Santa Ynez Valley Love Sideways and Wine

Filed in archive California Wines on April 11, 2006

It is amazing how much impact a movie can make. I already mentioned that Sideways gave Merlot a bad rep, but at least it did one good thing - it gave the wine folks in Santa Ynez Valley a huge burst of tourists who have come to experience something similar to the trip taken by Miles and Jack (minus the nervous breakdown and getting plummeted in the head with a helmet).

From Santa Ynez wine country basks in movie's glow: Sonoma and Napa valleys north of San Francisco may have been the birthplace of the state's wine industry, but Santa Ynez Valley is the latest star, especially if you saw "Sideways." The hit movie was filmed in the valley and featured the characters Miles and Jack on a wine-tasting road trip to salute Jack's final days as a bachelor. [...]

Solvang draws about 1.5 million tourists a year with its quaint display of Danish architecture, including a quintet of windmills and phony storks on the thatched roofs to bring good luck. Everything harkens back to the homeland -- Windmill Glassworks, Copenhagen Liquors, Hans Christian Anderson Square, Bit of Denmark Restaurant. No chain restaurants; not a Starbucks in sight.