"Pinot is a hard grape to grow….It’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s not a survivor like Cabernet that can grow anywhere and thrive when neglected. Pinot needs constant care and attention and in fact can only grow in specific little tucked-away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing growers can do it really, can tap into Pinot’s most fragile, delicate qualities. Only when someone has taken the time to truly understand its potential can Pinot be coaxed into its fullest expression. And when that happens, its flavors are the most haunting and brilliant and subtle and thrilling and ancient on the planet."

From the screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor of the novel, Sideways, by Rex Pickett.

Miles, the chap who speaks these words in the movie while musing on a late night veranda with a glass in hand and flirting with a beautiful wine-savvy woman, may also have been talking about his own character of course. I wonder why he ended the movie quaffing into a big Bordeaux though, a Cheval Blanc? I guess it was with fast food, so didn't matter to him enough.

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