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Look inside one of the most intimate wine growing regions in the world, Napa Valley, as we follow the journey of new beginnings and mastering a craft.
While no wine connoisseur by any means, I appreciate and respect the biblical liquid, not only for the history it represents but also for its artistic qualities: the colors, ranging from crimson to a translucent honeydew; the fragrance, soul-like in its ephemeral nature, delicate and pure, bringing to mind love, passion, sophistication and a plethora of distant, exotic places. Wine could potentially be very cinematic, especially in the hands of a capable and romantic filmmaker. It served as a backdrop for films like Alexander Payne’s bittersweet existential comedy “Sideways” and Ridley Scott’s by-the-numbers “oh-la-la, we’re so French” Hollywood farce (read: flop/fiasco/fuck-up) “A Good Year.”
A naked Thomas Haden Church does not get rescued by a heartbroken Paul Giamatti in Nick Kovacic’s vino documentary “Decanted,” nor does it have a hammy Russell Crowe woo a bashful Marion Cotillard in seemingly endless vineyards. Kovacic doesn’t strive to juxtapose winemaking against life’s existential issues, or draw parallels between the fleeting awe of a wine sip to that of love-at-fist-sight, or infuse another metaphor about how wine gets better with age. It doesn’t even compare the winemakers of Napa Valley to those of, say, the French, Argentinian or Italian vineyards. What the doc does do, efficiently and pragmatically, is showcase the craft, step-by-step, in one of the wine meccas of the world. It took me four bottles of Pinot to sit through it.
Get ready for a plethora of aerial shots of Napa Valley, which resembles “a patchwork quilt,” as one of the winemakers refers to it lovingly. The beauty of this California region, the “geologic epicenter for wine growing,” cannot be argued, and Kovacic portrays it well, courtesy of cinematographer Caleb Stine. Vibrant, juicy purple grapes, shiny bottles, dark-red wine being poured and gushed out of sterile faucets, green pastures and vineyards, of course – all those things are caught in meticulous detail, as we follow the process, from growing to fermenting to drinking, and delve into “price point vs quality level” and “sulphur content” conversations. Are you on the edge of your seat yet? Skip “Split” (the demented Shyamalan thriller, out in theaters now) and watch “Decanted” for the REAL thrills!
“How can I deconstruct and then reconstruct the perfect wine?” one fervent fan wonders. “It’s a beautiful business, because it becomes a part of your life,” another remarks. “The great thing about winemaking,” one gentleman states, “is that you get to do something different every day.” The film could have used a touch of that variety, as it tends to stick to one flavor. The most fascinating tidbit comes from a woman, whose 6-liter bottle of wine sold for half a million dollars.
As someone who doesn’t drink much wine, but appreciates its beauty, I’d rather see it be used as a metaphor than being dissected and scrutinized. For a documentary about the thirst-quenching, mythical liquid, it’s dry-as-sand. Werner Herzog this ain’t (I can see it clearly: [German accent] “The rich soil I tasted made me think of the soil that birthed Jesus, who incidentally claimed to turn water into this blood-like liquid – and I couldn’t help but wonder about those isolated people, and whether their blissful, intoxicated isolation is a sign of utopia.”) As it stands, it doesn’t delve behind the minds of the winemakers, doesn’t examine wine’s history or impact on other cultures and/or arts, doesn’t look into the effects of global warming on the vineyard, neglects the reasons behind wine’s allure… It has no momentum, nothing at stake – it simply displays the process, no more, no less – a pleasant, extended screen-shot. Wine fans looking to geek out may rejoice. For me… well, I’d rather glare at the swooning, crooning Crowe and Cotillard all day.
Available Digitally on iTunes, Amazon & Google Play Tuesday, February 28th
