Bucolic region, seven AVAs, superb wines

Santa Barbara County’s wine region got more than its share of fame when “Sideways” hit theatres in 2004.

- Mira Advani Honeycutt 

The runaway success of this multi-award winning film put the bucolic wine region in the spotlight. The Windmill Inn, which played a key role in the film, is now the Sideways Inn and there’s a “Sideways Wine Tour” for the film’s fans. The film not only changed the landscape of the region but also impacted the wine market across the US. Sales of Merlot tanked while Pinot Noir skyrocketed.

“Sure, the film ignited sales in the region, with all these crazy people trying to relive the film,” commented veteran winemaker, Bryan Babcock when I met him at the recent 38th Santa Barbara Vintners Festival. Babcock’s tasting room in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area) was inundated by hordes of fans ready to discover this laidback wine region tucked along California’s Central Coast. Babcock’s theory, however, is that this explosion was predisposed. “Santa Barbara County was ready to explode anyway,” he insisted. “The movie just kicked it into high gear.” Dick Doré, veteran winemaker and co-founder of Foxen Vineyard & Winery, said, “Our tasting room went from 200 to 1,000 people; sales skyrocketed. “Sideways” took the shine off the bottle, made it human. It made wine real to a lot of people.”