THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE:
Nossiter worries that globalization is destroying small wineries like the one owned by Battista Columbu in Sardinia
Jonathan Nossiter says he never wanted to make a film about wine. The American filmmaker and sommelier thought it would be too hard to avoid the snob image that his favorite beverage often evokes. A slick portrait of oenophiles spouting pretentious adjectives as they decant a product the audience can only enjoy vicariously? No thanks. "That would have been worse than the cheesiest porn film," he says. Luckily, Nossiter, 43, overcame his reluctance.
Mondovino
, his documentary about globalization's impact on the winemaking business, is a quirky, subversive defense of
Terroir
: the idea that every wine ought to be a unique expression...
