Saturday, July 18, 2009

In vino veritas


"Wine is sunlight held together by water "

~ the poetic wisdom of the Italian physicist philosopher and stargazer, Galileo Galilei


Have you seen this movie? It made me laugh and I learned a thing or two so I thought I'd share with you. It starts out with this quote by Galileo spoken by Alan Rickman (Love Actually) as the camera pans over California's Napa Valley. A good beginning for a movie if you like wine and true stories. And wine.

Bottle Shock is a 2008 film that tells the story of the events that led up to the Judgment of Paris in 1976, when California wine beat French wine in a blind taste test. It stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine and Bill Pullman and is directed by Randall Miller, who wrote the screenplay along with Jody Savin and Ross Schwartz. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.












Sommelier and wine shop owner Steven Spurrier, a British expatriate living in Paris, concocts a plan to hold a blind taste-test intended to introduce Parisians to the quality wines coming from elsewhere in the world (and save his business in the process). He travels to the not-yet-famous Napa Valley in search of contestants for his Judgment of Paris taste test, where a chance meeting introduces him to floundering vintner Jim Barrett of Chateau Montelena. This twist of fate and the resultant oenological epiphany forever change their lives along with that of Barrett's son, Bo, as well as the fortunes of Napa Valley wineries and the global wine industry as a whole. (courtesy of wikipedia.)

"Bottle Shock" is a term that describes what happens when a wine travels from place to place. Although this movie is a true story, according to some of the reviews I've read, it was loosely translated. For more of the facts here is the book that inspired the film:



Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine (Paperback)
by George M Taber



I thought that there was so much to enjoy about this film. It was entertaining, fun and my favorite, a feel good movie! Alan Rickman alone is worth putting it in your Netflix queue, and oh that Napa Valley!


click here to go to the Official Website




With wine and hope, anything is possible.
~Spanish Proverb~


cheers~clink!


♥

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21 comments:

  1. NatalieJuly 18, 2009 at 4:26 PM

    You know how I feel about wine......Doctor says it is full of antoxidants too, and it used to be a fruit, so it is healthy! right? :D
    xx♥

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  2. xxxJuly 18, 2009 at 4:58 PM

    Sounds great and a must see. Will take a while to arrive here in Australia.
    I'm not a regular drinker of anything but coffee and water :)
    ... but I do like the occasional good glass of wine.

    best wishes
    Ribbon

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  3. xxxJuly 18, 2009 at 5:05 PM

    just watched the trailer and loved it :)

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  4. bodaatJuly 18, 2009 at 5:24 PM

    thank you for the movie recommendation! there are so many sucky movies out there that it's nice to get recommendations. :) I think we're watching revolutionary road tonight - fingers crossed it's good.

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  5. LoracJuly 18, 2009 at 5:39 PM

    Thanks Lori, will check that out. Hope you are feeling well these days!

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  6. Rosaria WilliamsJuly 18, 2009 at 9:40 PM

    Pass the bottle and let it roll.

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  7. AngelaJuly 18, 2009 at 11:17 PM

    Hahaha, very good! And we love Californian wine, too! All the sun is caught in there. Very well put, Galileo! Cheers and Prosit and Na strovye, clink!

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  8. karenJuly 18, 2009 at 11:42 PM

    Bonnie Lori! I love that Galileo quote! I've been out of blogging for so long... just been going back and loving your posts that I've missed. very special, all of them, as ever. Hope you are feeling much better now and you are enjoying your weekend xx

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  9. Fire ByrdJuly 19, 2009 at 1:29 AM

    Looks fun, I'll see if it's around over here. Yep Alan Rickman is so worth watching anytime.
    xx

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  10. AnonymousJuly 19, 2009 at 3:11 AM

    On my Must-See list - thanks

    Enjoy another glass of the finest of whatever vineyards take you fancy, is my motto

    xx

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  11. UnknownJuly 19, 2009 at 3:11 AM

    It looks brilliant - and frankly, I love ANYTHING with Alan Rickman in it! Definitely going to look out for this movie - thanks for the heads up, Lori! xxx

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  12. SammiJuly 19, 2009 at 6:33 AM

    I love wine and Alan Rickman, I think I may have to give this film a shot hee :o)

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  13. pink dogwoodJuly 19, 2009 at 6:44 AM

    "Wine is sunlight held together by water "
    ~ the poetic wisdom of the Italian physicist philosopher and stargazer, Galileo Galilei

    love this wisdom - and definitely putting the movie on my netflix queue :)

    thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  14. NancyJuly 19, 2009 at 10:09 AM

    Thanks! I'll see if netflix has the movie. I have only been watching things that make me laugh or entertain without violence. Which is harder to find than I once realized! Love Actually is my favorite all-time movie so this should be good.

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  15. maximusJuly 20, 2009 at 9:56 AM

    Unfortunately Ι haven't seen the movie, but I will.

    Anything! Cheers :-)

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  16. Lori annJuly 20, 2009 at 11:45 AM

    Natalie,

    right!! it's true though, 4oz a day of the red, like vitamins!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Ribbon,

    you will probably like a glass of wine to go with this movie, i hope you get to see it. the trailer is good, so glad you could see it at the least!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Bodaat,

    i've heard good things about that movie, let me know how you like it?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lorac,

    thank you so much, getting there...
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Rosaria,

    well put!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Geli,

    you would love it, the movie, because it opened the door not just to california wines, but wines around the globe. i like your toasts!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Karen,

    hey, so glad to see you again! i hope you are catching up slowly, taking some time for your self and still celebrating your birthday! i hope it was a great one!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Mandy,

    i hope you can see it. did you see Sideways? similar movies, lots of fun. be sure to have a glass on hand. wish i could come watch it with you!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Janet,

    exactly! that is what the message is at the end, wine going global. so great! one of my favorites is southafrican anyway!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Nicky,

    i hope like it and i've not sent everyone on a goose chase! haha! watch the clip if you can, its a good preview...
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Sammi,

    let me know, so far i'm the only one that's seen it (that i know).
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Bhavana,

    please let me know, it's hard to review movies, so i hope i've not led you off! haha!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Nancy,

    that is the truth, i only want to feel good when a movie ends. why would people want to feel anyother way is beyond me. Love Actually is the best.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Hi Maximus,

    let me know how you like it (hoping you do!)

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  17. ClarityJuly 20, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    Alan Rickman could read the phonebook and people would still enjoy it.

    He is one of our better actors, have you seen "Truly, madly, deeply"? It's sad and beautiful.

    I tagged you on my blog! - love, peace, x

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  18. Lori annJuly 20, 2009 at 12:50 PM

    clarity,

    wait, isn't that the name of a song? i'll have to check out the movie, thanks for letting me know!

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  19. AnonymousJuly 22, 2009 at 5:19 AM

    Excellent post. Alan Rickman is an outstanding actor so I'm looking forward to seeing this film. Thanks for the recommendation.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lori annJuly 22, 2009 at 11:48 PM

    thanks Des!

    i appreciate your comment. ☺

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lori LynnJuly 23, 2009 at 7:48 AM

    This movie plus Julia Child movie, I am in movie heaven! Thanks! Can't wait to see it.
    LL

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xoxo lori

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