everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

It's 1976 Calistoga, California. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) is desperate to scrap up the money to perfect his chardonnay. His son Bo (Chris Pine) is a lot less patient. Sam Fulton (Rachael Taylor) surprises everybody as the new intern. Gustavo Brambila (Freddy Rodríguez) is the foreman trying to make his own wine, and Bo's best friend. In Paris, sommelier Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) has a failing wine shop. He is challenged by his next door neighbor American Maurice Cantavale (Dennis Farina) to go taste some Californian wine. He goes to find some Californian wines to challenge the french ones in a blind taste test. He has a roadside breakdown and Jim Barrett coincidentally rescues him. He is amazed at Jim's wine and the rest of the area wines.This is a nice charming true story. Alan Rickman has a friendly snotty attitude. He's snobby without being arrogant. I think that's the key. He's actually likable. As for the romantic triangle, I like the hot girl not picking the handsome leading man but then she changes her mind. It's balanced out by an angry Bill Pullman. He provides the little bit of drama in the movie.

This is very much worth watching! And you don't really even need to know anything about wine to enjoy it.A wonderful story and well made film, it sets the tone early on, and gives every character a chance to tell their story, one way or another. It does very well about not going into great depth about the how and why winemakers/vintners and judges go about what they do, but you see and hear just enough about it to satisfy any curiosity.Coupled with a very good cast, this movie is also easy to watch, which adds to the enjoyability. The costuming seems to be done quite well, and a standout of the 'set dressing' to put you into 1976 is well done - particularly with the vehicles!

To compare this movie to sideways is a JOKE. In fact, I believe that the comparison that I keep seeing to sideways is what has been getting this movie such negative press. Bottle Shock was a delightful, playful, telling of the story of Château Montelena, which won the 1976 Paris blind tasting in regards to Chardonnay. There is just enough comic relief to keep viewers happy, and the story has its ups and downs, keeping the viewer engaged as well. Not to mention, this is, by all means, a star studded feature. Just because you do not see Brad Pitt or George Clooney, does not mean this film is lacking in star power. Chris Pine (who is now captain James T. Kirk) and Bill Pullman (he's the guy who always plays our president in blockbuster films, e.g. Independence Day) do just fine on their own. Throw in Dennis Farina (Law and Order) and Alan Rickman (Snape in Harry Potter) and you have more star power that most movies can hope to gather. Long story short, the correct cast was billed for the telling of this wonderful event in American history. You do not have to be a wine enthusiast to enjoy this movie.

There have been one or two films about wine over the years, but very few about American wine. This independent film, I guess, looks to cash in on the critical success of the very enjoyable Sideways (2004). It is based on true events, but unfortunately it doesn't quite hit the mark, for me at least. But more of that later.This film tells the story of how, in 1976, Californian wines from the Napa valley became internationally acceptable. It all came about because a rather stuck-up wine expert, based in Paris, called Steven Spurrier decided to broaden his horizons and arrange a blind tasting of French and American wines. We then learn about the lives of those making the wine. In particular vineyard owner Jim Barrett and his son Bo, and some of the people they employ, Gustavo Brambila and Sam Fulton. Mr Spurrier goes to the Napa Valley and tastes all of the wines on offer. He makes a list of the best of them and samples are shipped to France for the tasting. And this is where history is made.You would think, from my very short synopsis that the plot would concentrate on the Steven Spurrier character, but no. The vast majority of the film is taken up with the relationships between Jim, Bo, Sam and Gustavo. Although, yes, that part of the story was interesting up to a point, the important events were kind of just thrown in here and there. This made for quite a disjointed film that I found a little difficult to watch. Having said that the cinematography was spot on, some great use of the scenery and the light. Nobody particularly stood out, for me as far as performances go, though Alan Rickman was pretty good as Steven Spurrier. Honourable mentions go to Bill Pullman as Jim Barrett, Chris Pine as Bo Barrett, Rachael Taylor as Sam Fulton and Freddy Rodríguez as Gustavo Brambila.Over all I didn't warm to the characters in this film as much as I though I would and that made it kind of disappointing for me. The cinematography was good but the plot needed to be refined a lot more. It's not a great film, but not a bad one either. I won't be watching it again in a hurry, but if you're not averse to downing a bottle or two and you love the Napa Valley then I guess it's recommended. Otherwise, maybe give it a miss.My score: 6.1/10