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1976 was a year that went down in history for many notable occasions; the United States Bicentennial, the first known outbreak of Ebola virus (I said “notable,” not necessarily positive), The Band held its farewell concert, The Last Waltz and Jimmy Carter defeats the incumbent (again, not positive). What didn’t garner much attention, except maybe to the drinkers of Blue Nun, was the solid drubbing France received at the hands of a little known winery in Napa California. Wine lists around the world would never be the same. Sacre blue!

Based on a true story, Bottle Shock was directed by Randall Miller and premiered at this years Sundance Film Festival. The film is replete with a splendid cast; Bill Pullman as the winery owner, Chris Pine as his slacker son (looking like he had his hair styled by the Geico cavemen barbers) and Emmy® winner Alan Rickman as the uptight and smarmy Brit living in Paris (winner of the Best Actor award at the Seattle International Film Festival). Nobody – I repeat, nobody does smarmy like Rickman. Rounding out the cast is Freddy Rodriguez (a personal favorite from Six Feet Under), Dennis Farina (Law & Order) and as the love interest, the spunky and adorable Rachael Taylor. Although he is mostly introduced for a little comic relief, seeing Dennis Farina don bell bottoms and a Huckapoo shirt is worth the price of admission alone!

Like most films chronicling true stories, you already know the outcome (think Titanic), so its how much fun and interesting the filmmakers tell it that makes it a good film. And Miller does a pretty good job of recounting the now-famous incident. And notorious it is! A bottle from the original batch rose from the cellar to being ensconced on the wall of the Smithsonian Institution. Now that’s acceptance.

Steven Spurrier (Rickman) is a British merchant who owned a specialty wine shop in Paris. In order to drum up some business and good PR, he organized a blind tasting seeking out wine merchants of Napa Valley. He wearily travels to California in search of wineries willing to participate in the contest. Enter Jim Barrett (Pullman), an ex-lawyer who left his briefcase behind to grow the perfect grape. He is joined in this as-yet unprofitable venture by his son, who regularly engages in boxing matches to work out their frustrations (and add a little drama perhaps?).

There are some tense moments; a love triangle, money (or lack of) issues, divorce, racist overtures – but Bottle Shock mostly stays out of the deep dark reds and spends most of the time in the white wine category – ya know, a little light with hints of humor and lots of good heart.

So grab a baguette, slice up some cheese (Swiss perhaps?), uncork a bottle of Chateau Montelena chardonnay and head over to your local movie theatre. Oh, don’t forget your corkscrew.

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