I’ve often thought that the tipping point for Kmart’s descent into retail irrelevance came because of “Rain Man.” When Dustin Hoffman’s character said, “Kmart Sucks!” at the end, the audience in the theater I was in clapped wildly.
Merlot, it appears, has suffered the same image breakdown, thanks to “Sideways” when Paul Giamatti exclaims, “I’m not drinking any fuckin’ Merlot!”
But wine is big business, and makers of Merlot are confronting this perception because sales did, in fact decrease after “Sideways” came out. The New York Times has more:
The movie gave shape to an inchoate movement away from American merlot in the marketplace, and spoke the truth in caustic terms: namely that most merlot produced in the United States is not very good. As a result, the anti-merlot trend accelerated. Fewer people bought it, and producers bottled less of it.
Read more if you’re into wine. You’ll find a few recommendations that might make you a hero at holiday parties this year.
Speaking of Sideways, I recently bought the Pinot Noir featured in the movie: Hitching Post. It was fucking amazing. You can get it at Bev Mo for $30 or so.
My bosses are getting a bottle of that this year.