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Bottle Shock (2008)

Bottle Shock. Feature film. (2008, 110 mins) IMDB

...a year of change...

T

here was a time when Californian wines were considered worthless. Swill to be drunk by the masses not enjoyed by connoisseurs. That changed in 1976 and the world hasn't been the same since.

The film follows the life of a bunch of characters on the Chateau Montelena vineyard in Napa and their pursuit to make the best wine possible. It also follows a Englishman who runs a wine shop in Paris. He visits Napa to collect wine for a blind tasting in France. To everyone's surprise, the Californian wines placed first. The rest is history.

When the film was over, I discovered this was a biographical film.

I found the film mildly interesting. The most interesting performance is Alan Rickman's. He speaks in a way that always demands attention except when he speaks French. It was painful to hear him speak in French.

Otherwise the film is mostly melodramatics and predictable.

Posted 2009/05/11 at 20h31ET in Movie Commentary.

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