Sideways Uncorked The Perfect Pairing of Film & Wine
By Kirk Honeycutt & Mira Advani Honeycutt
Praise for Sideways Uncorked:
“The Honeycutts’ account of Sideways and its reverberations is so thorough that even I learned things I hadn’t known. A delightful, accurate chronicle with great wine tips.” — Alexander Payne, director and Oscar-winning co-writer of Sideways
“A while back I made a film in one of loveliest places on earth. Lead by our fearless leader, Mr Payne, I was so inspired. Rare indeed to have words like those to say. The Valley is a place where, as the sun sets, the hills turn silver and gold. If you ever wonder what it was like, watch the picnic scene. That’s how it felt. So put your feet up and step into the making of Sideways.” — Virginia Madsen, Academy Award-nominated actress and film producer
“An astute and entertaining book about the making of a great American film and its unexpected aftermath in the world of wine. Film buffs and oenophiles should derive equal pleasure savoring the backstories that Kirk and Mira have uncovered in both worlds.” — Leonard Maltin, American film critic and historian
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Two stories unspool in Sideways Uncorked: the story behind Alexander Payne’s modern movie classic adapted from a most unlikely source—an unpublished novel by a burnt-out ex-filmmaker and wine connoisseur Rex Pickett—and the world of Pinot Noir (and Merlot) winemaking before and after Sideways was released. For as Kirk and Mira Advani Honeycutt show, the movie was a pop-culture phenomenon that dramatically impacted the wine industry.
Sideways Uncorked offers a tour of the lush Santa Barbara wine country that forms the iconic backdrop to Sideways, tracing the effect the story eventually had there and elsewhere. With ample narrative and special features (such as a curated list of wine recommendations from various wine regions), this is a one-of-a-kind book with behind-the-scene photos that will dazzle the palate of oenophiles and cinephiles alike.
Kirk Honeycutt is a longtime film critic, journalist, teacher, and author who wrote the biography John Hughes: A Life in Film. He was a senior reporter and then chief film critic for The Hollywood Reporter for twenty years. Before that, he was chief film critic and feature writer for The Los Angeles Daily News. He has contributed to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle, and magazines including Cosmopolitan and American Film. He taught film courses at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
Mira Advani Honeycutt has more than twenty-five years of experience as a wine journalist. Presently she is the wine editor at 13 Stars Media. Her monthly column “Sip & Savor” continues in the Paso Robles Press Magazine. She is a regular contributor to The SOMM Journal, The Tasting Panel, Sommelier India Wine Magazine and The Napa Valley Register. Her articles on wine and film have been published in The Hollywood Reporter and Los Angeles Magazine.
The couple lives in Paso Robles Wine Country on California’s Central Coast.
Sideways Uncorked: The Perfect Pairing of Film and Wine Published November 5, 2024 • Imprint: Applause • ISBN: 978-1-4930-7804-2 • $29.95 • Paperback original • 252 pages
