Voila! Finally, the Mondovino
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the wine documentary
movie. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Mondovino. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
They're 40-50 meters high, right?
Right.
Can you make wine from coconuts?
No. Only juice.
These words... You'd think
we'd just discovered them.
Love and pleasure.
But love and pleasure have always
made the world go round.
At least they should.
At I'm overwhelmed with...
with a need to share pleasure,
to exchange, to meet people.
My husband had a real love affair
with journalism.
At the Liberation, some newspapers
were seized for collaborating.
He was in the Resistance,
and when he came back...
See how he's dressed?
With his drooping pants...
He died at .
I had so much fun with him.
That's when I planted vines.
And I have an exchange...
- When did you plant them?
- When my husband died.
He died J uly th, .
I was in a fog for months.
From J uly to December.
Then I woke up and I planted vines.
Ever since then,
all this love inside me,
I give it to the vines.
I talk to them.
I have an exchange with them.
Our Malvasia is protected
by "Vinest",
a conservation project
for endangered wines.
Because Malvasia of Bosa
is endangered?
Yeah, it's unknown.
And each winemaker
makes a different style.
We went to his restaurant
by accident.
We drank this astonishing wine.
We talked.
Five minutes later,
here we are.
It never used to be for sale.
If you wanted to drink it,
you had to come to Bosa.
It was a communal wine.
The people of Bosa
offered Malvasia as a gift,
like others invite you for tea.
Who did they give
Malvasia di Bosa to?
To friends. To visitors.
The first time we met...
was in J une of ' .
And what did you think
of your husband when you met?
Was it love at first sight?
I'm not a very decisive person,
really.
I have to be convinced.
But it didn't take long.
Right, Battista?
It's very difficult
to keep vines alive.
But it's not just the rich
who should be able to do it.
Poor people also have the right.
Before, these hills were covered
with small plots.
Everyone cultivated them.
There were vines everywhere.
There were vines everywhere.
Now, people have become lazy,
carried away by consumerism.
They've lost their identity.
They don't know
where they come from,
or where they're going.
Often hurting themselves.
We've become reduced
to the level of animals.
But animals at least
choose what they eat.
We've lost our dignity.
In cultivating
the Malvasia di Bosa,
there's a kind
of ethical commitment.
A savoir-vivre, as the French say.
Really, it was great.
They were both there!
There was Gérard Depardieu
and Charles Aznavour.
He'll remember that one.
But these journalists,
if you don't hit them on the head,
they can't remember a thing.
I started working around here.
And little by little,
I became what I am now:
A "flying winemaker".
I think if I'd dared to dream,
I would've dreamt of what I do now.
But I wouldn't have dared.
In my work you can't ask for more.
I make wine in countries.
I work with the wine world's
greatest international superstars.
I really have a privileged position.
Who's that, Thierry? I'll take it.
Yeah, go ahead.
You've got to micro-oxy genate.
We won't be long here, don't worry.
- And where are we?
- Château Le Gay.
Here you go: Catherine Peyré-Vergé,
owner of Château Le Gay.
- Hello, Mr Rolland.
- How's it goin'?
Let's micro-oxy genate that barrel.
What's micro-oxy genation?
Know what I think?
Best not explain it at all.
You never go in for consultations?
I have to take calls.
But ma'am, do you understand
micro-oxy genation?
- No. But she doesn't give a damn.
- Really?
If she understood everything,
she wouldn't need me.
And if I say: "micro-oxy genate",
she micro-oxy genates.
- If it doesn't work, she fires me.
- Really?
That's how it works.
Leave it to the expert, I say.
Listen, the goal's simple:
Make things better.
You don't need to ask why.
If it doesn't make it better,
we don't do it.
Not everyone shares your ideas
about what makes a wine better.
Yeah. It's called diversity.
That's why
there are so many bad wines.
Wine is dead.
Wine is dead.
Let's be clear, wine is dead.
Not just wine: Cheeses. And fruits.
- Is her name "Vanille"?
- Fanny.
I said wine is dead.
So let me clarify:
What is wine?
For millennia,
wine has been a nearly religious
relationship between man,
essentially around
the Mediterranean...
It's a religious relationship
between man and nature.
With the earth, of course,
the live earth
free of synthetic products.
And with the weather.
J ust micro-oxy genate.
As much as you can.
As long as...
Listen, we'll keep in touch.
- You're just like a doctor.
- That's right.
- Doctor or psychiatrist?
- I'm both!
Can you sit tight minutes?
The wines that make you dream
transcend time.
They bring youth
instead of wrinkles and death.
That's % of the world's wines.
Among those great wines,
Bordeaux has been supreme.
Obviously, that chapter is closed.
Today,
Bordeaux worships only money.
A great wine springs
from love, humility,
a communion with the spiritual...
With the earth and time.
It takes a poet
to make a great wine.
That's been replaced
by wine consultants.
Brilliant and seductive.
Like Mr Rolland, for example.
It's a whole other species.
So I'm in H ungary, Italy...
France...
Take it, Thierry.
Spain, Portugal, Morocco...
South Africa...
Argentina, Chile...
Mexico...
the US...
I forgot one over there...
India!
I only hope they plant vines
on the moon,
so I can be
the first consultant there.
- Michel Rolland...
- He works for Mondavi.
Yes, I know.
Whom doesn't he work for?
I heard him once. In Tokyo.
He spoke at a conference
for hundreds of Japanese.
It's fantastic. Exhilarating!
A guy who wins clients
so elegantly, just by laughing...
He's always laughing.
You have to like him.
He's always got a smile.
"Gentlemen,
let's not fool ourselves.
"Great wines can be made anywhere."
There's only one rule to follow:
Consult Mr Rolland.
It's fantastic! J ust fantastic!
I happen to often work
with important people
in the wine world.
The Mondavis are important people.
Who in the wine world
doesn't know Mondavi?
If you don't,
you're not in the wine world!
See those hills?
They were going to raze them flat
with bulldozers.
So they could put up
huge billboards marked "Mondavi".
Big enough to see from the coast.
It was a great idea
to make a buck...
and cause deaths
at the first flood.
Like at Sommières.
There are idiots who still think
it's a shame
Mondavi was stopped.
You know,
people can be really stupid.
Aimé Guibert is the one
who led the fight against Mondavi.
He led the fight against them,
on a political level,
stirring up ignorant people:
Peasants, bumpkins, hicks.
Did you follow
the Mondavi Affair?
No comment.
Why not?
J ust because.
Did you follow
the Mondavi Affair?
Here, the vine is all-important.
In Paris, it may be factories
and all that,
but here it's the vine.
Do you know who'll give us
the real scoop on Aniane?
Yeah...
Mrs Gay.
Hello, Dog.
He's not a mean dog.
Without getting into politics
or cheap anti-Americanism,
we would've done the same
with Depardieu, who's here now.
Whether it's Mondavi, Rothschild,
or someone from Bordeaux,
for us the problem was the same.
Our fight was against
the deforestation of those hills.
They're among the last barriers
protecting towns like us
from Montpellier's urban sprawl.
It was the swindling
of the whole village.
As always in history,
God sent a lucky break:
Municipal elections.
That same year.
The eyes of the world are on us,
because we fought back
against Mondavi.
We're the tiny village
that resisted a huge power.
One day, we found out,
from the papers,
that an American billionaire
was moving in on Aniane:
Mondavi.
- You found out from the papers?
- The newspapers!
So you see, we were never warned.
Things were going on
behind our backs.
I honestly believed
that Mondavi's move here
would be a fantastic boon
for the region
and the wines of the Languedoc.
After that, I tried
to get the project going. Period.
What deal would I have made?
If I had made a deal, it would've
been with them, with Mondavi!
Who else?
So the elections:
Something incredible happened.
It's very rare in France, where
people are so politically minded.
Here, they forgot politics.
There was one honest man in Aniane.
He's a communist.
The old mayor had a deal
with the Mondavis.
- And Guibert?
- He was with us.
But for different reasons.
He saw Mondavi as a competitor.
It seems Mondavi tried
to buy him out.
Since the Mondavis are extreme,
they didn't just want a vineyard,
they wanted to create a great wine.
Guibert said Mondavi
tried to buy him out.
No. In fact,
Guibert approached Mondavi.
Should I hold back...
or not?
The Mondavis came to my property.
The two Mondavi brothers
and their whole financial team.
They even wanted to buy
Daumas Gassac.
I don't want to get into it.
Guibert is a figure.
H is Daumas Gassac Domaine
was critical for the Languedoc.
He was simply jealous
of Mondavi.
For years he dreamed
of developing Arboussas Forest.
I think rejecting Mondavi
was a historic mistake.
Mondavi is a P R powerhouse.
Mondavi is a P R powerhouse.
It's a marketing powerhouse.
It would've been a boon
for the Languedoc region,
but they didn't get it.
Goes to show
they're still peasants.
They've got a long way to go.
Languedoc sure is H icksville!
- How's everything?
- Fine.
H is name's Javier.
With the Staglins,
it's quite amusing, because
there's a real family atmosphere.
There's...
I forget his name...
Mr Staglin and Mrs Staglin...
- Garen.
- Yeah, Garen.
And Shari.
Where there's the vine,
there's civilization.
There's no barbarism.
What is this mysterious chair?
That's not a mysterious chair.
It's a Cabriolet
from the living room.
I don't know who left it here.
Maybe the repairman.
We must've sent it in
to get fixed.
We can't leave it out here.
You want us to put it somewhere?
Let's take it to the living room.
That's its place, right?
- Can you give me a hand?
- Sure.
In the Near East,
in Babylon and Ancient Greece,
they drank wine.
It wasn't always good,
but it existed.
It went hand in hand
with progressive societies.
- I forgot my keys down there.
- They're in the door.
Wine meant
an absence of barbarism.
I like wines that
cut through my palate.
Some wines spread outwards.
They fool you.
Those are modern wines.
You taste them,
and three minutes later,
you say:
"Not bad, but there's no depth."
When I taste a wine,
I like it to cut through my palate.
It's not this...
But straight.
- How many children do you have?
- Three.
An eldest daughter, Isabelle,
who's not in wine.
Then Alix, who is in wine.
I wish she'd done law.
But she married Roulot.
Now they're divorced.
She still gets along with him.
I'm sorry she got divorced.
But it's none of my business.
Isn't she quite young?
I told her - I have a saying:
Good sons-in-law
aren't always good husbands.
Good husbands
aren't always good lovers.
And good lovers
are rarely good husbands.
My son made that wine in ' .
He started at the domaine in ' .
He sticks to my principles,
but his wines might be
more civilized than mine.
More polished, not civilized.
The texture is smoother.
I had more... edge.
We're in the Folatières vineyard,
but the pickers
left a lot of grapes behind.
It's unacceptable.
They have to come back through.
It's totally unacceptable.
We're a er-cru vineyard.
There shouldn't be a single grape
left on the vine.
It's outrageous.
So you're going to go back,
take up your positions,
and pick up
all the grapes left behind.
And I'll go through each row
to check on your work.
You don't realize what it takes
just to get these grapes.
You don't seem to get it yet.
This isn't a scene from a film.
We're too scattered to fight.
I can fight for my beliefs,
but I'm alone with my hectares.
It's nothing.
God knows what Boisset
makes in sales.
He's even got hectares
of his own.
If he wants to go over
to the other side...
Rather than volume,
we're boosting our product value.
But with million bottles a year,
aren't you one of the biggest
French companies?
- In France, we're N º .
- What's your yearly income?
Our yearly sales
are million euros.
About million dollars.
You're the biggest
company in Burgundy?
In Burgundy, by far.
It's incredible
that your father started in ' .
- With nothing.
- Nothing at all.
But your daughter works
for Boisset, doesn't she?
Yes, but that's something else.
My daughter's good technically.
She has a good palate.
But in terms of management,
she's messy...
She's not quite there yet.
Boisset's the contrary.
We're in a human business, where
family plays an important role.
The Boisset Business wouldn't exist
without the Boisset family,
and vice-versa.
The role of women is key.
For balance.
But also for
the pursuit of perfection.
I guess you didn't put it up.
No. But we have fun
turning the pages.
I like what has purity and finesse.
That's the direction I take.
Do you take after your father?
Yes, I think so.
My parents' wines
are more subtle than opulent.
I have the same instinct.
I like wines that are streamlined,
that aren't flaccid.
I like acidity in wine.
A wine has to exist in time.
It has to last.
She's not at Boisset for life.
Will she come back
to the Domaine?
If her brother lets her.
They want to start
something together.
In principle, Etienne's in charge
of the family Domaine.
Of my three children,
she's the one most like me...
faults included!
She inherited the most from me.
She inherited the most from me.
Etienne's more like his mother.
They're not the life of the party.
The leadership switch wasn't easy.
My father has such
a strong personality.
To survive, you have to mark
your own territory.
It's never easy.
You feel it's at the expense
of the other's territory.
Which is stupid.
But father-son relationships
are never simple.
Taillepieds means "Tethered foot".
Because of the slope.
So the Taillepieds goes
from here to there.
It goes from those vines,
to over there...
to the road.
So Taillepieds has existed
since the Middle Ages?
Long before that, even.
Since the Gauls. But...
we know the history better
since the Dukes of Burgundy,
in the Middle Ages.
Taillepieds remains Taillepieds
whether it's H ubert
or Etienne de Montille there.
The vineyard remains.
It's the terroir.
Is terroir more important
than your name on the bottle?
Ten times more important.
I know, but I...
Alright. Sit tight.
I'm coming back.
And put the phone back.
The batteries are low.
There has to be
a personality and style.
There's always a style.
When I taste - I mean,
what is taste?
It's intuitive. It's personal.
I look for things I like.
So I do have a personal style.
There has to be my personal style.
Otherwise there's no man
behind the wine!
Otherwise there'd be
no Michel Rolland!
Wouldn't that be a shame!
Can you sit tight for one minute?
Brands are a part
of Anglo-Saxon culture.
Brands are a part
of Anglo-Saxon culture.
You cultivate brands.
Mondavi cultivates a brand.
Here we cultivate a system
of place or vineyard of origin.
After years, it's clear:
The place of origin
beats out any brand.
Brands get forgotten.
Like people.
You have neighbors
who talk about their brands.
I know.
That's why I'm taking a stand
against it.
Not violently...
When you have power...
it's not quite imperialism,
but when you have power,
as the US does...
you impose your culture.
You try to impose your tastes.
It's logical.
Rome tried to impose its tastes.
Rome had power
when it invaded Gaul.
In Bordeaux,
they make wines of terroir.
Not as much as here.
Since they make brand wines.
They don't like hearing it.
Take Mouton-Rothschild.
They abuse the name
by making it a brand.
They've marketed everything
but the kitchen sink.
They're no longer credible.
They've gone over
to the other side.
From now 'till noon,
you're going to see
Patrick Léon, our winemaker.
You use the English term
"winemaker"?
Right, "winemaker".
H is title is "technical director".
There's Mr Léon.
He came to meet us.
Patrick Léon.
Welcome to Château Mouton.
Baroness Philippine now heads
Mouton-Rothschild and the company.
And of course in California,
with the Mondavis,
we've been developing
Opus One for the past years.
That's the famous Californian wine,
Opus One.
It's Californian?
Not Franco-Californian?
It's definitely Californian.
Because wine is so dependent
on soil, on terroir.
So you can call it
Franco-Californian.
But it's Californian.
What you need to know
is that Mr de Eizaguirre
is used to interviews.
In a project like yours,
he'll be less comfortable.
He's used to a clean frame.
Baron Philippe and Bob Mondavi
felt an immediate connection.
It became the joint-venture
which is such a gigantic
success in the US.
- Opus One is a success?
- Absolutely.
Today, Opus One is
the most successful winery,
not in terms of volume,
but in terms of sales
and profitability.
We live in a global marketplace.
So Bordeaux also had to adapt
to global trends...
Wine is culture.
But the battle...
is less a cultural battle
than an economic one.
That said,
- and we French know this better
than anyone, unfortunately -
when you go...
when missionaries went to China,
they tried to convert the Chinese.
Here's why I hate
monolithic thinking...
They tried to convert
to Christianity
people who'd lived
with Confucian thought
for who knows how many centuries.
It's ridiculous.
Are a lot of Mondavi workers
Mexican?
Almost all of them.
All over the valley, Mexicans...
work in agriculture.
They know lots about grapes.
And lots about agriculture.
Are there Mexicans
who produce wines?
Not really.
Because of working in the fields...
I think it's all fine.
With their "fiestas" and culture.
We have a lot of respect.
That's a portrait
of the family founder.
He came from Hamburg.
They're all German.
Very austere.
Not German. Hanseatic.
Germany didn't exist
in the th century.
It was the English
who discovered wine
in Bordeaux
under Eleanor of Aquitaine.
- Back in the th century?
- Exactly.
You're better off buying wine
in advance
from a Protestant.
With Protestants, you've got
the guarantee of reliability.
With Catholics,
making money is a source of guilt.
In Latin cultures, money
has never smelled good. Never.
The Rothschild name
has a resonance
that goes beyond being Jewish.
The Rothschilds
rose through the centuries
and became a legend.
Today, people have completely
forgotten that they're Jewish.
Not a problem. Ever.
No importance at all.
Jews were always well received
in Bordeaux.
Take the Perreires.
They were Portuguese Jews.
The Gradis,
also Portuguese Jews.
The Perreires owned
Château Palmer until .
And in ?
Well, they sold everything.
The War was coming.
And the family disappeared.
The market for Bordeaux, at the end
of the War, at the late 's,
was European, but mostly English.
The UK.
And during the War,
it was the Germans, right?
The Germans, yes.
So what happened during the War?
Since the Baron was Jewish.
- He fled.
- To London.
- He went to London.
- With the Free French.
And his wife?
- H is wife was caught and deported.
- Deported.
- She died.
- Died.
- In a camp.
- Concentration camp.
- Dachau?
- And she was a Catholic!
How did merchants in
distinguish
between collaborating or not?
Was selling wine to the Germans
a form of collaboration?
No. It wasn't
considered collaborating.
If we hadn't sold wine...
- I say "we" because my family
sold to the Germans too -
the Germans
would've pillaged it instead.
So it was better to sell it to them.
Even if they paid with our money.
Money they stole from us.
Better sell it to them
than do nothing.
And not put the business at risk.
To the lab!
Stop here,
and get me some cigarillos.
Get me the Figaro newspaper.
There's an article on wine.
Today, wines are at another level.
It's much better.
There are the famous critics,
who now rank the wines.
That's where the wine consultant
can make a difference.
Hand me the cigarillos.
For this one here,
we're going to...
...micro-oxy genate.
Not all wines
are micro-oxy genated.
It's for those
with a modern outlook.
' was the revolution, right?
' was the big revolution!
That's when the critics were born.
Before that
they hardly mattered.
Among the critics,
Robert Parker
got the lion's share of influence.
Wasn't it Michel Rolland who...?
Didn't he make
Valandraud's reputation?
No.
It was Parker.
Parker counts the most
in terms of media power.
That's why they say
Valandraud's a "Parkerized wine".
What makes an estate famous is:
Parker's ratings,
the price you can get,
and media attention.
And if an owner's got charisma,
he can make the wine famous.
Personally, I have a lot of respect
for Robert Parker.
You can think what you want
of him.
He has a taste for certain wines,
right? Not always our taste, right?
But he's very honest.
Straight.
I'll never forget the day
he came to Château Kirwan.
He was so nervous.
He was the nervous one.
My sister-in-law and I
hadn't slept all night.
But he was even more nervous!
Isn't that great?
It's Parker's ratings
that have power. How they're used.
As for Parker...
I know Robert very well.
We often taste together.
Right here, at Mouton.
And he's a magnificent taster.
So, two months after the article,
Tim Mondavi says to me:
"Let's get together,
"because I think you should
work for Mondavi in the US."
Did Mondavi know you and Parker
were good friends?
Sure, sure.
Everybody knows that.
Parker's my friend,
but let's be clear.
I'm good friends with Bob.
We've known each other
for years.
We're good friends.
But it has no bearing at all!
But it has no bearing at all!
Robert Parker incites people
in France to commit fraud.
I don't know
if he's aware of it.
We know some people have altered
their wines, sometimes illegally,
because they wanted to be
in the Parker Wine Guide.
So they needed wines that were
concentrated and deeply colored.
Sometimes what they present
to Parker
isn't representative
of their production.
But he's inspired
a whole school of wine production,
that includes illegal methods.
It's a serious problem.
Even in Burgundy,
which traditionally doesn't produce
deep-colored wines,
people need to have deep color
or Parker won't be happy.
It all comes from his love
of Bordeaux.
He really loves Bordeaux.
He's helped Bordeaux wine
incredibly.
Throughout the world.
Not just in the US.
The day he stops, we should
name a street after him.
Bordeaux should do that.
Or Libourne.
Or Pomerol.
We could put up a little plaque.
He's always loved Pomerol.
He could get a little plaque!
Look, if a pied piper
comes to your town
and enchants you,
you'll have had pleasure
from his music.
But the world doesn't stop
because of that.
It's admirable.
Christopher Columbus
discovered America.
Parker discovered the music
that makes Bordeaux dance.
And how does the song go?
It's amazing!
It's an extraordinary song.
He says: "What I like is good.
And what I like most, is the best."
And everybody says: "O K".
Bravo!
Parker's also criticized.
He's T H E critic.
People say he's too influential.
He makes or breaks a wine.
But those
who fare badly with him
need to do
some soul searching.
They realize they should change.
They'd better modernize.
Parker's an important figure.
He counts.
We don't make our wines
to suit his taste,
but it's still important
to get his blessing.
- Does it matter for your sales?
- It's important, yes.
And I have to say that Parker
hasn't always appreciated
our wines.
We've evolved...
not for Parker's sake. But for ours.
But Parker approves of it.
"Terroirists".
Today, that says it all.
Those guys are
the ayatollahs of terroir.
They think terroir
justifies everything.
% new oak.
That's my philosophy.
Simple.
The new vintage goes
into these new oak barrels.
It's about or % in barrel...
But our barrels
are all new oak. %.
Is that traditional?
Or is it new?
It's almost traditional.
Opus One and all the great
American wines are % new oak.
Parker...
is one of the greatest advocates
of American interests.
Because in the US, in California,
they know all about marketing:
"Let's hide our lack of terroir
with the taste of new oak.
"We'll explain that wine
"should taste
like the vanilla of new oak."
- When was that?
- It started in the s.
"And we'll convince the French,
who really do have terroir,
"that that's what sells."
It was already Parker.
It was already Parker.
Because he rated the wines.
And he rated them as...
a good American Patriot.
Because by rating wines
based on the taste of oak,
he followed
his own personal taste.
But he also served the interests
of Californian winemakers,
who haven't yet had enough time
to uncover their terroir.
Get it?
- On purpose, you think?
- Of course. I couldn't be clearer.
Bordeaux had to adapt
to global tastes:
Wines that are more intense,
oaky, flattering.
The New World introduced wines
that are easy to drink right away.
They don't need the long
maturation process of a Bordeaux.
In the last years, it's true,
Bordeaux has evolved that way too.
He's the Wine Spectator's
photographer.
Who wants to continue working?
We want dough!
We want dough!
Even little Louis wants to work!
This is a tiny domaine.
My parents live off of the Domaine,
but a second family couldn't.
The pickers are still harvesting...
Joanna is the person
who selects the grapes.
She's not the person who selects.
Etienne, you have no sense of humor,
you never will.
No, I don't have a sense of humor,
I'm a serious person.
Come on.
It's hopeless!
He doesn't understand.
- I'm a serious person.
- Yeah, right.
Since you're a clown and have
a sense of humor, come see.
Alix is the serious one.
Not serious, no. She's competent.
That's different.
Competence and seriousness
are different.
And talent, and rigor...
different qualities.
You know what a great wine is?
% perspiration, % inspiration.
More than anything,
great wine is rigor.
Those are clichés for journalists!
You're not going to fool
these guys.
- O talented one!
- I never said I had talent.
Bow down!
The Talented One approaches!
So are we tasting your wine?
All right, Dad...
What do you want to taste?
Something good.
If there is any.
Sure, I do.
I see Boisset invests
in a "Thief",
but not in a spittoon.
I think Dad and I
have the same taste.
We like chiseled wines.
We feel that way
about people, too.
We don't like limp people.
Or limp wines.
The wine you make
is a reflection of who you are.
Dad can be...
very charming
but also very unpleasant.
Yeah.
- You admit it?
- With pride.
I can be odious.
He can be pretty acerbic.
H is wines
can be the same way.
You were about to spit
on your daughter, weren't you?
Not yet...
Dad makes very rigid wines.
Almost too austere.
It's true.
But they were good after years.
Yes.
It's like you. It takes
a long time to appreciate you.
But in the end, you drink me.
He's the brand manager
of Ropiteau.
It's like the eye of Moscow.
I'm naked underneath!
What an amazing feeling.
Taste the wine after this,
it has a whole other dimension.
Is it playing peek-a-boo?
It's teensie.
You could mistake it for a grape.
A whore wine comes right at you.
There really are trickster wines.
The wines that trick you...
They come on to you right away.
Then they drop you.
They drop you, like that!
In fact, they're "traitor" wines!
The modern world...
- because there's no time
for anything -
is used to wines that...
This world likes to be fooled.
Each brand
has key factors of success.
Not quite the key selling points,
but almost.
Each of our brands
has its own wines,
like what you tasted with Alix.
The Ropiteau product-combos are
different from those at Bouchard.
The marketing dynamics
and our plan to convince
the consumer are different.
The problem is...
the Boissets want me to sign off
on all the wines
in their Ropiteau brand.
Ropiteau sells bottles
of white and of red.
Have you seen any red wine here?
No.
The reds are made elsewhere.
At N uits-St-Georges.
Then each wine
gets a different label:
"Boisset", "Vienot", "Ropiteau"...
Depends on the market.
But they're the same wines.
And I won't play that game.
I won't play these tricks.
You're right.
So I'm quitting this winter.
I'm out of here.
- Really?
- I'm quitting.
I'm leaving this winter.
For sure, Dad.
I'm not a believer,
but I have faith in what I do.
Not a believer
in the religious sense?
I'm not religious.
But I really
have faith in what I do.
In what I love.
The modern world has spawned
a new form of fascism:
The fascism
of monopoly distribution.
These monopolies, in democracies
like the US or France...
which have always condemned
monopolies...
In France, we guillotined a king
because he monopolized power.
But we don't give a damn
about supermarket kings
like Carrefour, Auchan, etc.
But why not exploit us?
The government does nothing.
No laws.
With a monopoly on distribution,
what's bound to happen?
They turn to the winegrower:
"Get lost with your quality wines."
I want million bottles.
All the same.
Yeah, Magrez.
I work on all his properties.
He's a force of nature.
He pours his energy
into everything.
He created William Pitters:
A huge success, as everyone knows.
And now he's interested in wine.
He's headed straight for Aniane.
But not the same forest
Mondavi wanted.
People often ask me:
"Is Depardieu taking up
the Mondavi project?"
The people of Aniane reacted
against
the globalization of wine.
That's all I understood.
I read it in the papers.
I don't really want to know more.
Mondavi wanted hectares
right away.
That's tough in this region.
But when you look closely,
what's Depardieu going to do?
He's going to buy a hectare here,
three there.
Half a hectare...
When we came in with a star
like Gérard Depardieu,
right after Mondavi
and their differences
with the town,
we raised some eyebrows,
inevitably.
But we explained ourselves
very clearly on this point.
We're creating a project that's
totally different from Mondavi's.
Depardieu's presence is a gift.
He's the icing on the cake.
Depardieu's a great fan
of my wine, Daumas Gassac.
He's said it many times,
in the papers and on TV.
The company I created
with Gérard is called:
"The key to terroir".
Because we look for the key
that opens the terroir.
But Depardieu's
not coming alone, is he?
Sure, he's coming with
a huge merchant from Bordeaux.
He's bringing
the magic of his name,
and a guy who knows
how to sell wine.
Some people say Magrez is just
the French version of Mondavi.
No, I wouldn't say that.
Magrez...
Magrez is a clever man, who built
a great business out of nothing.
From the age of to
when I was put in a school
for apprentice laborers,
at least times a year,
I'd go to school
with a paper
pinned to my back saying:
"I'm a lazy boy".
I'd slink along the walls,
and the school director would say:
"Your Dad's been at it again".
You can't imagine
how disturbing that is.
Were you more indulgent
with your son?
Certainly not, no.
My wife was even worse.
She really gave him hell.
But it was necessary.
Everyone needs their share
of beatings.
You don't have to love everyone.
Thankfully.
You think Magrez
isn't globalization?
Magrez's capital,
that's not globalization?
IBM setting up offices
in Montpellier isn't globalization?
Wasn't it IBM
that made Montpellier so rich?
And why did we help Dell
come to Montpellier?
Isn't that more dangerous
than Mondavi?
Social Forum Today:City on alert.
Are you protecting the storefronts
from the Social Forum?
We have to try.
These are our ancestors.
Our name is written on that letter.
Here's a Lamberto Frescobaldi.
In the th century,
he was the richest man in Florence.
So people say.
This is a painting of a room
at the Pitti Palace.
Yesterday, I had dinner
with Prince Charles of England.
We talked about this painting.
- Did he come for the Social Forum?
- Oh, no!
These are the people
from Mondovino.
It's quarter to .
I have to go...
Vittorio, when are you coming back?
Look, Bona,
I'm in a hurry right now.
These are the Frescobaldi archives.
They go back to .
I'm looking for the letter
from Henry VI I I
where he asks
for Frescobaldi wine.
Here's how the marriage happened:
When the Mondavis came
to Tuscany,
they made a study of
who could make a good partner.
But they did it all in secret.
Without ever showing their hand.
They studied the field,
they made comparisons, in secret.
First there were three families
as candidates. Then two.
In the end, there was only us left.
I have a total admiration
for Bob Mondavi.
I consider him...
one of the greatest figures
in the world of wine today.
H is influence is incredible.
That's all for the Social Forum.
They're watching from above.
But his influence has gone
beyond California.
It goes beyond even the New World.
To the Old World, too.
He's influential
in Australia, in Chile.
But also in the Old World.
Look at me, I'm influenced by him.
The Antinori's activities
have always been
intertwined with the politics,
economy and history of Florence.
Our two families' destinies
have always been linked.
Our two families' destinies
have always been linked.
Frescobaldi Chapel
Was it ever possible that
the Mondavis would partner with you?
Instead of with the Frescobaldis?
Yes,
it was certainly a possibility...
So...
- When did you do my brother?
- A few days ago.
Oh, alright.
We have an appointment
with the Marquis.
So we turn left and then...
Could you please reopen?
The gates are closing on us.
The Frescobaldis have about
hectares of vineyards,
but weren't very good
at selling wine.
My father had only hectares,
but he knew how to sell wine.
Wine has to reflect
the place it comes from.
Otherwise it's just a brand name.
To be a great "estate wine",
it must reflect a certain reality.
And this is our reality.
Making the Nº wine in the world
means communicating
something deep inside yourself.
The team at the Wine Spectator
had a deep feeling
that this was
the # wine in the world.
In the past years in Italy,
the wine that's caused a sensation
was Ornellaia.
Sure, there's his brother Piero's
Tignanello,
and a few others.
But Ornellaia was the one
that really grabbed
the media's attention.
Michel Rolland perfected the wine.
He's a friend and collaborator.
Of all his experiences
across the world,
I think Ornellaia
was the most fulfilling for him.
A challenge...
In '
Lodovico opened Ornellaia's capital
up for investors.
He sold part of it to Mondavi.
I don't remember the details,
but I think it was or %.
He saw Mondavi respected the sense
of place and the wine's creator.
So Lodovico decided
to go forward with Mondavi.
I was in a vulnerable moment.
So my friend at Goldman Sachs
took advantage of that situation.
When the Mondavis first came in,
they started with a small share.
- How much?
- %.
And then I saw...
Jonathan. Is that your name?
Yes.
Jonathan, I saw that...
In February of this year,
they bought the majority share
in Ornellaia.
A month later, they announced they
were selling % to Frescobaldi.
That's the scandal.
Because we think the Mondavis
planned this from the beginning.
But they didn't tell me,
because I would've never sold.
Because after their defeat in
France, the Board of Directors said
they must never invest abroad
without a local partner.
It's better to have
a local partner...
They were coming out of
a painful experience
in Aniane, in the South of France.
They tried to do something...
It didn't happen...
They tried to do something...
It didn't happen...
They didn't get...
I was in Aniane at that time.
We knew the Aniane project
was finished.
Since I'm half-ltalian,
they offered me this position.
Very sweetly.
They offered it to me in J une.
Right when they stopped
in Aniane.
She's shy.
We work together here.
- Is that your Dad?
- Yes.
He died two years ago.
He died young.
He was only .
This used to be my Dad's store.
We called him Beppe.
This store was called
"Beppe's Cantina".
He was born
and lived among...
among these products.
- And he loved them?
- Yes.
They were his passion.
A passion that he passed on
to his children.
There are no "Supertuscans".
Only global wines. All the same.
A single, worldwide gnocchi.
All over the world,
wine production is the same.
There's no difference at all
between the wines.
The wines are too manipulated
by man.
It's mostly hype.
The land in Bolgheri
was the same years ago.
All this wine is from Bolgheri.
And Ornellaia is going for...
euros.
These wines have a structure,
a body, a color,
that no soil can give.
I mpossible
without the hand of man.
Oak barrels are fundamental
to making wine.
The Italians
call them "barriques" too.
So barrels are really in fashion
in Tuscany these days.
There didn't use to be
any barrels in Tuscany.
They've been used in Tuscany
only very recently.
We put each wine, from
separate vats, into oak barrels.
Before, wines matured slowly.
Now, since people
want to drink at once,
we had to create this idea
of maturity with technology.
But in the end, the natural way
of ageing a wine is the best.
Like those great
-year-old Burgundies.
That's when I get real sensations
from the wine.
Then I wonder:
"My God, what am I doing?"
And I must go back to my vulgarity.
Because all these modern products
are a bit vulgar
compared to an old Burgundy.
Two years ago,
this wine cost lire.
That's euros.
You want the truth about Ornellaia?
Ornellaia was acquired by Mondavi.
The same year, it became
the N º wine in the world
in the Wine Spectator.
No need to say more.
It speaks for itself.
The economy is changing
very quickly.
And, alas, many people are afraid...
afraid of not being
up to the task.
They're afraid of being left out.
Like the small retailers
when the supermarkets arrived.
Let's ask Dad.
- Politically? When?
- During the era of fascism.
A question.
We didn't adhere to
the fascist regime in its totality.
But as a guarantee of order.
Of the status quo.
Fascism meant order for Italy.
The trains ran on time...
My father...
Yes, he was a fascist,
but because it fit his needs.
He was a landowner.
He was a saintly man.
A good person.
He taught by example
more than anything.
My father was a marketing genius.
He could've become
a marketing master.
He never needed to study it.
It was in his blood.
He made Antinori a brand
through brilliant marketing.
He replaced the Tuscan flask
with the Bordeaux-style bottle.
My father's generation
had seen two wars.
Was it hard for your father,
during the fascist era?
No. Because in those days,
Italian industry...
was stimulated and encouraged.
A ton of things changed
in Italy at that time.
With fascism.
The danger of communism.
How did your grandfather
feel about fascism?
At the time,
my grandfather was...
a supporter of fascism.
What you need to know...
is that Italy, at that time,
needed a strong, energetic hand.
And fascism did bring about
a certain order.
- Mussolini did...
- He did some great things.
Great things for Italy,
which we're still enjoying today.
At a certain point
he lost his head
and ruined everything by allying
himself with H itler... but...
Still working?
The Social Forum
will finish before you're done!
Still, we've got to do something.
Florence:Invasion of the "No Globals".
The Social Forum? What's it going
to achieve? Absolutely nothing.
It does concern me.
I'm from Cameroon.
I have to interrupt my studies
because I can't afford to eat.
I have to pick up jobs like
sweeping the streets of Florence.
So I can eat
and pay for my studies.
And my parents are civil servants
back home! That hurts.
Do they want the poor to just die?
Sad reality.
We got married in April
and came here in J une, right?
And we didn't need
our parents' approval!
What did your parents say?
They don't like
that it was so far away.
We've heard
about this region
because they have
more than one harvest a year.
That really piqued our interest.
The future of wine is here.
It could really be amazing.
H is idea has always been to make
the best wine in the world.
Whatever.
We're almost there.
That's what he thinks anyway.
Out here,
we're just beginning, right?
There's no relation to the past.
To any winemaking tradition.
Here...
winemaking history
only goes back years.
Your relation's more
with the future?
Absolutely.
Hello.
H i, say hello.
He's the th person
called Arnaldo Etchart.
- The fifth?
- There've been Arnaldo Etcharts.
And you're the fifth one?
My great-grandfather founded
the Etchart winery in .
I like your pin.
I got to know
Napa Valley
when Patrick Léon invited me.
He is Mondavi's partner
at Opus One.
So I met Tim Mondavi.
How many points has Parker given
your "San Pedro de Yacochuya"?
. .
- . ?
- No. .
He's really good friends
with Michel Rolland.
How many properties in Argentina
does Rolland work for?
Many.
He changed the face
of Argentine wine.
He changed the face
of Argentine wine.
He changed the quality
of wine in Argentina.
- Michel by himself?
- Absolutely.
One man alone?
Well, Michel and I,
because I brought Michel.
- Of course.
- Two people.
The first time Rolland came
to Argentina was for Arnaldo.
The label is signed...
"Michel Rolland".
Michel says:
"Without art, without culture...
"it's virtually impossible
to make great wine".
A winemaker without culture
can't make great wine.
Generally,
the indigenous people here
have no sense of initiative.
They're more laid back...
- They're people without drive.
- Yes, exactly.
Socially, they don't move forward.
They have no ambition.
Why?
- It's their culture.
- Yeah, for sure.
It's because of their race.
Because of their ancestors.
So what do they want?
J ust to live.
No worries.
They have no ambition,
those people.
You can't stand for culture
without having it yourself.
It's like standing for truth
by lying.
Perón embodied the populist movement
in Argentina.
He was most impressed by the...
the social policies of Mussolini.
And above all, the working
management of the regime.
Perón was really fascinated
by Mussolini.
But also by H itler.
Although Perón wasn't
that kind of...
anti-Semite.
He didn't have anything
against Jews.
Not at this corner,
but the next one?
Yeah, you can find him up there.
Come here, Negro!
- Are you Mr Antonio Cabezas?
- Yes.
Your sister told us about you.
My father knew
how to make wine.
Then we started raising sheep.
- Even here?
- Of course.
These "Torrontes" grapes
are for white wine.
- What's your dog's name?
- N ilo.
This land's not profitable.
Not even for making wine.
But if you sell grapes,
it's worse.
You get cents.
Why, why do I hang on to this land?
Why, then?
Because I have no education.
I've nothing else to live on.
I have to work just to survive.
The worst of it is...
I earn $ a month.
I have to earn a little more
just to have enough to eat.
But what if you sold your land?
I'm a native.
My father was pure blood,
indigenous.
So I love it here.
When you're born here,
you grow attached.
All of us Indians
- I'm an Indian -
we feel resentment.
- I'm an Indian -
we feel resentment.
We owned this land.
Now we have to buy a plot
to be buried in, or to farm.
For me, it's as if someone
came here and said:
"This is all mine now. Goodbye".
There used to be
many natives here.
The two biggest tribes were...
the Quilmes and the Tolombones.
But the Quilmes weren't as brave
as the Tolombones.
The Spanish force-marched
the Quilmes to Buenos Aires.
The Tolombones stayed
and fought to the death.
What a beautiful smell.
And it ages really well too.
I'd like to offer a bottle
to you and the young lady.
It was my wife and...
and me.
We were years old
when that was made.
So young.
Did she help you make wine?
No.
H is name is...
Luther... Luther King.
That's what we call him.
Luther King!
Because he's black.
Really black.
There's a sort of tradition
with us. We've always been...
independent thinkers.
My great-grandfather was already
an independent thinker.
We've always been skeptical and...
we've always been against
monolithic thinking.
We've always been that way.
I hope my children
continue this tradition.
Do you think they will?
With Alix, it's already happened.
With Etienne, it's less sure.
He inherited from his mother.
He's more traditional.
No, not traditional,
that's not the word,
he's more of a...
monolithic thinker.
Order.
I like order,
but I like disorder too.
Why not!
Whether you're rich or poor
doesn't matter.
But we're a dignified people.
A proud people.
But it took thousands of years.
We have a very ancient culture
here in Sardinia.
Man has always lived here
with dignity.
So why shouldn't we also
live in dignity today?
But we mustn't get distracted
by the phantoms of progress,
which can destroy us
and destroy nature.
And bring suffering...
to others.
We ought to live in tranquility
on this land.
And there's room for others.