Movies are more than just entertainment. They can exert great influence over consumer behavior. When Marlon Brando wore a white tank top in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, sales of white tanks and t-shirts skyrocketed. 2004’s Sideways actually helped shift the California wine industry. (More on that below.) And 2024’s Barbie wasn’t just a fun movie, it was a sales pitch for Mattel.

Movies can influence how we think about wine, what we drink, and what we think about people in the wine industry. Keeping this in mind, here are my top five wine-related movies (in no particular order), along with suggested wines to enjoy that “pair” well with each.

SOMM: Into the Bottle (Documentary – 2015)

The film takes you to renowned wine regions throughout the world and features winemakers, sommeliers, critics, and others in the wine industry to present a picture of how geography, climate, tradition, weather events, and human decisions shape what’s in the bottle.

Reasons to watch:

1. Especially for people who are relatively new to wine, this is an eye-opener to the people, history, and culture of wine that is done in a beautifully filmed and entertaining way. It is enjoyable and educational.
2. It is really refreshing to see a renowned grape geneticist and former professor of viticulture and enology ask, “Can there be any other business where there’s so much bullshit?”

Suggested wine pairing: Matthiasson Chardonnay Linda Vista Vineyard (which will explained in the first chapter)

Uncorked (Feature Film – 2020)

Not the 2009 Hallmark romance movie

Uncorked follows Elijah (Mamoudou Athie) as he follows his dream of becoming a Master Sommelier (one of the most prestigious credentials in the wine world) while struggling with his father Louis (Courtney B. Vance) who wants Elijah to take over the family’s barbeque restaurant.

Uncorked is a classic example of the conflict between personal passion and sense of duty. Elijah’s mother (Niecy Nash) is the glue that ultimately holds father and son together.

Reasons to watch:

1. People of color are underrepresented in the wine industry. It is encouraging to see a film about wine featuring black characters.
2. While the film is fictional, the blind tasting study groups and service practices are very accurate depictions of what candidates go through to achieve the Master Sommelier certification.
3. The way Elijah teaches a wine shop customer about wine by comparing them to hip hop artists.

Suggested wine pairing: Any Riesling (which Elijah says is like Drake – crisp, clean, smooth)

Sour Grapes (Documentary – 2016)

Not the 1998 comedy movie

Sour Grapes tells the almost-unbelievable yet true story of Rudy Kurniawan, a young wine collector who became the central figure in one of the biggest wine scandals in U.S. history. During the early 2000s, Kurniawan went from modest to elite collector, praised for his incredible wine knowledge, impeccable palate, and access/ownership of rare and expensive bottles.

As his collection and reputation grew, so did suspicion. Winemakers and collectors began noticing inconsistencies on the wine he was selling at auction for which he was making millions of dollars.

Reasons to watch:

I found the documentary fascinating for a couple of reasons.

1. The audacity this man had to attempt (and to a certain extent succeed) to swindle serious, knowledgeable collectors is quite astonishing.
2. The film exposes an ugly side of the wine world – rich, cringy, elitist men who seem to care only how much a bottle costs (the more expensive, the better) and how exclusive their “private club” of fellow pricey-bottle drinkers is. I was very happy to see some of them get duped.

Suggested wine pairing: Anything that isn’t counterfeit.

Sideways (Feature Film – 2004)

Struggling novelist Miles (Paul Giamatti) takes his best friend, has-been actor Jack Thomas Haden Church), on a week-long winery road trip through Santa Barbara wine country before Jack gets married. While Miles, a somewhat pretentious wine lover, wants to focus on the wine, Jack wants to have one last fling before he ties the knot.

Enter Maya (Virginia Madsen), a local waitress and wine lover, and Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a winery employee, and things begin to go sideways.

Reasons to watch

1. Miles’s love of Pinot Noir and hatred of Merlot actually impacted the California wine industry. Since the movie was released in 2004, plantings of Pinot Noir in California have increased by 170% while plantings of Merlot have decreased by 35%. This type of influence has even been called the “Sideways effect.”
2. The scenery is beautiful. The movie was filmed in the Santa Ynez Valley in California.
3. Miles’s descriptions of various wines are both eloquent and hilarious.

Suggested wine pairing: Fess Parker Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (Fess Parker Winery is where the infamous spit bucket scene was filmed.)

Bottle Shock (Feature Film – 2008)

Bottle Shock is a fictionalized version of the story of the 1976 Judgement of Paris, organized by wine merchant and educator Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman.) The wine world was stunned when California wines beat French wines in a head to head blind tasting, giving California wines the start of the reputation they have today.

The film centers around Chateau Montelena (a real winery), one of 11 California wineries featured in the real competition, and its owner Jim Barrett and his son Bo (Chris Pine). Father and son have different feelings about the competition and about the winery itself. While the main characters, the winery, and the competition are real, much of what happens in the film is dramatized.

Reasons to watch:

1. Bottle Shock is a fun way to learn about a major event in wine history that just celebrated its 50th anniversary.
2. Most people, especially millennials, will recognize Alan Rickman as Professor Snape from the Harry Potter movies.
3. Chris Pine’s hair…or wig. You just gotta see it.

Suggested wine pairing: Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay

What’s your favorite wine-related movie? Drop it in the comments and I’ll pair a wine with it.