Made people think it sucks. The wine so famously maligned in … What is wrong with merlot sideways? Believe it or not… This ONE line in an indie movie with a $12 million budget… Killed Merlot wine sales! They buy more merlot … I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot! Many folks will tell you that “Sideways” killed the market for Merlot. Example: Wine drinkers buy more merlot than zinfandel, syrah, and riesling combined. While that is an exaggeration, there is truth to it. "Sideways at 10: Anybody for a nice glass of merlot?" Not exactly. The movie Sideways killed merlot. Sideways. The film Sideways, released in 2004, had a very positive effect on Pinot Noir sales, courtesy of Paul Giamatti’s character, Miles, and his effusive praise of that grape. It also effectively killed the merlot industry and sent sales of pinot noir through the roof. The 2004 movie about an obsessive wine snob helped boost California's pinot noir production by 170 percent. https://www.thewinestalker.net/2014/04/the-sideways-effect_9.html ... By that time, the disease had killed over 200,000 Americans. Yes, even in other states. A few days later it hit me, Miles killed himself. While that is an exaggeration, there is truth to it. The demand for Merlot in the US and Britain fell after the movie, while Pinot Noir sales (and prices!) Alexander Payne is a ... and he also disparages merlot, outright refusing to drink it at one point. The article discusses the line that stirred controersy and many say, shot a hole in the merlot market. Movie wine snob, Miles, played by Paul Giamatti responded to to the offer of a glass of merlot: "If anyone orders merlot, I'm leaving. It gave Merlot a terrible stigma. And merlot? And, sales dropped everywhere. Sideways is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. And I mean, just killed them. rose considerably, much to … Conventional wisdom has it that Sideways killed Merlot and crowned Pinot. A 2009 study by Sonoma State University found that Sideways slowed the growth in Merlot sales volume and caused its price to fall, but the film's main effect on the wine industry was a rise in the sales volume and price of Pinot Noir and in overall wine consumption. If anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving.