What Sideways Did For Pinot (and Merlot, too)

I was having a conversation with my gorgeous friend last night about Sideways and what sort of an impact it had on the wine industry. I'd read reviews with vague hints that the movie drove Pinot Noir sales in the US way, way up and Merlot sales way, way down. When I came into the office today, I decided to look around the web for more concrete numbers.

As it turns out, the numbers either way weren't catastrophic, but certainly impressive when considering the shift was driven by one relatively-small budget feature film. According to the Wikipedia Page on the film:


"Following the film's US release in October 2004, Merlot sales dropped 2% while Pinot Noir sales increased 16% in the Western US. A similar trend occurred in British wine outlets. Sales of Merlot dropped after the films release, presumably due to Miles' disparaging remarks about the varietal in the film."

I wonder if the new hot film on wine, Bottle Shock, will give a boost to Sanoma . . .