A Year in Burgundy (2013)

You won't be disappointed!

A Masterpiece!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I am really sorry I don't speak French. I am interested in the subject of wine making & travel & really wanted to like this film. But I was disappointed. There is an English speaking narrator but most of the segments & interviews with the wine makers are in French. No surprise after all it is in France & that's what people speak there so that's all cool and very acceptable. Problem is there are no sub-titles (or at least I couldn't find out how to get them to appear) for us English speaking folks. Felt like I missed all the best and most informative parts which were when the actual wine makers were talking and explaining things. So, why no sub titles? This comes off as some snobbish move on the Directors part. So stupid Americans learn French or don't watch my film. I choose the latter option and stopped watching. 3 Stars only because I don't speak French!

I have to say that I did not learn very much from this movie. Oh, it's beautifully shot all right. And you do get to see grape vines, barrels, wineries, fermentation, bottling, pruning, planting, swirling, sniffing, sampling, and much else. But it's all done in a very atmospheric rather than informative way. "Pesticides are used less and less," it says (or something like that) without going into how much and why. We see a vine being planted, but no mention of root grafting. No discussion of clones. We learn that every wine tasted different, but in what ways? If you want to learn more of the truth about wine making, get Mondovino. If you want a nice pleasant and well-scented bath in a romantic region, get this movie.

Just over 20 years ago a miniseries was made called "A Year in Provence", chronicling the first year of a British couple when they moved to that region of France. I suspect the title of this documentary was at least in part inspired by that earlier title. But this one focuses exclusively on the wine industry of the Burgundy region of France, the source of some of the best and most expensive wines in the world.The documentary is produced by a French lady living in California who is also in the wine merchant business. As such she visits all her producers in France several times a year, so her making this documentary was straightforward and natural. As they mention, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, the two prominent wines of Burgundy, are native to that area. What fortune!It is divided into the 4 seasons, starting with spring when the vines awaken from their winter sleep and bud out. The year was 2011 and the weather warmed up unusually early. The worry was that a late frost would damage the fresh buds, but all turned out well.The film shows what is done in the summer, to care for and prune the vines, and the worry about drought. Watering the vines is strictly prohibited by French law, only natural rainfall. Then the harvest, picking just the right day where the juice has the right balance of acid, sugar, and other characteristics essential to making fine wine. And before the next bad weather comes through. Then the crush, the fermentation, the wintertime work in the cellar. A point is made that Burgundy has hundreds of winemakers and each has his or her own technique, not shared among winemakers. So each wine turns out to have its own characteristic. Back in 1998 a few of us spent a couple of weeks in the Provence region of France and while we were there a traveling wine salesman brought wines from Burgundy and we had an impromptu tasting right there outside the country house we were renting on the river Sorgue. The wines were "heavenly" and several of us bought a case each. When we got home back in the states and opened them, the wine was good, but not heavenly as during the testing. I suspect we were victims of "bait and switch", still it is a good memory of that September in the French wine country.

It is a weekend, winter is around, fireplace is on, snow arriving…. Missing the charm of those summer holidays, the joy of traveling…Stuck to the sofa, want to enjoy and relax in the same time.How to enjoy a good Sunday and get it close to perfection?Just put your slippers on, and get down to your wine cellar, pick a bottle of good Pinot Noir or Chardonnay from Burgundy, on the way back to the sofa grab quickly a good wine glass and a corkscrew.Then you can get the movie A Year in Burgundy either online on ITunes or get the DVD.You will fly off to Burgundy for less than a plane ticket. map burgundy vineyardThe movie is done kind of documentary following San Francisco-based wine importer Martine Saunier and seven of her wineries – Domaine Leroy, Domaine Perrot-Minot, Domaine Morey- Coffinet, Domaine Bruno Clavelier, Domaine Mortet, Domaine Michel Gay & Fils, and Dominique Cornin – across the 2011 vintage year.The kind of movie-docu that you get definitely get stuck to, inspiring wine makers, different ways of thinking, opposite wine making styles, but all resulting in well known top quality wines.Displaying various philosophy of creating a living liquid that will often print your memory for ever. harvest burgundy Opening eyes, bringing knowledge to the viewer without him noticing he is learning a good trick ;)Not only decrypting wine and wine makers, but also pulling the Burgundy traditions and bon- vivant feeling in front, with local parties, tastings, cellars, winemaker families, generations…piano burgundyDescribed as evocative, entertaining, rich, opulent, but still tied to traditions & roots, wine region we all envy & dream. Delicate balance of education, history, humanity, nature & personalities – Cheers to you all !