A Sideways look at Merlot
Miles is a secret Merlot fan!
Elsbeth & I watched the movie "Sideways" recently, and very entertaining it was too (more so, since we are "in the wine business" ourselves). In the movie, the main character, Miles, famously dismisses Merlot with the classic line, "I'm not drinking any (expletive) Merlot!". Nor does Miles have anything nice to say about Cabernet Franc, another red Bordeaux varietal. And conventional wisdom would have it that the movie is all about Miles' passion for Pinot Noir (which on the surface it is, and there are some fine Pinots from the Santa Barbara County, California area where the movie is set).
Yet, behind all the Pinot worship is the underlaying theme of the movie: Miles' mid-life crisis. He is the forty-something wine buff and failed writer who is struggling to come to terms with his mortality, and despairing that he has "been on the shelf for too long". Miles' situation is echoed metaphorically in his treasured bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc (which incidentally means "white horse", and does not mean that this is a white wine).
And what is this Cheval Blanc of which Miles is so enamored? Surely, some type of Pinot Noir one might think? Well, no. The writers of the movie cleverly picked a blend of, you guessed it, Merlot and Cabernet Franc as the article of Miles' obsession. Cheval Blanc is a claret, or red Bordeaux Blend, produced in the St Emillon area of Bordeaux. It's usually a 50/50 mix of Merlot and Cab. Franc - which is not so typical in Bordeaux where Cabernet Sauvignon is the major grape varietal.
Escafeld Vineyards is located in California's San Antonio Valley. With regard to the grape varietals mentioned in the Sideways movie, Pinot Noir is not a good match for our climate. Ours is a region for warmer climate varietals, such as our Merlot or Zinfandel. We also have 2 acres (our Twin Vines vineyard) of red Bordeaux varietals (Cab. Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab. Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot) with which we plan to make our own Bordeaux blend (possibly using the "Meritage" monicker), and from which we will collect our first harvest this year, 2005.
Call me biased, but I think that Miles was right on the money with his choice of a red Bordeaux wine as his favorite!
Cheers!
Steve Wetherill
Chief Movie Critic
Escafeld Vineyards
Jolon California
Elsbeth & I watched the movie "Sideways" recently, and very entertaining it was too (more so, since we are "in the wine business" ourselves). In the movie, the main character, Miles, famously dismisses Merlot with the classic line, "I'm not drinking any (expletive) Merlot!". Nor does Miles have anything nice to say about Cabernet Franc, another red Bordeaux varietal. And conventional wisdom would have it that the movie is all about Miles' passion for Pinot Noir (which on the surface it is, and there are some fine Pinots from the Santa Barbara County, California area where the movie is set).
Yet, behind all the Pinot worship is the underlaying theme of the movie: Miles' mid-life crisis. He is the forty-something wine buff and failed writer who is struggling to come to terms with his mortality, and despairing that he has "been on the shelf for too long". Miles' situation is echoed metaphorically in his treasured bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc (which incidentally means "white horse", and does not mean that this is a white wine).
And what is this Cheval Blanc of which Miles is so enamored? Surely, some type of Pinot Noir one might think? Well, no. The writers of the movie cleverly picked a blend of, you guessed it, Merlot and Cabernet Franc as the article of Miles' obsession. Cheval Blanc is a claret, or red Bordeaux Blend, produced in the St Emillon area of Bordeaux. It's usually a 50/50 mix of Merlot and Cab. Franc - which is not so typical in Bordeaux where Cabernet Sauvignon is the major grape varietal.
Escafeld Vineyards is located in California's San Antonio Valley. With regard to the grape varietals mentioned in the Sideways movie, Pinot Noir is not a good match for our climate. Ours is a region for warmer climate varietals, such as our Merlot or Zinfandel. We also have 2 acres (our Twin Vines vineyard) of red Bordeaux varietals (Cab. Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab. Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot) with which we plan to make our own Bordeaux blend (possibly using the "Meritage" monicker), and from which we will collect our first harvest this year, 2005.
Call me biased, but I think that Miles was right on the money with his choice of a red Bordeaux wine as his favorite!
Cheers!
Steve Wetherill
Chief Movie Critic
Escafeld Vineyards
Jolon California
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