This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
At the time, no one could have predicted such a phenomenon. Twenty years after the film’s theatrical release Adrift (Sideways in VOA), its effect is still felt, like a refreshing ocean breeze in the Santa Ynez Valley, whose face has been forever transformed by the magic of this road trip intoxicating.
There was a time when wine lovers swore by the hills of Napa and Sonoma. The Santa Ynez Valley was still a well-kept secret. A treasure carefully hidden behind the mountain ranges of Santa Barbara County, which suddenly found itself on the bill for a “low-budget” film directed by one Alexander Payne. Premiered on September 13, 2004 at TIFF, Adrift has shaken up the California wine landscape.
The surprise success of the acid comedy, which won two Golden Globes and an Oscar, led hordes of moviegoers to follow in the footsteps of the unlikely on-screen duo of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. The vineyards where Miles, the failed and divorced writer, and Jack, the second-rate actor and notorious runner, sipped pinot noir to jazz music were stormed by a sometimes unexpected clientele.
Madly, passionately
“Limousines showed up with young people full of piercings and tattoos. It was unheard of,” recalls Foxen co-founder Dick Doré. A key figure in the region, this proud winemaker witnessed the effect AdriftIt was on his land, in an old forge transformed into a rustic tasting room, that Miles and Jack took advantage of the innocence of a waitress who had her back turned to them to grab a bottle and fill their glasses on the sly.
Beyond that scene that put Foxen in the spotlight — and caught the attention of the hundreds of journalists covering Michael Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial in nearby Santa Maria — the story of Adrift literally took root in this isolated vineyard. Rex Pickett, the author of the eponymous novel adapted by Alexander Payne, was a regular there. A Foxen employee, for whom he had a serious weakness, even inspired the character of Maya, played by Virginia Madsen.
“She was happily married. But Pickett imagined a whole story with her,” says Jenny, Dick Doré’s wife. In the film, Miles, the alter ego of the author of Adriftstruggles to find the words to declare his love for Maya. He is, however, much more eloquent in expressing his passion for Pinot Noir. “It is a difficult grape variety to cultivate,” he says. “It has thin skin, is capricious, ripens early. Pinot needs constant care and attention.”
A land blessed by the gods
The line, which has become a cult classic, has sent sales of the famous nectar through the roof. “The movie really opened people’s eyes to the beauty of Pinot Noir. I don’t think there was a lot of understanding of the grape before that, at least in the United States,” Richard Sanford tells me. The Vietnam War veteran was the first winemaker to plant the delicate grape in Santa Barbara County in the early 1970s, after spending three years on a destroyer in the South China Sea.
The “Godfather of Pinot Noir” didn’t choose his anchor point by chance. With cool ocean breezes that caress the vines at nightfall, the Santa Ynez Valley offers an ideal microclimate for Pinot production. Many winemakers have followed Sanford’s lead and capitalized on the effect Adrift to establish itself in this land blessed by Bacchus. For its part, the tourist office has drawn up a map of the filming locations of the film, which are all essential stops on the Pinot Noir route.
From wine to the mill
” Adrift “has remained etched in the public’s memory, and its influence is still felt daily in the region,” says Shelby Sim, director of Visit Santa Ynez Valley. Twenty years later, people still flock to visit Richard Sanford’s old tasting room, the first stop on Miles and Jack’s road trip, or Kalyra Vineyard, where the two friends met Stephanie (Sandra Oh). Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe, where Miles delivered his famous rant that caused a collapse in Merlot production, is also a popular pilgrimage site.
Most of these iconic spots have remained unchanged, like the Solvang Restaurant and Hitching Post II, Frank Ostini’s cozy inn whose reputation owes as much to its divine Highliner pinot as to its appearance in Adrift. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, on the other hand, would have a hard time recognizing the Windmill that served as their base camp in Buellton. Apart from its famous windmill and its hot tub, the establishment has little in common with the motel in the film.
The Sideways Inn, as it is now known, has undergone extensive renovations to upgrade its status and offer its guests all the charm and comfort of a boutique hotel. But if you want to book room 234, you will need to book well in advance. The two beds queen once occupied by Miles and Jack remain the most sought after. Further proof – if any were needed – that the effect Adrift continues to flow a lot of wine into the Santa Ynez Valley.
Between fiction and reality
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.