Jonathan Nossiter's Mondovino



Above: Jonathan "Terroir" Nossiter.

The very cool Eugene Hernandez interviews Jonathan Nossiter, whose new film that everyone is buzzing about, Mondovino, uncorks the wine industry. Indiewire writes:

" ... In Jonathan Nossiter's latest film, 'Mondovino.' He approaches the politics and economics of wine through a scorching, novelistic expose of some 300 characters, many key players in the world of wine, winegrowers, consultants, wine critics -- famous and infamous. Using a hand held digital camera, Nossiter filmed in Brazil, Bordeaux, Sardinia, the Napa Valley and numerous other locations."

Sounds fucking brilliant. Tell me more:

"Jonathan Nossiter: I spent a year sniffing around, shooting randomly on and off while I was writing... I didn't want to add to the pretension and the snobbery, the clubbiness that I loathe in the wine world.

"indieWire: And the wine talk.

"JN: And the wine talk which is un-fucking-bearable. Wine can either be a way for people to enjoy each other's company with a little heightened intensity, or it can be used as a vehicle for power. For elitism, snobbery and prestige ... (the sense of family which is) the essence of the film to me, the notion of what we pass on from generation to generation. Either literally within a family, or culturally across the idea of terroir.

"iW: Explain 'terroir'."

Exactly, Eugene, that's what The Corsair was asking himself. Explain yourself, Jonathan Nossiter. So much for "un-fucking-bearable" wine talk (Averted Gaze), eh?:

"Jonathan Nossiter: It's a beautiful metaphor for diversity. Literally it's the geological and meteorological history of a place in relation to the history of the people who've cultivated the land. Every bottle of wine is a testament to the specificity of place and of individual identity."

Swell.