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The Official Wine Thread

kwilkinson

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Originally Posted by foodguy
stupid movie with awful people. except for sandra oh and diane lane!!! and he's dead wrong about Merlot.

IMO, the entire point of the movie, or at least the most obvious part, was that he was lying about the Merlot or making a statement just about the fad of Merlot at the time. Since at the end of it, he's drinking a wine made w/ Merlot, that's what I take from it.
That said, I don't remember that much of the movie. I only watched it once, thought it was interesting, but not good enough to catch my interest for a second viewing. Maybe it deserves that. I can probably watch it again, I have nothing else going on lol.
 

foodguy

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seriously? pathetic loser dude steals from his mom to go on vacation?
 

gomestar

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Originally Posted by foodguy
seriously? pathetic loser dude steals from his mom to go on vacation?
A) he buys wine, so for me it's somewhat ok B) she totally knows C) wasn't much of a vacation for him in the first place, but that's part of the fun D) he ends up with a massive catch of a woman in the end, so it's all happy And Kwilk, watch again. I had the same reaction too. Then I watched it again and became hooked.
 

kwilkinson

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Originally Posted by foodguy
seriously? pathetic loser dude steals from his mom to go on vacation?

Originally Posted by gomestar
A) he buys wine, so for me it's somewhat ok
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And Kwilk, watch again. I had the same reaction too. Then I watched it again and became hooked.
I will try it again sometime after I get moved back. Let you know what I think.
 

itsstillmatt

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I couldn't actually finish it, but that doesn't mean much, because I don't finish about 75% of the movies I start.
 

gomestar

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Originally Posted by iammatt
I couldn't actually finish it, but that doesn't mean much, because I don't finish about 75% of the movies I start.

less patience than a born and raised New Yorker. Nice.
 

audiophilia

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Sideways. Brilliant. End of.

Bottle Shock. Crap, really. Nice aerials of Napa, but little else. IMO.

Caymus Zin tonite with a hell of a steak. Lovely.

Wine orgy tomorrow night chez nous. Stay tuned.
 

Piobaire

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Watching Gary Van-Ner-Chuck right now. I live streaming youtube through TiVo
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Tonight's dinner wine:

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My wines that arrived today:

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IMG_0879.jpg


Sadly, could be a few months before you see new purchases.

Thankfully I have oh, 500 bottles to draw from
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gomestar

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I love Rose. I don't drink it enough, but I really love it when the weather gets toasty.
 

Piobaire

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So "Cep" is the Peay off-brand. Apparently, it means the vine cordon pictured in French, and is also the name of a mushroom/fungus that grows in the area Peay has their vineyards.

I'll report back on this rose. I'm very excited about a great winemaker making a rose on purpose from great Pinot greats.
 

Ricardo Malocchio

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Originally Posted by foodguy
seriously? pathetic loser dude steals from his mom to go on vacation?
Yup. Some movies like to roll around a bit in the funk of real life, presenting its human subjects as flawed, even reprehensible creatures, but also with a generous, forgiving spirit that acknowledges the human condition. I think "Sideways" - and most of Alexander Payne's films, for that matter - are all these things. It's what lifts them above the usual schlock and dreck.

And, as has been pointed out several times here, the "no ******* Merlot", Cab Franc hating thing seems representative of Miles' internal contradictions, his self-sabotaging/self-hating character, his emotional paralysis after destroying his marriage, and his inability to acknowledge or accept happiness. Buried in the gloom of his closet, his precious 61 Cheval Blanc awaits an occasion that will never come, intended to be drunk on the 10th anniversary of he and his ex-wife's marriage. Short of that, no moment could Miles deem worthy of celebration.

And so, Merlot and Cab Franc become potent symbols of his own failures, reminders of all he's lost. Yet another vinous metaphor in a film overflowing with them.
 

gomestar

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is the "no merlot" thing a bit of irony in the film meant to play with viewers, or is it more literal. That is, does Miles not want Merlot and "pretend" to not like Cab Franc exactly because his prized Cheval Blanc is made of Merlot and Cab Franc? Early in the movies he very clearly says "I like all varietals"...
 

Ricardo Malocchio

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Originally Posted by gomestar
is the "no merlot" thing a bit of irony in the film meant to play with viewers, or is it more literal. That is, does Miles not want Merlot and "pretend" to not like Cab Franc exactly because his prized Cheval Blanc is made of Merlot and Cab Franc? Early in the movies he very clearly says "I like all varietals"...
I don't think Miles is at all self-aware as to why these biases are surfacing so violently. We don't understand either, at least not at first. Not until we begin to glimpse the causes of his deep funk, deepened further when he learns that his ex-wife is to be remarried. In some ways, in this way, it's a fairly subtle film.

At first, Miles is impossible to like, a mass of internal contradictions and emotional pathologies. Slowly, light is shown, and we begin to sympathize, to understand, to experience those "oh!" moments that make us rethink what we've seen and heard, to re-evaluate this broken man. What we take at first to be a fiercely held opinion becomes instead a reflection of deep loss. Miles' reflexive anger - his almost desperate rage "NO! *******! MERLOT!" - has nothing to do with the wine.

What is at first disgust, then pity, becomes so much more - a real rooting interest in this man returning to his life. Those final scenes make me tear up a bit just thinking of them. Miles' melancholy acceptance of total and utter loss after his ex-wife's remarriage as he unceremoniously sips the Cheval Blanc from a paper cup at a burger shop. Then, the soft-peddled, but eminently joyful triumph when he returns to Saint Ynez and we see his hand knocking on Maya's door. "Knock knock knock" like an ellipsis . . .
 

audiophilia

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I love the film, but I always fast forward the theft from his mom. It's so pathetic, painful and embarrassing. And I really love the character.
 

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