Eliza Dushku as Joe

Synopsis

Based on a true story, Bottle Shock chronicles the events leading up to the famous Paris Tastings of 1976, wherein Napa wines bested the exalted French wines in a blind tasting and put California wines on the map for good. The story is told through the lives of father and son, Jim (Pullman) and Bo Barrett (Pine), who founded Chateau Montelena in the early 1970s and whose Chardonnay went on to win what was eventually coined “Judgment of Paris.” Jim Barrett, who had been a successful real estate attorney previously, is emblematic of the California vintners’ spirit — mavericks who had come to Napa on a quest to make world class wines.

Bottle Shock is many things: the story of Steve Spurrier (Rickman), an unwitting British wine shop owner in Paris whose publicity stunt set the stage for a paradigm shift in the wine world; a father and son story as Jim and Bo overcome their differences to save Chateau Montelena from creditors and what they think is an entirely ruined vintage; a romance between a young beautiful university student (Taylor) who came to learn the wine business first hand and wound up falling in love with a vintner’s son who was just coming of age; and finally, the story of a young Hispanic vintner (Rodriguez) just branching out on his own. Against the backdrop of the turbulent 70’s and in the shadow of the French who had dominated the world’s viticulture and viniculture for centuries, these “hicks from the sticks” rose up for California, for America, for wine. And the world of wine was never the same.

Images

Other Cast

Bill Pullman (Jim Barrett), Alan Rickman (Steven Spurrier), Chris Pine (Bo Barrett), Freddy Rodríguez (Gustavo) and Rachael Taylor (Sam).

Movie Details

- Screenplay by Jody Savin, Randall Miller and Ross Schwartz; loosely based on the ‘1976 Paris Tasting’
- Directed by Randall Miller
- Also directed Eliza in Nobel Son (2007)
- Filmed on location in Napa and Sonoma, California
- Limited release in Sonoma, California (August 2008); nationwide release August 6, 2008 (USA)
- Released on Region 1 DVD February 3, 2009
- Released on Region 2 DVD July 27, 2009
- There is another film covering the same historic event titled ‘The Judgement of Paris’.

Links

Gallery
Official Site
IMDB.com