BUELLTON, Calif. – Frank Ostini can't seem to keep his cocktail napkins in stock. The owner of the Hitching Post II (search) restaurant, featured in the Oscar-nominated film "Sideways", is on ...

It’s already been two decades since “Sideways” pals Miles and Jack toured the Santa Inez Valley north of Santa Barbara and Miles, played by Paul Giamatti, declared, “I am not drinking any ...

Hitching Post II, which was popularized by the film “Sideways”, will open a new tasting room next door to the now iconic restaurant. Founder Frank Ostini and partner Gray Hartley’s expansion ...

It happens once in a generation. Pop culture and entertainment collide, a meme is made, and history is forever altered. Santa Barbara County has a hand in the wine world being changed for decades ...

Ostini estimates that the restaurant was 40% busier for several years after the movie’s release, and the Hitching Post’s wine production in the years following went from from 2,000 to 4,000 cases.

The movie "Sideways" — and the line "if anybody orders Merlot, I'm leaving" — sparked a wine conversation that's still going strong.

After “Sideways” came out in 2004, the highways, hotels, restaurants and — especially — tasting rooms of the valley were crowded.

Our Journey with SIDEWAYS began in 1998 when Rex Pickett, the writer of the novel, would often visit our bar during his trips from Southern California. He shared his plans to write a book about ...