Hollywood and Wine Consumption: The Sideways Effect

The 2004 film "Sideways" (an adaptation of a novel by Rex Picket) follows two middle-aged men on a trip to wine country in Santa Barbara, CA. Protagonist and wine connoisseur Miles well-spoken and has a highly sophisticated knowledge of and taste for wine. He is accompanied by his friend Jack, who is clueless about wine and comically delivers phrases such as "tastes great" and "pretty good" to describe the wines. In watching the film, I related to Jack but sought to learn from Miles' worldliness.

Throughout the film, Miles sings the praises of Pinot Noir, describing its flavors as "just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle". However, Miles is not as complimentary towards Merlot. In a key comedic moment near the film's climax, Miles declares about his dinner guests, "If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I'm not drinking any @#$%# Merlot!" Of all of the lines in the film, the Merlot line was by far the most memorable, for its absurdity and comedic crescendo. The film was met with critical acclaim and won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture and the Oscar for best screenplay, among other awards that year.

So what was the resulting impact on wine sales of the Miles' endorsement of Pinot Noir and derision of Merlot?

Researchers at Sonoma State University attempted to answer this question in a research paper published in 2009. The study concludes that the main impact of the movie was to slow the case volume of Merlot and increase that of Pinot Noir, with a similar shift in price reflecting demand for each varietal. However, the researchers concluded that the positive impact on Pinot Noir and overall wine consumption far outweighed the negative effects on Merlot sales and prices. Further, the study states that the negative effects on Merlot sales were only temporary. The researchers used annual scan data sourced from U.S. retail chains and also studies "non-Sideways" red wines, Cabernet Sauvingon and Syrah as a control group.

Despite the obvious statistical challenges for such a study, the observed impact of Sideways on wine consumption raises a few interesting points. The film was a modest independent production and had no product placement. However, the case highlights how eager the general public is to appear knowledgeable about wine, how easily customer sentiment can be swayed - and therefore how important marketing and consumer education is to wine sales. Many of our posts connecting Hollywood and pop culture with wine point to the fact that wine is a "status" good, in the same way that The Economist is (as we learned in strategy class, carrying a copy of The Economist is as good as reading it), or high-end luxury brands. An analog "status symbol" is like what the HBO series Sex and the City did for Monolo Blahnik shoes. This underscores the question raised in class of how much of our wine tastes are intrinsic and how much is influenced by status or perceived quality.

Fun fact: Either in a moment of irony or a joke intended for wine geeks, Miles' prized wine, the '61 Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which is another grape that Miles derides in the film.

Sources:
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=features&content=61265
https://www.sonoma.edu/users/c/cuellar/econ494/SideWaysEffect-JWE.pdf