On my last trip to San Francisco, someone I met tipped me off to Mondovino (2004), a great documentary the wine industry, directed by Johnathon Nossiter. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop reading this and go get it. Buy Mondovino at Amazon. If you have Netflix, rent Mondovino from Netflix.

Mondovino is long. IMDB puts it at 135 minutes (2hrs and 15 minutes), but for some reason it seemed much longer than that. This isn’t a problem though because for a wine newb like me, the movie is completely enthralling right form the begining.

The movie covers a lot of ground in 135 minutes. It starts off telling the story of the Aniane region of France, a battle between the large multi-national wine conglomerates and the small “old world” wineries of the region. The movie’s director interviews a large cast of characters about the attemp by the Roberty Mondavi Winery to buy up some of the region’s land. In classic David vs. Goliath style, the people of Aniane rally together (lead by the region’s wineries) to keep Mondavi from moving in.

The themes of globalization and old world vs. new world are carried throughout the entire film. In particular, the interviews do a great job of getting across the classic French idea of “terrior”. It’s more than the dirt taste in some old wines. Terrior referrs to the whole history of the region and people involved in the wines creation. Terrior is a story, philosophy, and religion pressed into aged grape juice and packaged in 750ml bottles.

We also hear about California’s love affair with “100% new oak” and see Michel Rolland (a prolific wine consultant) constantly suggesting the micooxygenation of his clients wine barrels. The former, a way for American wineries to create a strong flavor to challenge the French terrior. The latter, a way to make a wine more palatable faster (as opposed to wines that get better with age).

The importance of family in the wine industry is also covered well. We hear about everything from the story of how Mondavi started in California to the struggles of a French winery owner: his son’s taste in wine is not his own and his daughter works for a competing winery.

About half way through the movie, the topic of Robert Parker comes up. Every interviewee shares their opinion of the famous personality behind the Wine Enthusiast magazine. Parker himself defines the power his reviews have as a double edged sword. His early reviews helped to democratize wine by showing readers that a $20 bottle from a garage in France could taste as good (or better) than a $200 bottle of wine from the old, established wineries of the country. At the same time, Parker’s reviews are followed so closely by consumers that a few points difference can make or break a wine or winery. For this reason, wineries hire consultants like Michel Rolland and employ complicated computer algorithms to create Parker-friendly wines.

(I wonder if the day will come when WineLog or another site like ours holds as much power in the industry.)

Later, the documentary takes us to Tuscany to explore the effects of globalization there. We hear about another Mondavi effort. This time how Mondavi partnered with the established Itallian winery of Ornallaia.

The movie ends with some profiles of wineries in South America, where there is less aristocracy and glamor than the other wineries profiled in the movie. For some reason, of all the wine presented in the movie, I wanted to take this wine the most.

The director’s commentary is also worth watching. I was especially surprised by how fair-minded Nossiter is when talking about the big corporations with respect to the smaller wineries. The first time through the movie, I thought it was obvious that the director took the side of the small, local wineries. After hearing Nossiter’s commentary though, it became apparent to me that those little old French guys were just more passionate about their wine and more convincing in their arguments.

Mondovino is a great movie. I think wine lovers (newbies and experts alike) will love it. You’ll gain an appreciation for the complexity and ruthlessness of the wine industry. You’ll also get a feel for the passion and love that goes behind the production of your favorite beverage.