Merlot and The Sideways Effect

The popularity of Merlot has received a somewhat negative reputation among wine varieties over the past decade. In some part, this has been attributed to it's portrayal in the film "Sideways". This video explores the history of this classic wine grape, how it got it's reputation, and if there is any validity to the "Sideways Effect."

The wines sampled in this video are:
-Santa Alba (Central Valley, Chile)*
-Powers (Columbia Valley, Washington)*
-Trefethen (Oak Knoll, Napa Valley, California)*
-Château La Mothe du Barry (Bordeaux, France)*
-Firestone (Santa Ynez, California)
-Pozzan (Napa, California)
-Gen5 (Central Valley, California)

*These wines were selected with help from Seaboard Wine & Tasting Bar http://www.seaboardwine.com/

Reference material used in this video can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L_P7...

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

A full list of media used under the terms of Creative Commons and Fair Use can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13ztC...

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
2:21 What is Merlot?
3:34 How Did Merlot Lose Popularity?
6:06 The French Paradox and Merlot
7:38 After Sideways
8:38 Current State of Merlot
10:04 Conclusion

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• #wine
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• #merlot
• #pinot
• #santa_ynez
• #red_wine
• #bordeaux
• #wine_tasting
• #movie
• #film
• #video_essay