Wine Film Review - Blood into Wine

 I found the film, Blood into Wine, to be an incredibly informative film that opened my eyes to all the moving parts that go into wine making. Even though it was more of a documentary than a film the “main character”, so to speak, made the wine making process come to life. Maynard, the rock star turned winemaker takes the film crew through the entire wine making process, from the purchase of the land to the first bottle. The film revolves around the town of Jerome, Arizona, and begins with a brief history lesson of the area. As with all wine making, climate is one of the most important factors.

            When someone thinks wine, they very rarely think Arizona. Maynard saw the possibility to make wine on a hillside in Jerome, Arizona and ran with it. The valley below used to be an ancient lakebed but is now dried up. The soil has a volcanic aspect to it, which does not necessarily bring to mind ideal grape growing conditions. Yet Jerome, got just enough rain, but not too much, and got warm enough, but not too warm, and had all the right climate features to give growing grapes a shot. Throughout the film, which was shot on location in Arizona, the soil and environment of the region are shown constantly and in a way, it vaguely reminded me of the rocky, dry vineyards I visited in Greece a couple summers back. Most people do think of Greece as a wine superpower like Italy, but they still grow their grapes and make good wine. I think the same can be said for Arizona after watching this film. It might not be know for its wine, but they’re growing grapes and making good wine there. I feel like this was a central theme of the movie. The film was made to prove to people that they should not be afraid to experiment and try wine outside of their usual palate.

            Another one of the central themes of the film was the breaking down of wine boundaries. Maynard and his crew in Arizona were trying something that had never been done before. In the first few weeks of class this semester, we talked about how wine is literally being grown everywhere now and there is no stopping its expansion (which is a great thing). I think the film serves an inspirational purpose for aspiring wine makers out there. Who knows, maybe after watching Blood into Wine, some up and coming wine maker will break into the big leagues and start growing grapes where no one has grown before. And if those hopeful winemakers out there need some help determining where to start, this film is the perfect place.

            Blood into Wine does an excellent job going in-depth into the wine making process and shows specific examples of the varying phases of wine production. In mid-1990 Maynard came to Jerome and decided that he wanted to begin to grow grapes in the area. Eventually he settled on some land near a river in the area and purchased the land for $35,000 per acre. Each acre produces about 3 tons of fruit per year but not immediately. It took years for Maynard to grow enough grapes and get the right equipment necessary to begin production, and his first bottle was not produced until April 10, 2009. The film takes the viewer through the entire process. It begins in the pruning in late winter and early spring where the crew sets up the vineyard for the next growing season.  Next is the planting season in late spring followed by the harvesting in late summer and early fall. One thing I found particularly interesting was the fact that grapes use 1/8 of the water that a house on that same piece of property would use. I had always assumed that grapes, like many other agricultural products required substantial irrigation, but in reality the grape roots go so deep they find their own water naturally, especially if conveniently located near a body of water like Maynard’s vineyard, “Caduceus”. Following the harvesting came the processing, where yeast was added to being fermentation. Once the sediment settled after the 2^nd fermentation, he moved the wine to steel barrels. The last step depicted in the film was the bottling phase. Maynard and his wine makers believed that blending is the art of winemaking and that anyone could make good wine from the same grape, but not everyone can make great blended wines. Maynard’s wines were all blended reds and he even produced a bottle called “Primer Paso” which blended white and red.

            In conclusion, I honestly enjoyed the film a lot. I thought it was a very entertaining way to depict the wine making process and get a real look into everything that happens before the bottle is put on a shelf somewhere. I would definitely recommend Blood into Wine to a wine audience. I think it would enhance a true wine drinker’s appreciation for wine and give greater meaning to the words written on the bottle.