In 1976, an Englishman named Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman), who owns a struggling wine shop, decides to stir things up a bit by including some California wines in a blind taste testing in France. No way would the French choose a California wine over their own. When they do, we have a story! 

The wine that was selected was from Chateau Montelena, run by Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman). The winery is on its last financial leg and Jim’s son Bo (Chris Pine) talks the wine game, but up until all the chips are on the line, is a total goof ball. A romantic twist between Bo, summer intern Sam (Rachael Taylor) and Jim’s employee Gustavo (Freddy Rodriguez) adds a romantic edge to the film. 

With a story where good people overcome impossible obstacles, it’s predictable, yet the film is consistently enjoyable.   

Life can be corny, and if we didn’t know the story was based upon a factual situation we’d have trouble accepting the premise, which looks like it was made up by some Hollywood writers who’ve taken too much of a mind altering substance. The film got better as it progressed and by the time it passed the half-way mark, it was quite good. Were it not for Sideways, with its exceptional acting and characters, this would be deemed an even better movie. A few of the characters and situations were a touch more than central casting allows for a great movie.