REMEMBERING SIDEWAYS

Hollywood gave the wine industry a long lasting, big boost. In 2002, the Academy Award® winning film ‘SIDEWAYS’ debuted. It follows two men in their forties who take a week-long road trip to Santa Barbara wine country where Hitching Post 2 and Hitching Post Wines are prominently featured. The film's success sparked a dramatic increase in tourism for the wine region, along with soaring sales of Pinot Noir nationwide. The effects are still evident. In 2024 the film celebrated its 20th anniversary with a number of special events and we were included. The Hitching Post 2021 Pinot Noir Highliner “20th Anniversary SIDEWAYS” edition was released in time for the festivities.

Our journey with 'SIDEWAYS' began in 1998 when Rex Pickett, the writer of the novel, frequented our bar during his trips from Southern California. Rex would share his plans of writing a book about our region, its wines, wineries, restaurants, and people - with our bartender and a waitress being part of it. I, being a bit skeptical, never thought it would see the light of day. But boy, was I proven wrong!

As location scouts began combing the Santa Ynez Valley, we realized that SIDEWAYS had become a reality. Rex really had written a novel, and director Alexander Payne had picked up that manuscript. His people were filming in many places that Rex had visited and written into his soon-to-be book. The Hitching Post was one of those places. I, still skeptical, wasn't sure I wanted the HP to be part of this. Would they treat the Hitching Post, all my friend's wines, and our region with honor and respect?

I met with the producer Michael London, and many of his staff. I asked a million questions. After reading the script, I had issues with some of the content. I met with director Alexander Payne to discuss these points. He took note of what I had to say, although I knew he wasn't going to change his movie on my account. But I was convinced he was a sensitive, creative, and very talented director. I knew we should be involved as much as we could.

Before filming started actress Virginia Madsen, who plays a waitress in the HP, came and spent time in our kitchen and bar to get a feeling of what that job is like and who we are. We brought her and actress Sandra Oh to our winery to show them how we make wine. We also took them to Au Bon Climat winery, where they enjoyed a famous Jim Clendenen lunch.

SIDEWAYS was filmed in our region over ten weeks in October/November 2003. They used the Hitching Post for three days.

We were braced for an uncomfortable experience, having heard that Hollywood filmmakers would trample our location and all of us in their way. Instead, everyone on the SIDEWAYS team was considerate and a pleasure to work with and to be with. They were all so glad to be working on this quality film with such an outstanding director in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. We continue to be thrilled and grateful to have been a part of this production!

Frank Ostini
Buellton, California
2025