Oscar buzz helping the wine industry

Posted Thursday, February 3, 2005 at 4:06 PM Central

by John Couture

It's often been said that an Oscar nomination is like box office gold for the nominated film. But, with Sideways, the buzz is reaching all the way to the vine.

The five Academy Award nominations for the underdog, indie including Best Picture is having a great impact on the sale of Pinot Noir, a red wine. In the movie, Paul Giamatti attempts to use his knowledge of the notoriously fickle Pinot Noir grape to woo Virginia Madsen's character.

According to AC Nielsen data, U.S. consumers bought 22% more Pinot Noir in the four-week period ending January 15th than over the same four-week period from a year ago. A spokesman for Louisville, Kentucky wine producer Brown-Forman remarked, "This movie could help pinot noir replace merlot as the new hot red wine."