Vintage Bisque

Vintage Bisque

A State Of Vine

A STATE OF VINE To create a documentary film about wine, it’s necessary to traverse the breadth of CA wine country, even if it’s 110 degrees and your heading up a dry, rocky mountain road without a vineyard in sight. 

Likewise, one soldiers on to chase down grass-eating goats hard at work in the back ‘40 of a Carneros Vineyard. The crazily diverse topography is as much a part of the story as the vineyard owners and winemakers themselves. What we got, "at the end of the day," and the next, and the next - and finally at the end of this project - is a one-hour story about wine, vintners, varietals, oak and toast, Napa vs. Sonoma, the little guys, the big guys, wine snobs, cheap marketing tactics and a LOT of different opinions. 

We thought we’d compile the interviews and stories via our shooting outline and "fill in the blanks" with a narration track upon completion of principal photography. We were surprised to find the participants in our movie, told tidbits of the story of "wine" so well, we didn’t need to add another word. We decided to produce this documentary because so little has been done about this mammoth industry, whose annual contribution to the US economy is about 5 times higher than the film industry and is growing steadily. The 1995 romance film, "A Walk in the Clouds was a remake of a 1942 Italian flick, "Quattro Passi Fra Le Nuvole" and incorporated some delightful Napa ambiance into the tale of two misfit wine country lovers. The cockeyed and often blurred cinematography of the 2004 movie, "Sideways" had "legs" similar to those in a glass of a high voltage vintage, and dealt a huge blow to merlot vintners, while raising pinot noir to new heights. 

However, Randy Pitts, owner and winemaker at Harvest Moon Estate Vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, dismissed the merlot/pinot nonsense in one spontaneous thought. When asked what varietal is the best, he says simply, " Zinfandel! Any wine the French think is a bastard, I’m all about." And so it went on like that, personality after personality. All we really had to do was ask a few starter questions and roll the camera. Diversity was our goal, and it was no easy task to stop at 15 or so wine notables. 

Mario Andretti was our handsome celebrity-type along with his winemaker, Bob Pepi, himself a legendary name in wine circles. Andretti dances around his vineyards with pure joy, " a piece of God’s country," he explains. If any of the producers of "Dancing With the Stars" are reading this article, book him, he’s charming; his winery and wines, equally so. We knew we’d have to pit the much maligned (and also charming, contrary to public opinion), Fred Franzia, of "Two Buck Chuck" fame, against forces like the multi-talented Bob Foley (who also is a musician and whose family lineage includes the creator of sound effects sequences known as the "foley" session), winemaker of the acclaimed Pride Mountain Vineyards that sits half in Napa and half in Sonoma counties, and Daniel Baron, winemaker at the uber pricey Cabernet extraordinaire territory, Silver Oak Cellars.  

A highpoint for me was interviewing Renaldo Robledo and his lovely youngest daughter, Vanessa, the President of their family winery, the first owned by a Mexican immigrant. Their story is that of "the American dream" and they live it each day. Renaldo’s accent is heavy, and Vanessa does most of the speaking and translating, but it’s really not necessary – his handsome smile reflects his pride in his land, his children and his wine. The whole lot of them, two daughters, seven sons, wives, and husbands, in laws – they are all involved in the business and their joy is infectious. Ernie Weir of Hagafen Cellars spent some time introducing us into the world of a kosher winery. He was insightful, spiritual and very pragmatic in his connection to his grapes and the land and his artistic endeavors in creating great wine and in creating a market for that wine.  

We fell in love with Veteran wine publicist Harvey Posert, long-time PR pro for Robert Mondavi and now Bronco - Franzia’s company – over lunch. He treated us to tomato bisque soup, hard-boiled eggs and sandwiches from Napa’s finest deli, while spilling the beans on the "goings on" in wine country, as we noshed overlooking his 100-case vineyard. " Too much to drink, not enough to sell," he noted. Pat Roney, who owns the artisan Girard Winery and now also the popular Windsor Winery, took us out to his Howell Mountain vineyard to show us the ravages of a fire that ripped through the vineyard the day before and explained that take away the glitz and glamour of the tasting room, and it’s an "ag-based" business.  

Not one person we interviewed had a wit of "wine snob" about them, though we managed to cover that topic in some depth. No one had time for the foolishness of that sort of exclusionary rhetoric, whether the wine they made cost $2.00 or $150.00. They were, to a one, passionate – about the land, the grapes, and the wine they create – but not about themselves. They love to drink and eat, tell stories, walk their vineyards, dance with Mother Nature and reap the joys of being a real player in wine country, a most enviable lifestyle that requires a great deal of hard work.  

By the time we completed our filming, and we sat in our studio reviewing hours of footage and anecdotes, I had the distinct impression that every one of them would be a terrific guest at the same dinner. I started wondering what each person would bring to the table if they were requested to bring one varietal and one dish. I’d split the courses up from hor d’oeuvres to dessert, write them down on sheets of paper and fold them up the way we do each year for Christmas Pollyanna’s. Secrecy and confidentiality would be paramount, of course, until the big day. Wouldn’t that just be the winemaker dinner of the decade?  

Maybe I’ll try to put this extravaganza together and use if as the sequel to our movie. And as they enjoy the repast they regale us each with one more story - I don’t believe it could get much better than this! 

About the Author

Christine Scioli owns Zan Media, a film and video production company, with her husband, Don.

You can learn more about this documentary at http://www.astateofvine.com.

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