A little ways back we mentioned that Merlot sales had dropped since the movie "Sideways" came out. This week in the LA Times they note that since that same movie came out, sales of Pinot Noir have skyrocketed.

In fact, Corie Brown notes that there are no less than 12 festivals dedicated to the grape and wine around the world.

A little about the wine from the article:

Pinot Noir is a single variety red wine from Burgundy, but there is nothing "hearty" about it. Perhaps more than any other wine, it reflects terroir. The soil it grows in, the weather and the touch of the winemaker are all in the glass, according to Allen Meadows, America's foremost authority on Burgundy.

"It is its sense of originality, of each wine's uniqueness that makes Pinot Noir distinct from other wines," says Meadows.

That also makes it difficult to find a great bottle. Fans call it an ethereal wine and wax on about the expansive array of red fruits, spices and herbs they taste in the glass.

But it's an unforgiving wine, and an unsuccessful version can unleash harsh flavors of unripe vegetables or heavy gobs of cooked fruit. It's a wine that can cost $200 a bottle and still be a disappointment.

I'm still amazed that a relatively small movie can have such a profound effect on an entire industry.