851

http://www.bottleshockmovie.com/

http://www.montelena.com/

http://www.gustavothrace.com/

Categoried under:  Wine