Film ReviewsSomm: into the bottleJun 2, 2016 Anchorage Press
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Jason Wise directed the 2012 documentary SOMM, which follows four aspiring sommeliers as they prepare to take the difficult Master Sommelier exam for the coveted sommelier title. The 2012 film introduces a cast of characters and their dramatic road to a prestigious and esoteric career. Although not the first film to delve into a barrel of tasty, liquid fun, the 2012 film was mostly well-received and preceded a surfeit of like films and TV programs such as "Uncorked," "Red Obsession," "Barolo Boys," and "A Year In Champagne" to name a few. As a result of the success of SOMM, in 2015 Samuel Goldwyn Films announced it had acquired exclusive rights to a sequel, SOMM: Into the Bottle, retaining Jason Wise as director and bringing back familiar faces from the 2012 documentary.
SOMM: Into the Bottle focuses, not on the sommeliers who forged careers from their experiences in the first film exclusively, but instead it's about what is in the bottles-the vino, ambrosia, Plump Jack's ambiber of life; in other words, the wine. SOMM: Into the Bottle is presented in 10 chapters or segments, each focusing on a different part of the wine industry, and through 10 different bottles of wine; the latter detail is designed to be a significant anchor of the storytelling structure but is easily missed.
The documentary does a very good job at weaving the narrative wine's history, from the Roman days to today. The development of wine in the old world carries with it the history of war and peace, and innovation. The story told is good enough to give wine drinkers and aspiring wine drinkers a sense of what it means to drink wine. The interviews with sommeliers shows many different paths to the appreciation of wine, including some of the BS that develops as different vineyards and sellers try to give their product a leg up in the competitive market. Viewers get a sense of the wine-making as an art in the old world, and the freedom the art finds in the new world, in particular California, as pioneers like Robert Mondavi put Napa Valley on the map. SOMM: Into the Bottle is aesthetically luscious. Its wide shots of the most beautiful places on earth, and the deep caverns where mold itself plays a role in making wine, gives one a sense of timelessness. The caverns and tools inspire a sense of reverence for the art of wine making, ensuring that viewers will never take another sip of wine for granted ever again. Perhaps one of the best messages in SOMM: Into the Bottle is that wine's ultimate raison d'être is to be enjoyed, so viewers can feel good about their evolving tastes and just drink it.
At an introductory level, SOMM: Into the Bottle is great but one documentary, an hour-and-a-half long, cannot possibly do justice to wine, even at just one region, one type of grape or terroir so some viewers may be disappointed that SOMM: Into the Bottle skips over entire continents and the whole distribution aspect of the industry. Kermit Lynch doesn't even get a nod or a tip of the hat for his work carving a path for old world wines to the Californian coast. The movie, however, is a very good continuation of the story of wine. One wonders if there are subsequent films in the works to round-off Wise's narrative and love for wine.
SOMM: Into the Bottle shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, June 6 at 8 p.m.
SOMM: Into the Bottle focuses, not on the sommeliers who forged careers from their experiences in the first film exclusively, but instead it's about what is in the bottles-the vino, ambrosia, Plump Jack's ambiber of life; in other words, the wine. SOMM: Into the Bottle is presented in 10 chapters or segments, each focusing on a different part of the wine industry, and through 10 different bottles of wine; the latter detail is designed to be a significant anchor of the storytelling structure but is easily missed.
The documentary does a very good job at weaving the narrative wine's history, from the Roman days to today. The development of wine in the old world carries with it the history of war and peace, and innovation. The story told is good enough to give wine drinkers and aspiring wine drinkers a sense of what it means to drink wine. The interviews with sommeliers shows many different paths to the appreciation of wine, including some of the BS that develops as different vineyards and sellers try to give their product a leg up in the competitive market. Viewers get a sense of the wine-making as an art in the old world, and the freedom the art finds in the new world, in particular California, as pioneers like Robert Mondavi put Napa Valley on the map. SOMM: Into the Bottle is aesthetically luscious. Its wide shots of the most beautiful places on earth, and the deep caverns where mold itself plays a role in making wine, gives one a sense of timelessness. The caverns and tools inspire a sense of reverence for the art of wine making, ensuring that viewers will never take another sip of wine for granted ever again. Perhaps one of the best messages in SOMM: Into the Bottle is that wine's ultimate raison d'être is to be enjoyed, so viewers can feel good about their evolving tastes and just drink it.
At an introductory level, SOMM: Into the Bottle is great but one documentary, an hour-and-a-half long, cannot possibly do justice to wine, even at just one region, one type of grape or terroir so some viewers may be disappointed that SOMM: Into the Bottle skips over entire continents and the whole distribution aspect of the industry. Kermit Lynch doesn't even get a nod or a tip of the hat for his work carving a path for old world wines to the Californian coast. The movie, however, is a very good continuation of the story of wine. One wonders if there are subsequent films in the works to round-off Wise's narrative and love for wine.
SOMM: Into the Bottle shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, June 6 at 8 p.m.