Once you uncork "Bottle Shock," you'll first notice its mild yet intriguing bouquet. A sip reveals that it is pleasingly palatable and deceptively full-bodied, with a natural sweetness tempered by an undertone of dry wit, building to a strong finish.

In 1976, most of the wine-drinking world looked down on wines from California. But a handful of maverick vintners from Napa and Sonoma counties were convinced they had the grapes and the terroir to rival even those of France.

"Bottle Shock" is the delightful story of how they convinced the rest of the world they were right.

Alan Rickman stars as Steven Spurrier, a supercilious English owner of an unsuccessful wine shop in Paris. It is the year of the American Bicentennial, and when a patriotic expat (Dennis Farina) brags that California wines are as good as French wines, Spurrier has an idea for how to draw attention to his shop.

He will hold a blind taste test of California and French wines, judged by the finest palates in France. Naturally, he assumes there is no way the French can lose.

Back in America, a struggling vineyard is being run by Jim Barrett, played by the always-solid Bill Pullman. Along with his financial problems, Jim is having trouble with his hippie son Bo, played by Chris Pine, who resembles Brad Pitt in his hair-extension days.

Blended into the mix, like a Cab Franc blends with Merlot, are Bo's best friend Gustavo (Freddie Rodriguez from "Six Feet Under"), who has an encyclopedic understanding of wine, and the vineyard's new intern, Sam.

In the movies, characters named Sam are almost invariably female and attractive, and this Sam (Rachael Taylor) is no exception. And she has two available young men to choose from.

The three writers sprinkle their script with such mood-setting sentiments as "Great wine is great art" and "Wine is sunlight held together by water," which is a quote from Galileo. The script's humor, and it is always a gentle humor, comes mostly at the expense of Rickman, who plays snobs perhaps better than anyone.

Director Randall Miller includes more traveling shots of vineyards than is entirely necessary, and one wishes that in the boxing scenes he had thought to include head gear or at least mouthguards.

But he keeps the characters believable, and although we always have a pretty good idea of where the story is going, he keeps it interesting.

"Bottle Shock" has an unusual topic for a feel-good movie, but it works. Wine always makes you feel good.