Movie Review: “Bottle Shock”
Alan Rickman in “Bottle Shock”
Rating: 64
“Bottle Shock,” the true story of Napa Valley vintner Chateau Montelena’s victory over French wines in the 1976 Judgment in Paris competition, could be the oenophile equivalent to sports underdog movies, but this rich story’s earthy charms result in something far more full-bodied.
Lawyer Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) bought Chateau Montelena in 1972, a time when the quality of Napa Valley wines was associated with Ernest & Julio Gallo’s jug varieties. By 1976, Barrett was scraping by, marginally assisted by slacker son Bo (Chris Pine), apprentice winemaster Gustavo (Freddy Rodriquez) and intern Sam (Rachael Taylor), who make sport of hustling barflies with Gustavo’s apparently infallible ability to name any wine by taste.
Chateau Montelena’s fortunes go on the line when British wine merchant Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman, excellent as always), takes a challenge by his American patron (Dennis Farina) to stage a competition between an emerging emerging Napa Valley variety and established French vintages. The story progresses as Bo finds a sense of purpose, Gustavo and Bo tangle over Sam’s affections, and Barrett’s Chardonnay evolves into a wondrous wine, despite some chemistry quirks that almost doom the entire batch.
Director and co-writer Randall Miller (“Nobel Son”) gives “Bottle Shock” an appropriately sun-dappled mid-‘70s feel packed with Bad Company and Doobie Brothers songs and an abundant love of wine. Pine, who will play James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” relaunch, distinguishes himself well as Bo, who went on to run Montelena in 1982. And Pullman, who rarely gets a lead role that displays his everyman gifts these days, is nicely convincing as a true believer who disciplines his son with boxing matches and who parlayed his determination into a game changer in the wine industry.
While “Sideways” was only peripherally about wine, “Bottle Shock” is a wine industry story with some drama and good humor thrown in to keep things rolling, and it’s not just nostalgic for the mid-‘70s — it captures a time when wine was more of a personal pursuit and far less corporate than it is today. Miller’s tale is not nearly as smart and beautifully executed as “Sideways,” but it is worth more than a cursory taste.
— George Lang
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