Sideways

Maya : You know, can I ask you a personal question, Miles?
Miles Raymond : Sure.
Maya : Why are you so in to Pinot? Miles Raymond : [laughs softly]
Maya : I mean, it's like a thing with you.
Miles Raymond : [continues laughing softly]
Miles Raymond : Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, it's a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It's, you know, it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... ancient on the planet.
Miles Raymond : What about you?
Maya : What about me?
Miles Raymond : I don't know. Why are you in to wine?
Maya : Oh I- I think I- I originally got in to wine through my ex-husband.
Miles Raymond : Ah.
Maya : You know, he had this big, sort of show off cellar, you know.
Miles Raymond : Right.
Maya : But then I discovered that I had a really sharp palette.
Miles Raymond : Uh huh.
Maya : And the more I drank, the more I liked what it made me think about.
Miles Raymond : Like what?
Maya : Like what a fraud he was.
Miles Raymond : [laughs softly]
Maya : No, I- I like to think about the life of wine.
Miles Raymond : Yeah.
Maya : How it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks, like your '61. And then it begins its steady, inevitable decline.
Miles Raymond : Hmm.
Maya : And it tastes so fucking good.