I’m about two-thirds of my way though Rex Pickett’s sequel to Sideways called Vertical (yes, a review is forthcoming). While the book is an apt successor to it’s wildly successful predecessor, I don’t think we will see as much of an impact on the wine industry, or Pinot Noir in particular, this time even if they manage to make a movie from it (original cast, please).
But I do think we might see a Sideways-style effect if Pickett’s TV project, “The Nose,” is ever produced. Loosely based on wine critic Robert Parker and podcaster and all around hustler Gary Vaynerchuk, the series is being developed for HBO. As Blake Gray points out in his post there is a long road ahead before this gets a green light but at least the concept sounds like it might work. My opinion is not shared by Blake’s commenters right now but I think they are wrong 😉