"sideways" news and stories

Merlot is a red-wine grape grown in many vino regions, including France (where it's the most widely planted grape for Bordeaux wine, accounting for two-thirds of the world's total plantings), the U.S. (mostly California but also Washington and Long Island), Italy and many New World regions (including Australia and New Zealand).

After the film Sideways (2004), Merlot morphed into a bad, sad reputation, its full-body profile snubbed in favor of other reds, including Pinot Noir. Yet it wasn't as terrible as what had happened in France years earlier: a severe frost in 1956, vintages left to rot during the '60s and Bordeaux's banning of Merlot vines between 1970 and 1975 nearly destroyed Merlot. In the '90s there was an upswing and Merlot soared back into popularity with Americans – only to be rattled once again when Sideways debuted. Now, however, Merlot is making a comeback, with many excellent bottles being released.

With the exception of White Zinfandel, Merlot may be the most-maligned wine in a couple of decades. In the 2004 movie Sideways, Miles, the main character and Pinot Noir lover, repeatedly trashes Merlot as the Worst. Grape. Ever. Somehow the wave caught on, and Pinot Noir sales soared while Merlot staggered along.

Of course Miles was right, to a point. The U.S. was awash in mediocre Merlot, most of which didn't even come close to realizing the potential of the grape. (Now we have the same problem with Pinot Noir, but I digress.) Merlot does have its merits, and I ask you to give it--or rather, certain bottlings of it--a chance.

Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot tends to be softer, less tannic, and fruitier. Its flavors range from cherry to black plum and a hint of herbaciousness. In Bordeaux, Merlot is one of the two main varietals (along with Cabernet Sauvignon) and on the Right Bank is the dominant varietal.

Read my Merlot recommendations after the jump.

I'm just barely old enough to remember my Mom and her girlfriends having Tupperware parties at our neighbor's house. Given that I was about five or so, I found it strange that a bunch of ladies would gather to kvell over and then purchase sets of air-tight storage containers. I must admit, however, that with their bright primary colors, radially patterned lids and burping seals, the containers seemed pretty neat at the time.

While I don't collect vintage Tupperware, I can almost understand people who do. What blows my mind is that not only is there an upcoming play about Tupperware, there's also a movie in the works. Both are timed to coincide with what would have been the 100th birthday of Earl Silas Tupper (1907-1983) who invented the plastic containers in 1945.

The play, Sealed for Freshness, a comedy by Doug Stone, opens in New York City next month. It takes place in the 1960s and involves five Midwestern women whose "airtight lives unravel during a sidesplitting Tupperware party gone awry."

Tupperware!, which is just about to start filming, takes a more serious approach tracing the genesis of the air-tight containers from leftover Dupont plastic to household word. Who knows, it might not be half bad. After all it comes from the pen of Jim Taylor of Sideways fame. Although it's sure to be the most comprehensive movie about Tupperware it's not the first to feature it. Apparently Tupperware Party and Love, Marriage & Tupperware started the genre.

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The last thing on your mind once you slowly slip into a food coma after the Big Feast tomorrow is getting up and doing anything active. In my family, it invites all kinds of things like the same stories from relatives, arguments, and questions from Mom and Dad about each of our plans for our futures. The best thing for my sanity, then, is to pop in a DVD to keep everyone quiet and entertained. While there are plenty of movies out there, we at Slashfood are, naturally, particularly fond of movies that have to do with food. Blogger Sean Timberlake has compiled a list of his favorite food movies, some of which are pictured above (each box links to Sean's review).

There are a few more on his list, but what are your favorites? Or are we just overdoing it a little, since the last thing you want to do after stuffing yourself is watching someone else do it on the screen for another two hours?

As many Slashfood readers must know by now, I truly love a good beer. I also enjoy good films, which is probably while I'll be skipping Beerfest.

In honor of that film, which seems to be in the same traditionof such classics as American Pie, The Miami Poetry Review, just posted a list of the "10 Greatest Beer Movies Of All Time." Without further ado:

1. The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933)
2. Three Little Beers (1935)
3. The Lost Weekend (1945)
4. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
5. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
6. Blue Velvet (1986)
7. Smokey And The Bandit (1977)
8. Beer (1985)
9. American Beer (2004)
10. Sideways (2004)

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