FILM: Sideways (15) plus California Wine Tasting

  Funny, intelligent, moving - Alexander Payne's 2004 drama, Sideways, is all these things. But what producers didn't expect, along with the all-round critical acclaim, was the boost the film gave to the wine industry.

  When you witness the joy that wine-tasting brings into the otherwise colourless life of middle-aged, wannabe novelist Miles (Paul Giamatti), you'll understand why: his paeans to Pinot are enough to make even a teetotaller want to drop everything and head for the nearest off-licence. His put-downs, aimed largely at Merlot, are delivered with equal relish; he compares the taste of one wine to 'the back of an LA school bus'.

  As well as showing the film in its original, big-screen glory, this event offers a chance to sample the wine Miles drags his former room-mate, the terminally adolescent Jack (Thomas Haden Church), halfway across California in search of. Four reds and four whites will be up for scrutiny and, though they won't be able to match the passion of Giamatti's on-screen performance, a professional wine buff will be on hand to guide the audience.

  The only downside is the natural effect of the wine. By the time the third reel rolls around, half the crowd could be asleep, and drooling on the shoulder of the person next to them. As the sign above the FACT bar puts it so neatly: How civilised