My thoughts on "Sideways"

The enormously successful movie "Sideways" opened in Spain about a week ago and has been enjoying a good box-office here, too. My wife and I managed to get to the theater last weekend to see it. We both really enjoyed this very human look at wine geeks and their friends.

Its always interesting to see how local distributors translate the names of movies and this one is no exception. The direct translation of the Spanish title "Entre Copas" is Between Glasses, which, as I see it is a commentary on the challenge that the lead character, Miles, has living his life when he's not talking about or tasting wine. If he has a glass of wine with him to focus on and obsess over, he's OK. Without it, he becomes depressed. I have seen some reviews that suggest this is alcoholism. I disagree. It is wine-geek-ism, or in Miles' situation, Pinot Noir-ism.

Above all, it is Maya's description of wine as a living thing that really comes closest to capturing the mysterious allure of wine and all that goes with it - great entertainment.