It’s 20 Years Since the Movie “Sideways” Changed the Wine World — And Me

Without Sideways, I wouldn’t be who I am today

Friends, I’m taking a break from writing on Substack over Christmas whilst I visit family in the UK, so this is the final essay of the year. Nothing Christmassy because let’s face it, there’s so much of that out there right now! I’ll be back in the first week of January.

2025 is going to be filled with more travel guides, more recipes, more essays on food and drink culture, more everything. It’s going to be an exciting year and I’d love to have you along for the ride. A reminder, I’ve got 30% off paid subscriptions if bought before the end of the year. Just click the shiny blue button:

Onwards.

A movie is the reason I am who I am today, living where I live, working how I work.

It’s been 20 years since Sideways was released. That’s 20 years since a depressed, middle-aged man called Miles (Paul Giamatti) stood on the side of a Californian highway and shouted I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!

A throwaway joke that influenced the wine world in a way advertisements or PR agencies could only dream of.

I was 20 when Sideways was released, literally half my lifetime ago. I had only been drinking wine for a year and it was almost exclusively New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a splash of White Zinfandel thown in for good measure. I didn’t actually like wine, I drank it because it was a cheap way to get a buzz on a college budget.

But I did like the look of what was going on in Sideways. I liked the vineyards and the barrel rooms. The beautiful vistas. The sunlight. It felt like a world away from rainy, cold Britain.

I also liked how passionately Miles talked about wine. I didn’t feel passionate about anything at that point in my young life.

Movies can seem trivial. A way to zone out and pass the time until real life kicks back in. But every so often, a film comes along that makes you question everything you previously thought was normal. It shifts your perspective.

Sideways was that for me.

Looking back, it was the reason I got into the wine trade. Everything goes back to that 20-year-old watching Sideways in her college dorm and thinking…

Hmm. Wine looks interesting.