Class Explores Wine in the Movies

Wine and culture seem to go hand in hand. Many  movies feature wine as key plot elements or scene builders.  A Taste of Wine is hosting a 4 course series of wine tastings, beginning May 4th,  that will focus on wine being poured in the movies.  Lead by fine wine specialist, Laruen Wiethe of Cutting Edge, guests are encouraged to do their homework by watching the following movies:

Bottleshock – In 1976, Steven Spurrier, a sommelier in Paris, comes to the Napa Valley to take the best he can find to Paris for a blind taste test against French wine. He meets Jim Barrett, whose Chateau Montelena is mortgaged to the hilt as Jim perfects his chardonnay. There’s strain in Jim’s relations with his hippie son Bo and his foreman Gustavo, a Mexican farmworker’s son secretly making his own wine. Plus, there’s Sam, a UC Davis graduate student and free spirit, mutually attracted to both Gustavo and Bo. As Spurrier organizes the “Judgment of Paris,” Jim doesn’t want to participate while Bo knows it’s their only chance. Barrett’s chardonnay has buttery notes and a Smithsonian finish **Watching Sideways  – A wine tasting road trip to salute Jack’s final days as a bachelor careens woefully sideways as he and Miles hit the gas en route to mid-life crises.

Sideways– Miles is a failed writer living a meager existence in San Diego as an English teacher. With his career seemingly fading and the fate of a book hinging on a publisher’s decision, Miles is depressed with himself and what he hasn’t achieved. Jack is a television actor whom some recognize but not many do, as if he were a minor actor who got a taste of success. With his best friend Miles, the two embark on a road trip through California’s wine country. Miles wants to give his friend a nice sendoff before married life, while Jack simply wants to have a fling beforehand. As they’re both nearing middle age with not much to show for it, the two will explore the vineyards while ultimately searching for their identities.

Advance registration for this class is required and class will meet each Wed starting May 4th through  May 25th from 7- 8:30pm at A Taste of Wine in downtown Miamisburg. Class costs $10 and each week there is a $15 supply fee payable to the instructor.  Please refrain from wearing perfumes, colognes, or after shaves as this does affect the tasting of the wines.