Being from WA state, I never really noticed a big down-tick in Merlot since we make a lot of good Merlots here.

Also, you’ve got to get Conan to wear the Oakmonster shirt. I could see him really getting into that as a ‘phrase’.

In Sideways the merlot issue was a metaphor for Mile’s hypocricy about everything else in his pathetic life. It isn’t a bad example for all of they wine drinkers out there who say I won’t drink this or I won’t drink that without trying it. I had decreased my buying of Merlots about 5 years before the movie came out because the prices weren’t matching the quality and have been drinking Pinot Noir since I first starte drinking wine. To this day, except for white varietals I’m not a strong believer in single grape reds. I like blended wines as the different varietals complement each other and if made right bring out the best. In fact Pinot Noir is one of the few red varietals that doesn’t benefit from blending. Good luck on Conan. I will certainly be watching as long as it doesn’t come on at the same time as the Daily Show or Colbert.

I usually disagree with Hollywood, so it is no surprise that my merlot consumption increased & my pinot noir consumption decreased! I can’t say it was a direct effect of the movie, but it was a definite response to the “fad”. If it is good, I drink it. If someone endorses it or smashes it, I could care less. (Unless you are Gary.)
For instance, Yellow Tail is “all the rage” in my area. I don’t like the stuff. But for some reason, a lot of “wealthy” people are into this wine & think that you are trash if you drink anything else. I can’t stand winesnobs. What’s the deal?
Good luck on Conan!

Good eps!

QOTD: Never was a very big fan of Merlots, it was a starting point at least 2 years before and got passed that pretty quick. Sideways did influence me to the point that I realized there are soooo many other wines and made me want to go to the wine country. I think its a good blending grape, especially with Cab Franc. Not really interested in revisiting them, too many other wines I enjoy…although the Umbria Merlot peaked my interest and at that price point its not too much of an investment!

Good luck on the show tonite…too bad you can’t hook up a link for us who don’t have a tv to see it!!

Great episode. I’ve been drinking wine for about 8 years and I’ve always liked Merlot. I like Phelps Merlot, but they aren’t going to produce it anymore 🙁 I have heard where other wineries are going to stop producing Merlot as well. It’s a shame because it’s a great varietal and can make lovely wines.

I was a fan of wine way before Sideways.

You’ll have to do better than that to make me want a Merlot!

QOTD – I only watched Sideways for the first time last week. I’ve never been a big Merlot fan, other than the right-bank stuff from Bordeaux. I don’t mind it as a minor blend component elsewhere. Pinot I’m OK with, not radical or anything, prefer the New World style. There are many other varieties out there, I’m still doing the rounds before I decide on any favourites.

Good luck tonight on Conan.

QOTD: Sideways didnt influence my decisions at all. However, I would imagine that for the people that were already into wine it wouldnt have. That being said, it did have a noticable imprint on the price of Pinot, so somebody out there was watching and being swayed.
I still enjoy merlot as much now as I did before.
Now go rock the crap out of Conan!

QOTD – only way that Sideways affected me is that it is forcing me to buy the same Pinot Noirs I used to buy at higher prices. Damn them for that.

Gary, did you change your video encoder? Doesn’t look so great, there are some “interlacing” artifacts.

QOTD: Sideways didn’t change my merlot drinking behaviour, but did make me check out some more pinots, since I wasn’t very much into them.

Hey there GV! Im a new vayniac and I’m digging it all! Great show and thanks for all your hard work! I’m out here in LA and im turning all my friends on to WLTV!

-Robert

QOTD: Maybe just a little.

GV,
Merlot is not one of my favorites , it was that way before Sideways.
Good luck on Conan’s show!

I’m surprised that the Falesco fared so well. I tried it once and didn’t like it at all, granted that was a couple of years ago.

QOTD: The only way that Sideways changed my drinking habits was the price of Pinot shot through the roof. As a result I’m drinking a lot less Pinot and a lot more of everything else. (That Silverado Merlot you tried some episodes ago was really good.)

Good luck on Conan O’Brien.

Didn’t get to see Sideways guess I really didn’t miss much from what I here.

QOTD: Merlots are one of my favorites as all reds.

Good luck tonight with Conan, Wifes taping it for me I have to work. DARN IT!

MB

QOTD – alright, I admit I started drinking more Pinot Noir. But I also started drinking more Merlot. I guess I just started drinking more after I watched that movie. But to give you credit as well, it was WLTV that got me to start drinking in front of my computer. So, thanks WLTV!

QOTD: Sideways dropped as I was getting into wine and honestly, it has been a struggle to get into Pinot Noir.

QOTD: Sideways dropped as I was getting into wine and honestly, it has been a struggle to get into Pinot Noir. It took some really great Pinots (in my opinion) to get me past the movie and into a place where I could respect that evil woman of a wine for who she is.

QOTD: Sideways dropped as I was getting into wine and honestly, it has been a struggle to get into Pinot Noir. It took some really great Pinots (in my opinion) to get me past the movie and into a place where I could respect that evil woman of a wine for who she is.

QOTD:our merlot consumption did not change, we never saw Sideways and we are not easily influenced by Hollywood (except watching you on Conan tonight)

Honestly, living between the Napa Valley and the Sierra Foothills, the wine trends of dissin’ Merlots and consuming Pinot Noirs was well underway before “Sideways” was even a screenplay. I personally think pretty much all wines can be made well and not well at all. I would drink a merlot if it was well made and I would turn my nose to a poorly made Pinot as well. I can’t stand when some people only drink “Cabs” or only drink “reds”. If a wine is made well, its good no matter what grape and what color.
Anyway…. Good luck tonight! I’ll be watching.

Sideways… A godsend to my wine experience. Here is a movie that gave popular culture permission to critically analize and even dislike a genre of wine. Merlot, boy there are lots of bad ones out there in my book they had it coming to them. Anyway, after seeing sideways it opened a whole new world. First thing we did, was plan a vacation to the wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley to enjoy the gorgeous countryside and find out for ourselves what this haunting Pinot thing was all about.

How about a Sideways winery Merlot recommendation. Check out Blackjack Ranch’s Merlot Billy Goat Hill 2003. Wow! now that’s something for Jack to knock back.

I’m still with you Gary! I have just fallen off the wagon as far as lurker status goes.
QOTD: I was new to wine when Sideways came out and definetly avoided Merlot for no good reason.

Can’t wait to see you on Conan.

QOTD:

Hollywood doesn’t affect me…whether its the politics, the wine of choice, or the subject matter, Hollywood’s opinion hardly matters. That being said, I did enjoy Sideways! Its a shame that the Merlot sales went down. The very fact that they did shows how many people didn’t actually pay attention to what the movie was saying. In fact, the character was making the case that Pinot Noir was his favorite wine for such and such reasons, and the metaphor was that Pinot Noir was similar in nature to himself. Anyways….