Vinters, hold on to your wine glasses. Bottle Shock, which is based on a true story, is an informative, entertaining and slightly long-winded film about the Judgment of Paris, a 1976 tasting competition between the finest French wines (long-thought to be the best in the world) and California’s Napa Valley crop.

Bottle Shock is about Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman of Snow Cake, and Love Actually), a British oenophile and wine salesman living in Paris, who takes it upon himself to travel to California to sample the local wines. While he clearly expects a bunch of hippie, hillbilly rednecks making moonshine, he soon discovers that some of the best wines heís ever tasted are being made there. Along the way, he meets the makers (including Bill Pullman, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, and Chris Pine).

Pullman (You Kill Me, The Grudge) plays Jim Barrett, owner and operator of the Chateau Montelena vineyard; Pine (Smokiní Aces, Just My Luck) plays Barrettís son, Bo (though why he was forced to don a wig that looks like a ratís nest is beyond meóit was so distracting that every scene he was in was overshadowed by the thing!); Taylor (Transformers, See No Evil) plays Montelena intern Sam; and Rodriguez (Grindhouse, Bobby, ìSix Feet Underî) plays Montelena vinter Gustavo, who years to break out on his own.

The film also stars Bradley Whitford (An American Crime, ìThe West Wingî), as a local wine expert and professor; Dennis Farina (The Grand, You Kill Me) as Maurice, an American wine lover and frequenter of Spurrierís shop in Paris; Miguel Sandoval (The Killer, Nine Lives); Joe Regalbuto (ìMurphy Brownî); and Eliza Dushku (ìTru Callingî, ìBuffy The Vampire Slayerî), as the local bartender and supporter of local wines.

Bottle Shock was co-written/directed by Randall Miller (Houseguest, The Sixth Man), and while his film meanders between fine wine making and tasting, to sub-plots involving debt, personal betrayal and liberal sexual activity, it is when he sticks to the wine that he truly shines.

The film is presented in 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1. and optional subtitles in English and Spanish. Extras include audio commentary with Miller, Pine, Pullman, Dushku, and co-producer J. Todd Harris and co-writer Lannette Pabon. Featurettes include “An Underdog’s Journey: The Making of Bottle Shock”, which features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew, as well as the real-life Barrett family; and “Chateau Montelena: One Winery’s Search For Excellence,”, a short infomercial. Rounding out the extras is a handful of deleted scenes.

The film is rated PG-13 ìfor brief strong language, some sexual content and a scene of drug use.î It has a 110-minute run time.

Fans of wine making, particularly that of the Napa Valley region, are sure to enjoy Bottle Shockís peek at the start of the industry. The scenery alone is worth the watch.

I give Bottle Shock 3 stars out of 5 stars.