Les Bourgeois Norton Goes to Hollywood

Norton wine has debuted on the silver screen. For a few minutes, a bottle of Les Bourgeois Vineyards Norton, takes center-stage in the 2014 mystery-thriller movie, Gone Girl, that stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

From the iconic James Bond martini to Pinot Noir in the comedy Sideways, the Missouri dry red continues a tradition involving films and beverages. Some industry observers hope this could be a chance for this leading Midwest wine to finally shake and stir a wider US audience.

Tia Stratman, marketing specialist with Les Bourgeois, describes the Norton scene in Gone Girl:

“Our Norton appeared about an hour-and-fifty minutes into the movie. The camera pans to the living room of Margo Dunne (Carrie Coon), who is watching a news commentary show and you can see a glass of wine and a bottle of Les Bourgeois Norton as they show her eating and talking on the phone with twin brother Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck). Throughout their conversation you catch a glimpse of the Norton several times.”

Rachel Holman, CEO of Les Bourgeois explained how their Norton beat out Chateau Margaux and Screaming Eagle Napa Valley Cab:

“The movie is set in Missouri and I understand they were intent on having local products in it,” she said. “So the product placement company Legacy Entertainment, who ask us periodically for products for feature films or television, sent our Norton in. It’s nothing like guaranteed that we’ll get placement, but they’ll periodically call me and I’ll send samples of whatever, depending on what the scene calls for.”

This time, Les Bourg Norton was just what the movie producers were after. Holman said the sense of place and the clarity of this particular Norton bottle label got them to Hollywood.

Rachel Holman (left) and Tia Stratman from Les Bourgeois Vineyards (courtesy winery)

“We’re really honored – it’s a feather in our cap!” she added.

Both Holman and Stratman are flattered and excited that people are continuing to spot their bottle in the movie and are going onto social media to talk about it.

“It has been getting some really great word-of-mouth attention,” said Stratman.  “That’s how I really knew it had an impact.”

“It’s a nice connection for people to see our product on such a grand scale,” said Holman. “I hope that it will be a little bit of validation for the people here in our industry and the people that are part of that Norton cult following, that they can know that their passion for it is starting to actually garner some results,” she added.

“Hopefully, it will also introduce some people to the idea that there are wines outside the big California reds and that there’s a thriving wine industry in Missouri,” she said.