Member-only story

It’s 20 Years Since the Movie “Sideways” Changed the Wine World — And Me

Without Sideways, I wouldn’t be who I am today

Charlie Brown
Rooted
6 min readDec 14, 2024

--

Image courtesy of author

A movie is the reason I am who I am today, living where I live, working how I work.

It’s been 20 years since Sideways was released. That’s 20 years since a depressed, middle-aged man called Miles (Paul Giamatti) stood on the side of a Californian highway and shouted I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!

A throwaway joke that influenced the wine world in a way advertisements or PR agencies could only dream of.

I was 20 when Sideways was released, literally half my lifetime ago. I had only been drinking wine for a year and it was almost exclusively New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a splash of White Zinfandel thown in for good measure. I didn’t actually like wine, I drank it because it was a cheap way to get a buzz on a college budget.

But I did like the look of what was going on in Sideways. I liked the vineyards and the barrel rooms. The beautiful vistas. The sunlight. It felt like a world away from rainy, cold Britain.

I also liked how passionately Miles talked about wine. I didn’t feel passionate about anything at that point in my young life.

--

--

Rooted
Rooted

Published in Rooted

Deep journeys through food and drink culture. A boostable publication

Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown

Written by Charlie Brown

Food, wine & culture writer. 12+ years in hospitality. Editor of Rooted, a Medium food & drink pub. thesaucemag.substack.com

Responses (41)