A Movie with a Historic Flavor and a Hint of Jocularity

Bottle Shock is an independent film about the story of the early days of California wine
making and it tells the now infamous and true story of the blind Paris wine tasting of 1976
where a Napa Valley wine beat wines from France that has come to be known as
"Judgment of Paris".  The movie chronicles the struggles of a small California winery,
Chateau Montelena located in the Napa Valley.                                               

Bill Pullman plays Jim Barrett, who gave up his law practice to run the vineyard. What
was to be his romantic entrepreneurial effort quickly became an albatross around his
neck.   His venture causes him to become financially overextended and cranky about
his seemingly failing venture. He also is not at all thrilled with his long-haired son, Bo
(Chris Pine). Also working for him is Gustavo (Freddy Rodriguez), who has a finely honed
palate and aspirations to make his own wine, and an eager intern (Rachael Taylor), who
has the attention of Bo and Gustavo. 

                                          

Meanwhile across the Atlantic, Alan Rickman plays the owner of a struggling vintner's
shop and wine academy in Paris who is seeking publicity for his foundering business. 
He is spurred on by the suggestions of a neighboring shop owner (Dennis Farina). So
Rickman decides to expand his wine collection to include global offerings and heads to
Napa Valley to see whether the wines grown there are any good. Along the way, he
significantly improves his own position and permanently changes the fate of the global
wine industry. Rickman rents a bright yellow AMC Gremlin which is a show stealer.  First
because who can image where they found this relic and second it too brings back the
memories of a time when Detroit had to reinvent itself to accommodate higher gas prices
from the early 70’s  as is now the case and second, it harkens back to a time when there
were four major US automakers.

                                                      

But it is the cinematography along with the cultural and historic context of the early days
of California’s wine industry that steals the show rather than the plot of romantic
entanglements and family conflicts.

The performances, particularly those of Pine, Rodriguez and Pullman, are excellent. Rickman
is great as a wine snob but proves to be even more than he appears. Bottle Shock is a California
crowd-pleaser with an intriguing story to tell. 

It is rated PG-13 for brief, strong language, some sexual content and a scene of drug use.
It’s running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes. 

If you have seen it, give us your review!