SOMM: Into the Bottle

I came across this documentary on Netflix streaming. I found it to be superb and a presentation every wine lover should see. Wine has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was a small boy growing up my dad would let me drink wine mixed with 7- UP every year for Thanksgiving. When I got to be a teenager I would make my own wine from wild grapes I found in the woods. More recently I have made wine from Elderberries and Blackberries I pick near where I live. But my introduction to really good wine came in the late 1970s in the New Orleans area when a group of us formed a wine-tasting group that met every month. We did blind tastings, usually a different varietal each month, and at the end compared notes and discussed why we liked certain bottles better. It changed my life forever, regarding wine. In fact at least once a week we grill a nice steak just so we can have an excuse to open one of our favorite red wines. This documentary has only a slight focus on the Sommeliers, trained wine experts. A number of them participate and not all of them have the same opinions. But they are used to bring the focus to the real topic, the wines themselves, the history and what is going on in different parts of the world. We drink red wine (that is our preference) daily and our everyday wine is about $3 to $4 a bottle. Really good Shiraz or Malbec from South America or Australia. How can a good wine be made and sold so cheaply? Good agriculture and lots of automation, plus skipping the aging in new Oak barrels. But we see that premium wines sell more like $30 to $100 a bottle, and the most expensive French wines will sell for upwards of $5000 per bottle upon release. Is it that much better than the $4 wine? Or is much of the markup simple supply and demand? The documentary answers that and a whole host of other topics.

Fantastic film! I just attended a screening of "Into the Bottle" in Manhattan with a group of other Sommeliers and wine industry professionals and was blown away. Jason and Geoff have hit the mark once more with this incredible film taking us on a journey around the world to discover more about wine. Interviews with Sommeliers, industry professionals, and winemakers bring us the history, politics and everyday BS that go into bringing wine from the vineyard to our tables. Funny, touching and educational all at the same time. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves wine, or would like to de-mystify the magic of fermenting grape juice. EXCELLENT!!!