Weekend Cooking: Decanted (Documentary)

I'm a wine fan. I drink a glass almost every night, and I like to try different grapes, different regions, and different blends. I, however, am by no means a wine expert. There is always something new to learn, and watching a film makes learning fun.

The 2016 documentary Decanted (directed by Nick Kovacic and produced by Matthew Riggieri) takes a look at wine making in California's Napa Valley. The film starts with picking the 2014 grapes and follows the process through to the 2015 harvest.

Much of the focus is on a relatively new vineyard, Italics, which produces Bordeaux varietals and blends from the sixteen Napa Valley appellations. Throughout the film, we meet other growers, including Heidi Peterson Barrett, who has created several 100-point wines and, as film producer Kovacic notes, holds a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine.

There isn't much of story line in Decanted, but it well conveys the atmosphere of the Napa Valley grape industry. I was left with a strong sense that wine making is a very personal endeavor, involving much hard work. Most of the owners were conscious of how their work played out over a fluid time line: past growing conditions, the current bottled wine, and their own future legacy. Several mentioned their wish to build something that could be passed along to their children or to others in the next generation.

The grape business combines both old and new techniques and technology. Each vintage, each wine reflects the weather as well as the winemaker's knowledge, skill, and craft. I was struck by one grower's remarks on the depth of his experience, which went something like this: "I've been in the business for 45 years. What that means is that I've made wine only 45 times." Well, that was something I've never really thought about.

Don't expect to learn how wine is made by watching Decanted. The film is more about a place and the people who are fully committed to their lives and their product. Some of the owners grew up around vineyards, others came to wine making as a second or third career, but all of them acted as stewards of the land and strove to create the best wine possible from what nature (and their hard work) gave them.

On the down side, Decanted suffers from a lack of direction. I think too many vineyards were featured, and I sometimes lost track of which person was associated with which vineyard. On the other hand, the filming itself showed off the beautiful valley, and I was definitely ready for a glass of California wine by the end of the movie. One other thing to keep in mind is that the film was made before last year's devastating wild fires.

I'm including the official trailer for Decanted. Note, however, I noticed a few scenes in the trailer that were definitely not in the final movie. Regardless, the trailer gives you a feel for the documentary.

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