Mondovino
Encyclopedia
Mondovino is a 2004
documentary film
on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed
by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter
. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or
at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
and a César Award
.
The film explores the impact of globalization
on the various wine
-producing regions, and the influence of critics like Robert Parker
and consultants like Michel Rolland
in defining an international style. It pits the ambitions of large, multinational wine producers, in particular Robert Mondavi
, against the small, single estate wineries who have traditionally boasted wines with individual character driven by their terroir
.
Mondovino was originally intended to be a two month affair as a break between feature projects upon the completion of Nossiter's film Signs & Wonders
(2000). The film gave Nossiter a chance to utilize his knowledge as a trained sommelier
from his time working at Balthazar in New York as well as an opportunity to visit some of the great wine regions of the world.
The film was shot entirely in single camera, about 60% of the time operated by Nossiter with the camera on his hip while he is conversing with the subject. The film features no narration. The cinematography does frequently employ "intense" zooms, sometimes right up to the subject's eyeballs, which Nossiter explains as a necessary means to keep the handheld camera in focus.
Mondovino opened in France November 3, 2004 and received mostly positive reviews among film critics and lots of buzz (both positive and negative) among the French wine industry. It was later released in the United Kingdom on December 10 of that year and in U.S. release March 23, 2005. On July 12, 2005, the DVD version was released, including Director Commentary as well as a Bonus featurette Quo Vademus?, an episode of a ten-hour television series that is scheduled for an eventual DVD release of its own.
in 1997. Mondovino was promoted to its competition slot from a non competitive category just hours before the deadline by Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux. In May 2004, it was featured at Cannes with a run time of 2 hours 49 minutes. The film was edited down to 2 hrs 15 minutes after the screening.
Other notable Film Festivals that featured Mondovino and subsequent nominations, honors & awards
. Some notable reviews:
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter
Jonathan Nossiter
Jonathan Nossiter is an American filmmaker. Son of Washington Post and New York Times foreign correspondent Bernard Nossiter, he was born in the United States in 1961. He was raised in France, England, Italy, Greece and India...
. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
2004 Cannes Film Festival
The 2004 Cannes Film Festival started on May 12 and ran until May 23. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.-Jury:* Quentin Tarantino, President * Emmanuelle Béart * Edwidge Danticat * Tilda Swinton...
and a César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
.
The film explores the impact of globalization
Globalization of wine
"Globalization is the expansion of brands across nations and into other continents. In food and wine it refers to the whole problem of making the product global. The primary issue is scaling production while reducing the costs of goods with processes. In marketing it refers to wearing the mantle of...
on the various wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
-producing regions, and the influence of critics like Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...
and consultants like Michel Rolland
Michel Rolland
Michel Rolland is an influential Bordeaux-based oenologist, with hundreds of clients across 13 countries and influencing wine style around the world...
in defining an international style. It pits the ambitions of large, multinational wine producers, in particular Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...
, against the small, single estate wineries who have traditionally boasted wines with individual character driven by their terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
.
Mondovino was originally intended to be a two month affair as a break between feature projects upon the completion of Nossiter's film Signs & Wonders
Signs & Wonders
Signs and Wonders is a 2000 psychological thriller directed by Jonathan Nossiter and co-written with British poet James Lasdun was inspired by the Polish surrealist novel, Kosmos of Witold Gombrowicz....
(2000). The film gave Nossiter a chance to utilize his knowledge as a trained sommelier
Sommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
from his time working at Balthazar in New York as well as an opportunity to visit some of the great wine regions of the world.
Production
Mondovino was filmed with a hand held Sony PD-150 digital camcorder over the course of 4 years by Jonathan Nossiter with the assistance of Uruguayan filmmaker Juan Pittaluga and Caribbean photographer Stephanie Pommez for a budget around $400,000. Over 500 hours of original film was shot at locations in seven countries on three continents in five languages (French, Italian, Spanish, English and Portuguese). The footage from the handheld DV was blown up and transferred to 35 mm by Tommaso Vergallo.The film was shot entirely in single camera, about 60% of the time operated by Nossiter with the camera on his hip while he is conversing with the subject. The film features no narration. The cinematography does frequently employ "intense" zooms, sometimes right up to the subject's eyeballs, which Nossiter explains as a necessary means to keep the handheld camera in focus.
Mondovino opened in France November 3, 2004 and received mostly positive reviews among film critics and lots of buzz (both positive and negative) among the French wine industry. It was later released in the United Kingdom on December 10 of that year and in U.S. release March 23, 2005. On July 12, 2005, the DVD version was released, including Director Commentary as well as a Bonus featurette Quo Vademus?, an episode of a ten-hour television series that is scheduled for an eventual DVD release of its own.
Film festivals
Mondovino earned a rare competition slot in the Official Selection of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, one of only four documentaries ever nominated for the Palme d'Or in the history of the festival. This is the third major competition selection for Jonathan Nossiter, with Signs & Wonders in Berlin in 2000 and Sunday, winner of the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in 1997. Mondovino was promoted to its competition slot from a non competitive category just hours before the deadline by Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux. In May 2004, it was featured at Cannes with a run time of 2 hours 49 minutes. The film was edited down to 2 hrs 15 minutes after the screening.
Other notable Film Festivals that featured Mondovino and subsequent nominations, honors & awards
- Bangkok International Film FestivalBangkok International Film FestivalThe Bangkok International Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to film screenings, seminars, gala events and the Golden Kinnaree Awards.-First years:...
2005: Windows on the World - French Film Festival in Australia 2005: Screening
- London Film FestivalLondon Film FestivalThe BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
2004: Documentary Gala - Era New Horizons Film FestivalEra New Horizons Film FestivalNew Horizons Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in July in Wrocław, Poland. It has been organised since 2001.- Festival programme 2009 :* Opening gala – Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon...
2005 (Cieszyn, Poland) - Titanic International Filmpresence Festival 2005 (Budapest, Hungary)
- Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2004 (Copenhagen, Denmark)
- Deauville Festival of American Film 2004 (Deauville, France)
- Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
2004 (Toronto, Canada) - Vienna International Film Festival 2004 (Vienna, Austria)
Critical Review
In the US, Mondovino received mostly positive reviews with 70% positive rating given by film critics featured on the website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Some notable reviews:
- Peter TraversPeter TraversPeter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
, Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
: "Although Nossiter set out merely to find the characters behind the wine industry, he ended up with a poignant look at some important issues, including deforestation, the corporation versus the independent company and even communism. The result is an inside examination of a world very few people see." - Wesley MorrisWesley MorrisWesley Morris is a film critic at The Boston Globe where he reviews films alongside Ty Burr. Morris and Burr also make regular appearances on NECN to discuss the latest films and do the weekly Take Two film review video series on Boston.com...
, Boston Globe: "But what is it that Nossiter wants us to know about this world and its inhabitants? We visit lots of places but what do we see? The indictments, recriminations, and musings just sit there, and the movie feels incomplete and uncentered. It's like a grand magazine profile that's all reportage and absolutely no prose." - Michael Wilmington, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
: "It's shot simply and cheaply, a model of how to use the new, lightweight equipment and shooting methods. But it's such a knowledgeable work and so pleasantly obsessed with its subject that it will interest even audiences whose attraction to wine is only casual. And it may, like "Sideways," make you a little thirstier when it's over." - Peter DeBruge, Miami Herald: "Mondovino is an earnest but unfocused attempt to rescue winemaking from the hands of profit-mongering capitalists. Too passive-aggressive to qualify as a proper exposé, the movie suggests the world has lost the art of appreciating fine wines, thanks to the proliferation of a popular American style in which the flavor imparted by new wood barrels overpowers the individual terroir, or region-specific quality, that gives each wine its personality."
Vineyard locations in Mondovino
(In order of appearance in film)- Domaine de Souch (6 hectares), JuranconJuranconJurançon is a wine region in South West France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, around the commune of Jurançon. It produces a dry white wine and a more sought after sweet white wine. The grape varieties used are Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng and Courbu. The sweet wines develop aromas of tropical...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(PyreneesPyreneesThe Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
) - MalvasiaMalvasiaMalvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...
, Bosa, SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],... - Château Le Gay, PomerolPomerolPomerol is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.It is located near Bordeaux.-Population:-Wine:The mostly small-sized producers in this area of about produce red wines. As in the neighbouring appellation of Saint-Émilion, the predominant grape variety is Merlot,...
, BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... - Mas de Daumas GassacMas de Daumas GassacMas de Daumas Gassac is a French wine producer from the wine region Languedoc, classified as Vin de Pays de l'Hérault due to its use of grape varieties outside specifications of its AOC. The winery, producing both white and red wine, is located in the south of France, in the commune of Aniane...
, AnianeAnianeAniane is a commune in the Hérault department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.-Population:-See also:* Benedict of Aniane* Pont du Diable, Hérault* Mas de Daumas Gassac*Communes of the Hérault department...
, LanguedocLanguedocLanguedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
(South of France) - Château Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux
- Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- Staglin Family Vineyards (18 hectares), Napa Valley, California
- Domaine de Montille (8 hectares), Burgundy, France
- Taillepieds Vineyard (Domaine de Montille), VolnayVolnay, Côte-d'OrVolnay is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.In the middle of the Côte de Beaune, it is a well-known appellation of Burgundy wine.-Population:-Wine:...
, France - Opus One WineryOpus One WineryOpus One Winery is a winery in Oakville, California, USA. The wine was called napamedoc until 1982 when it was named Opus One. The winery was founded as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi to create a single Bordeaux style blend based...
, Napa Valley, California - Château Petit-VillageChâteau Petit-VillageChâteau Petit-Village is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the department Gironde...
, Pomerol, Bordeaux - Château RougetChâteau RougetChâteau Rouget is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the department Gironde. As all wine produced in this appellation, Château Rouget is unclassified but the estate has been historically...
, Pomerol, Bordeaux - Château ValandraudChâteau ValandraudChâteau Valandraud, or Château de Valandraud, is an unclassed Bordeaux wine producer situated in the Saint-Émilion appellation. The winery is located on the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion....
, Saint-ÉmilionSaint-ÉmilionSaint-Émilion is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:Saint-Émilion's history goes back to prehistoric times and is a World Heritage site, with fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.The Romans planted...
, Bordeaux - OrnellaiaOrnellaiaTenuta Dell'Ornellaia is an Italian wine producer in the DOC Bolgheri in Toscana, known as a producer of "Super Tuscan" wine. Ornellaia is considered one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines...
Winery, BolgheriBolgheriBolgheri is located in the comune of Castagneto Carducci, a few kilometers north-west of the capital and lies in the Province of Livorno, on the foothills of the Colline Metallifere, south of Montescudaio.-Wine:...
, TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence .... - Bianchetti Winery, PernambucoPernambucoPernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... - Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya, CafayateCafayate-External links: *...
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... - Domaine de la Romanée-ContiDomaine de la Romanée-ContiDomaine de la Romanée-Conti, often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. It is widely considered among the world's greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world's most expensive...
, St. Vivant, Burgundy. (Bonus featurette) - La TâcheLa Tâche AOCLa Tâche is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. It is situated within the commune of Vosne-Romanée and is a monopole of the winery Domaine de la Romanée-Conti...
Vineyard, St. Vivant, Burgundy. (Bonus featurette) - Lafarge Family Vineyards, Volnay & Pomerol, France. (Bonus featurette)