Indie “Bottle Shock” Holds Own Against Blockbusters (NAPSA)—In a summer movie season filled with explosions and pyrotechnics, a growing numberof filmgoers are getting a different kind of pop—uncorking a little indie about the birth of the nation’s wine industry. The film’s success is a tribute to the indomitable American spirit. After all, everybody loves an underdog—that surprising scrapper that manages to come out on top even whenall the odds are stacked the other way. Consider what has been deemed America’s greatest sports achievement of the 20th century, when the upstart U.S. Olympic ice The popular film “Bottle Shock” details how a small U.S. vintner put a cork in France’s domination of the world wine market. pulled off another amazing upset, but in a very different arena. In “Bottle Shock”tells the story of Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), who has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect wine at his Napa Valley vineyard. Meanwhile, in Paris, unwitting British wine shop chardonnay of the time—in a series of blind tastings known as tion that will pit the traditional ifornia wines on the mapfor good. The tale of this vintage show- What ensues ends up revolutioniz- hockey team defeated the heavily favored U.S.S.R. team in Lake Placid in 1980. Four years earlier, the U.S. 1976, a small American winery bested the exalted French “Judgment of Paris”—and put Cal- down reached theaters this summer (“Bottle Shock”). And in a case of life imitating art, the little film held its own against the giants of the industry—finishing in the box office Top 20 amid a sea of big-budget blockbusters. owner Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) hopes to revive his own business by sponsoring a competiFrench powerhouse vineyards against the California upstarts. ing the wine industry. To learn more about this hugely entertaining, lovingly reviewed American film and the entrepreneurial spirit that brought it to the screen, visit www.bottleshock.com.
