The hit movie Sideways had a significant impact on the varietal Merlot, as the wine aficionado character famously bashed the wine as something of a rut within which he would not find himself bound, as he blurts out, “... if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any @%$#* Merlot!” The impact of the character’s pronouncement seems to have been that Merlot drinkers opened their minds to other varietals such as Pinot Noir – with which the character was enraptured – and made them think about breaking with their routine with a safe and mediocre wine.
California merlot had reached its peak in the min-nineties but soon fell into a state of being more like a commodity. Because of the popularity it had been planted everywhere, including places where it should not have been and a lot of boring wine ensued. “Sideways” made merlot drinkers pay closer attention to their drinking interests and made wineries rethink their merlot after so many complacent years. But there was a silver lining from the film’s impact. The weaker merlots were forced out when those grapes couldn’t be sold and since ninety percent of those vineyards weren’t suited to growing the grape, northern California’s wine country is left with just a select few wineries focusing on producing well received wine. While on wine country tours these days you’ll now be hard pressed to find any merlot in the vineyards or in the tasting rooms, when you do come across it, there will be no reason to avoid it like Miles in the movie “Sideways.”
