Food and drink are necessary for survival
and, more than that, are often forms of small or large luxuries. When we see
these consumable luxuries we tend to think of them as fleeting pleasures,
things to be enjoyed – perhaps even discussed and remembered – but not as
things that are the end result of an established culture.
However, in truth these products are very
much the result of a culture that exists within the bounds of the law – for example
sanitary laws or laws of regional designation – as well as within the robust
and exacting rules of the cultural gatekeepers.
The documentary film Somm: Into the Bottle provides a window on these often unexamined aspects of
winemaking and the larger wine industry and how these pieces fit together to
form a self-defining culture.
Somm:
Into the Bottle is a follow-up to the documentary
film Somm, which delves into the
world of Master Sommeliers and explores the arduous educational and testing
process undertaken by those seeking to attain this most coveted of statuses in
the wine world. In itself, Somm
presents a unique understanding of a world that is often under-valued or
misunderstood by even those who avail themselves of the knowledge provided by
sommeliers. Many of the same individuals profiled in Somm return to Somm: Into the
Bottle to serve as guides into the world of winemaking and the wine
industry, telling the story of the wine product many viewers are familiar with
in ways that probe what wine actually is.
The story unfolds through chapters, ranging
from the historical origins of wine to the pouring of the product into barrels.
Far from presenting a simple story, the film moves on to examine every aspect
of the creation of the product. To do so, the story told focuses on the
territory used to grow wine grapes throughout the world, noting the origins of
winegrowing as stemming from early colonization, notably Roman colonization, of
areas amenable to grapes that yielded certain forms of wine. Inherent in this
aspect of the story is the interlinking between the territory and those on it,
leading to the creation of multiple generations of families focused on the
territory used for winemaking.
In many ways, there are essential
similarities between these developments and the creation of kingdoms and modern
countries with set patterns of culture and identity. These parallels are
furthered with the discussion of laws – some of them quite old – that restrict
the ability to use a certain name for a product unless the product actually
originates in a given territorial location. Through the seals or other
manifestations of origin, bottles of wine – for example those from Champagne –
essentially carry their own forms of passports.
The film’s chapters move on to examine the
various components of the wine product itself. Perhaps obviously, there is a
great deal of focus on the grapes themselves, noting how the environment and
experiences of the vines and the grapes as they mature form the identity of the
grape for later wine usage. There are unwritten rules as to how to handle vines
to train them to produce in certain environments and to function in even
challenging climates and seasons. In this way, the film presents aspects of
wine growing that are similar to the ways in which society and law regulate the
conduct of individuals and teaches future generations.
Similarly, the film emphasizes the many
people involved in the creation of wine and how they are governed by tradition
as well as law in ways that are similar to the functioning of society and the
governing of individual relationships. For example, the length of time in which
a wine remains in a barrel and the fermentation agents added to it trains the
wine and gives it identity. Even the barrels themselves have a huge impact on
the product, with different barrels imparting different identities to the wine.
Ultimately, the film presents the final
product of the winemaking process. It also presents the ways in which wine is
brought to life. Bringing wine to life is contingent on the existence of a
product that is the result of a culture that is self-governing through respect
for the product and the components that are involved in it. As the film
presents it, this culture is international and constitutes an entity older than
current countries in the international system. This culture is preserved
through tradition and remains viable through the ability to modernize – a
balance many countries cannot strike. At the same time, this culture can work
within the national legal systems that apply to the areas in which wine is made
and indeed the national legal systems are often used to achieve certain of the
culture’s goals, such as protection from predatory outside forces wishing to
misappropriate a geographical designation.
Overall, Somm: Into the Bottle informs the audience of the broader context
surrounding the bottle of wine it might encounter as a consumer or even a mere
bystander. While the film itself is limited to wine it opens a door onto the
larger world of culture society and regulation of food and beverages,
particularly those that are ubiquitous luxuries to many societies.
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