Words of Praise

  • I've been a member of "Maya's Collectible Selections" since the beginning. The arrival of your wines always makes me a little nostalgic for all the fun we had making the movie, but also appreciative of all the great wine you've sent ever since! Thanks for all your hard work and the continued supply of the monthly surprises - Michael London, Producer of "Sideways"
  • I can't tell you how much I look forward to receiving 2 new bottles ever other month. The fact that there is someone out there doing what you do provides a sense of looking forward and excitement...hope you keep it up! ~ Seth Pariser
  • Dave - a quick note to tell you how much my wife and I enjoy the wines you send us. Your wine club has consistently sent great tasting wine from the very beginning - and that is quite a record, seeing as I was one your inaugural members back in 2005. So keep up the great job - both you and your club have exceeded my expectations. ~ Mo
  • The arrival of a Sideway's Wine Club shipment is doubly exciting. Not only do I get great wine - but the recipes are out of this world!!! ~ L. Hyde
  • Dave - I make it a priority to try the recipes from each shipment and have yet to be disappointed. I've even shared them with my butchers! ~ Liesl H.

About Us

Why base a wine club on the movie "Sideways"? Because we're a combination of the people in the movie - passionate about wine but think it should be fun first and foremost. The movie was made by avid wine lovers, and our sampling club extends the movie's love for wine into our member's reality.

We were selected by Fox Searchlight Pictures to become a licensee because of our wine knowledge and our interest in the boutique wines the movie popularized. Three of our wine clubs bear the names of characters from the movie, reflecting their personalities - Jack's Party Wines, Maya's Collectible Wines, and Miles' Premium Pinots.

We continue in the spirit of Sideways, sharing our passion with wine fans new and old.

About Dave

Dave Chambers Wine Merchant

Decades ago, during my post-college salad days, wine was merely a nascent interest. I soon realized there were too few hours in the day to keep up all the developments in the wine world, but I loved few thing more than discovering a great new wine I could afford! I soon learned that it was as much fun to entertain dates at home with food and wine, and soon built a circle of friends (and girlfriends, and ex-girlfriends!) who enjoyed spending time in the kitchen and at the table.

Over the next 25 years of employment in other industries, my passion for food and wine was fed by a growing curiosity. I tried to scratch that itch by attending wine and cooking schools, traveling to obscure wine-growing regions, and volunteering to help during harvest and crush. Eventually I realized the more I learned, the more I didn't know. And I became hooked.

I designed and taught my first wine classes in the early 1990's and discovered the joy of sharing one's enthusiasm - creating an initial spark of understanding is an intrinsic reward all good teachers enjoy. Today, my classes and wine events are specifically designed to engage participants as they discover new taste and aroma sensations, and better understand their likes and dislikes.

Through the years I developed a cadre of trusted guides - winemakers, educators, merchants and importers - who gently nudged me into the world of fun, undiscovered wines and the foods that went with them. Eventually their generosity and passion gave me the courage to leave a marketing career and to convert an avocation into a vocation. It is on their shoulders that I stand today - I thank them for their support, and want them to know that I now share my enthusiasm with others as generously as they did with me.

That love of sharing is the engine that drives my classes and events as well as my wine club selections. Well, that and the desire to keep up payments on my mortgage, but who wants to know about that?? Even if you have no desire to get into the wine business, I hope you'll subscribe to one of our wine clubs and begin growing your knowledge and interest in food and wine.

Cheers,
Dave the Wine Merchant
Operator of the Dave the Wine Merchant