The History of Hitching Post X SIDEWAYS
By Frank Ostini
The Academy Award® winning film follows two men in their forties who take a week-long road trip to Santa Barbara wine country where Hitching Post 2 and Hitching Post Wines were prominently featured. The film's success sparked a dramatic increase in tourism for the wine region, along with soaring sales of Pinot Noir. The film is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024, and several events are scheduled statewide. See our EVENTS page for details.
Setting the Stage: The Hitching Post Restaurants have been part of the Ostini Family since 1952 in Casmalia, CA, and 1986 in Buellton. In 1981, my home winemaker friend Gray Hartley and I were smitten by Pinot Noir, and it became my goal to make and serve Pinot as my family's "house wine." The HP label started in 1984 and was initially sold only at the Hitching Post. The brand grew slowly to 4000 cases when SIDEWAYS happened.
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 our region, its wines, wineries, restaurants, and people with the bartender and a waitress. I was always a skeptic and never thought it would see the light of day. But boy, was I proven wrong!
Only in June 2003 did we realize that SIDEWAYS would be a movie as location scouts began combing the Santa Ynez Valley. Rex really had written a novel, and director Alexander Payne had picked up that manuscript. They were to film in many places Rex had visited and written into his soon-to-be book. The Hitching Post was one of those places.
Still skeptical, I wasn't sure the HP should be part of this film. Would they treat the Hitching Post, all my friends, our wines, and our region with honor and respect? After reading the script, my concerns deepened.
I met with producer Michael London, co-producer George Parra, and finally director Alexander Payne to discuss my reservations. He took note of my views, although I knew he wasn't going to change his movie on my account. But I was convinced he was a sensitive, creative, and very talented director. I knew we should be involved.
Before filming started, actress Virginia Madsen, a waitress in the HP, spent time in our kitchen and bar to get the feel of what that job was like and who we were. We brought her and actress Sandra Oh to our winery to show them how we make wine. We also took them to Au Bon Climat winery, where they enjoyed a famous Jim Clendenen lunch.
SIDEWAYS was filmed in our region over ten weeks in October/November 2003
and at the Hitching Post for three days. We were braced for an
uncomfortable experience, having heard that Hollywood filmmakers would trample
our location and all of us in their way. Instead, everyone was considerate and
a pleasure to work with. They were all so glad to be working on this quality
film with such an outstanding director in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. We
continue to be thrilled and grateful to be part of SIDEWAYS, then and
forever.
Buellton, California
August 15, 2024