DEATH CRY FOR THE SOUL OF WINE PART I

MONDOVINO is more than a film about the effects of globalization on wine. It’s an exposé on the battle for the future of the vine. On one side are the global giants who have predominated an “INTERNATIONAL STYLE” of wine and methodically built a market to sell oceans of it. On the other side are artisans, traditionalists, and people for whom wine represents an ETHICAL COMMITMENT, as well as a source of income.

MONDOVINO premiered at Cannes in 2004 and went on to receive critical acclaim, worldwide. The film was a three-year passion project for JONATHAN NOSSITER, a filmmaker and sommelier who has worked with New York restaurants such as PRAVDA, BALTHAZAR, and IL BUCO, while also directing three feature films. One of Nossiter’s most well known narrative films is SUNDAY, a gem of a dark comedy that received the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 1997.

According to Nossiter, the hungry lions of the NEW WINE ORDER are American corporate billionaire brands like the MONDAVI FAMILY, their European aristocratic collaborators, and MICHEL ROLLAND, a high-powered “wine consultant” from Bordeaux.

These INTERNATIONALISTS are apparently all in bed with an exorbitantly influential wine critic, ROBERT PARKER, and the American wine media, namely WINE SPECTATOR, is ejaculating overpriced blanc de blanc all over the shameless orgy.

WHAT IS SO SHAMEFUL ABOUT THIS ORGY AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

According to Nossiter, Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, and the corporate powerhouses they endorse have not only changed the rules of the game- they’ve changed the way wine is made, and therefore, tastes.

Known as the UNIVERSAL STYLE, these wines are big in body and rich in vibrant color, derived from ripe grapes, often of the Cab and Merlot persuasion. The INTERNATIONALISTS utilize new technologies like malolactic fermentation and micro-oxygenation to manipulate the characteristics valued in aged wine, thus allowing them to sell more of it, young, fast, overpriced, and NOW !!!

The most controversial characteristic of the UNIVERSAL STYLE is the heady, often overpowering VANILLA aroma and taste- The result of aging in small oak barrels or barriques, as they are known...

The argument against the use of these barrels is that the flavor of the oak can overpower the flavor of the grapes, making the wine smell and taste like vanilla.

This has led to a worldwide similarity of flavor known as the INTERNATIONAL STYLE by some and the VANILLAIZATION OF WINE by others.

Many of us can’t help but fall for these rich, vibrant, yet deceptive WHORE WINES… They lure you in with their big vanilla voluptuousness and then drop you flat on your face and ask for the money…

As a bartender, I can’t tell you how often patrons taste several wines and then give me that enthusiastic nod of approval when their lips touch a buttery Chardonnay, the result of malolactic fermentation, or an over oaked red…

BUT IF THE WINES TASTE GOOD, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

As a kid I was envious of my friends whose mothers would make them those delightful little sandwiches on Wonder Bread with those comforting little Oscar Mayer cold cuts, yellow mustard, and Kraft American cheese.

I would savor those sandwiches, so soft, almost sweet, easy to eat, always consistent…

In my house, my father, the son of German immigrants, stocked the fridge with liverwurst and laberkase and my mom only bought butcher carved turkey and roast beef.

That comforting white bread, so soft you could wipe a baby’s ass with it, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we had rustic rye breads, pumpernickels, and grain breads, usually toasted before becoming an overstuffed sandwich to ensure that you cut the hell out of your mouth and the prickly Bavarian mustard seed spread could sting your fresh wounds without mercy.

Let me digress a bit further here...

In my house there were MAPLE SYRUP WARS. My sister and I begged for sweet Aunt Jemima and other corn syrup concoctions we had indulged in on sleepovers.

My dad buried those imposters in the backyard and overstocked our pantry with large tins of 100% Vermont Maple Syrup. He never let up on any of the food wars… As an international food and restaurant consultant, it is his business...

None of this explains why he bought us COLECOVISION instead of ATARI... 

But that's besides the point, and I promise I am on to something... This is a blog, afterall... Which in some way is a form of self therapy...

These days, my brother and sister are parents and my dad’s résistance to anything processed has become the status quo of child rearing… minus the Liverwurst and laberkase…

I THINK YOU GET MY POINT...

THE PROBLEM IS THAT EVEN THOUGH MANY OF THE INTERNATIONAL WINES LOOK AND TASTE GOOD…  THEY ARE BEGINNING TO LOOK AND TASTE THE SAME… 

ALL OF THEM, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY COME FROM…

AND THAT’S A MAJOR FUCKING PROBLEM…

BUT THAT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING…

….Please check in on Friday for…

DEATH CRY FOR THE SOUL OF WINE
PART II