In 1976, when California wines were regarded on the international market about the same way that kung fu movies were at the Academy Awards, a tasting competition was held in Paris between some Napa Valley product and the homegrown. In a blind sampling, the Parisian panel was shocked to discover that the wine they rated highest was a California chardonnay. At a time when a well-stocked wine store offers good wines from every part of the globe, it’s worth remembering that as recently as three decades ago the phrase “French wine” was considered redundant by many serious oenophiles. A film about what came to be known (with hopefully mock portentousness) as the “Judgment of Paris,” Bottle Shock is a mild-mannered feel-good story that could have done with a little more of the in-your-face attitude implied by its title. Alan Rickman plays Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant trying to make a go of it in Paris but unable to gain acceptance into the entrenched establishment. His only regular customer is Maurice, an American travel agent whose shop is next door. (He’s played by Dennis Farina, and their scenes together are the highlight of the movie.) In order to drum up some attention for his business, Spurrier gets the idea to travel to California, sample the local vintages, and bring some selections back for a competition. He may be a snob but he’s an open-minded one, and Rickman is a delight to watch as he lets his guard done ever so much to let in such California experiences as guacamole and fried chicken. The problem with Bottle Shock is that there’s far too little of him, not enough of Bill Pullman as a former lawyer trying to make it as a vintner, and far too much about the personal difficulties of Pullman’s son, played by Chris Pine in about the worst wig seen onscreen since the heyday of Divine. (If the name vaguely rings a bell, Pine will be playing the young James T. Kirk in J. J. Abrams upcoming Star Trek: The Early Days movie.) You can’t really dislike this movie, especially if you enjoy the occasional glass of vino: Even though it’s ending is anything but a surprise, writer-director Randall Miller manages his clichés with panache. It’s just hard not to wish that he had recognized the more interesting characters in this story and pared down the others.

—m. faust