THE 'SIDEWAYS' BUZZ ACCLAIMED FILM HAS TAKEN SANTA BARBARA'S WINE COUNTRY IN EXCITING NEW DIRECTIONS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY - Julie Knight hears ``Sideways'' chatter all day long. But the convivial pour girl at the Fess Parker Winery has to laugh when visitors to her tasting room act out a particularly spirited scene from the Oscar-nominated film.

It happens when actor Paul Giamatti's Miles character picks up a spittoon with both hands and guzzles the contents.

``People come in and lift up the bucket and say, 'This is what he did!' '' Knight said. ``I would have to be paid mass quantities of money to drink out of one of those things.''

Knight, standing behind the counter at the wood-paneled Santa Barbara County winery known for its full-bodied syrah grape, then uncorked a little Hollywood secret: When the gross-out scene was shot there in the fall of 2003, the spit bucket contained not Parker's top-rated red but unfiltered cherry juice from Trader Joe's.

Winemakers and restaurateurs are reporting soaring business even in what's normally the slow season, ever since the indie hit ``Sideways'' sparked a burst of interest in California vintners and the scenic Santa Barbara vineyards where much of the dark comedy takes place. Local merchants are bracing for further waves following ``Sideways' '' five Academy Awards nominations.

Meanwhile, real-life scenes echoing moments from the film have been playing up and down bucolic Santa Rosa Road ever since the pic opened in October. Tasting-room guests, for example, are uttering such scripted lines as, ``If anyone orders merlot, I'm leaving! I am not drinking any (bleeping) merlot!'' to knowing grins from friends and practiced amusement from the pour staff. At the Hitching Post, where Oscar-nominated Virginia Madsen's Maya waits tables in the film, diners ask the hostess if the sweet-natured fictional character is working that night.

``We tell them Maya's spending the week with Miles in Big Sur,'' said Frank Ostini, chef, winemaker and proprietor of the popular restaurant, which also bottles its own pinot. Ostini says that not only has business ``skyrocketed'' at his eatery, but the Hitching Post label is suddenly selling well in previously pinot-resistant cities like New York, Boston and Chicago.

The Santa Barbara Visitors Bureau has even created a ``Sideways'' map, now in its second printing, covering major spots. Van tours already have begun. And pinot is the name to drop at by-the-glass joints.

Richard Sanford, whose Sanford Winery tasting room in Buellton was used in a pivotal early scene, was especially pleased and surprised at an early screening when he heard Miles utter: ``Let's go to Sanford Winery. They make the best pinot noir in California.''

Sanford, who says he had no clue the glowing recommendation would turn up in the film, has seen thousands of new wine buffs making the trek two hours north of Los Angeles to dine at ``Sideways'' locations like the Hitching Post after sipping at some of the more than 60 wineries that dot the countryside.

``They did a great job showing wine appreciation doesn't have to be snobby and intimidating,'' the winemaker said.

Movie fans on the trail of the elusive pinot noir are also flocking to Los Angeles wine stores. ``It's the top subject of conversation in the wine world,'' said Jon Sievers, a manager at Canoga Park's Duke of Bourbon wine shop. ``The wine talk in the movie is extremely accurate. The writer and director obviously knew what they were talking about.''

Filmed in the gorgeous Santa Ynez Valley, the bawdy romantic comedy directed by Alexander Payne is highlighted by wine-friendly scenes like the one at Sanford where Miles sips and spouts: ``A little citrus, maybe some strawberry, passion fruit. And, ah, there's just, like, the faintest soupcon of, like, asparagus. And there's just a flutter of, like, a nutty Edam cheese.''

The film, adapted from Rex Pickett's novel by Payne and Jim Taylor, uses the complex, temperamental pinot noir grape as a metaphor for the human condition. A frequent visitor to the area, Pickett researched the region and its grapes for years before Hollywood location scouts began turning up in the valley in the summer of '03. The picture, which topped more best-of lists than any other '04 release, was filmed in Buellton over 10 weeks that winter.

``Rex used to hang out at the bar - he was just one of those guys who hung out, loved wine and had a crush on our waitress,'' the Hitching Post's Ostini recalled. ``He told us he was writing a book based on the area, but nobody believed it would ever be published. He came back a few years later with a copy of Variety that said he'd sold the thing to Alexander Payne. Again, we didn't think anything would ever come of it. Then the location scouts started showing up. And we just figured, who in the world would like a movie about a couple of jerks on a wine trip?''

On a recent overcast afternoon, Los Angeles attorney Errol Stambler and his wife were spending the day in Buellton sipping pinots and syrahs. ``I loved the movie,'' he said ``I'm glad it's doing so well. It's a wonderful, very well-made film. But it would be nice if we could keep this beautiful place up here secret a little longer.''

Alongside top-notch actors like Giamatti, Madsen, Thomas Haden Church and Sandra Oh, equal billing goes to such wineries as Sanford, Fiddlehead and Andrew Murray, plus local eateries like the Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant.

``Some of our bottlers are reporting a 25 percent increase in visitors and wine sales because of the movie,'' said Shannon Brooks of the Santa Barbara Visitors Bureau. ``We expect those numbers to jump this summer.''

Along with the map, tours of the area are offered at hotels up and down the coast. Interest is also being felt in Europe, where ``Sideways'' was screened for travel agents specializing in California two months ago. In fact, European media are expected in the Santa Ynez Valley in the coming weeks in advance of the movie's overseas release.

``The buzz on the local wineries and the focus on pinot noir is going to spread wherever the movie makes an impact,'' said Mary-Colleen Tinney, associate editor of Wine Business, a monthly wine industry magazine. ``One great thing about the movie is, it shows wine doesn't have to be snooty. There's that great scene where the main characters are listening to a British guy droning on and on about wine, and they just roll their eyes and walk away.''

Some genuine Central Coast locals turn up in the movie. For example, Chris Burroughs, tasting-room manager at the genteel 372-acre Sanford Winery, played himself in an early scene where Miles shows his pal Jack (Church) how to appreciate good wine (the wine they were tasting was Sanford's vin gris, a rose made from pinot noir - now sold out).

``I didn't know if I was part of the acting or the props department,'' joked Burroughs, shown in the movie wearing his customary cowboy hat and vest. In the cozy tasting room, color photos are displayed showing scenes from the film shoot. A ``Sideways'' lobby poster is signed by Pickett: ``Thanks for all the awesome wines. I toast you.''

As convincing as the movie's wine talk was, Burroughs says, few of the principal actors or crew aside from Payne and Pickett knew a great deal about the stuff. But, he added, ``A whole lot of people from the movie have joined our wine club since.''

Other acclaimed Hollywood pictures, including ``Seabiscuit,'' were shot amid the winding roads, horse farms and wineries of the area. But nobody could remember another film that used so many real-life locations.

``The movie is amazingly honest in the depiction of human nature, and they did justice to the beauty of the area,'' said Richard Cundiff, owner of the Los Olivos Grocery.

The film is honest, perhaps, but still fictional. And Burroughs, for one, wants to make perfectly clear that one of the film's main plot points, while intoxicating, is entirely imaginary.

``Tell the male population of Los Angeles not to expect to come up here and hook up with a gorgeous pour girl (as Jack did). It just isn't gonna happen.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, 3 boxes, map

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) `SIDEWAYS' ADVENTURES

Follow in the film's footsteps for your own tasting experience

Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer

(2 -- cover -- color) no caption (scene from the movie ``Sideways'')

(3) Chris Burroughs, left, Sanford Winery's tasting room manager, chats with Brett and Julia Pierce, visiting from Temecula. Burroughs and the Sanford Winery appear in ``Sideways.''

(4) no caption (wine bottles)

(5) L.A. attorney Errol Stambler, on a wine-tasting trip to Buellton

(6) Sandra Oh

(7 -- color) no caption (scene from the movie ``Sideways'')

Box:

(1) Affordable vinos

(2) Did you know?

- Daily News

Box/Map:

Santa Barbara Wineries Tour

SOURCES: Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission; Fox Searchlight Pictures

Warren Husky/Staff Artist