In the foothills of the Pyrenees, rebels have invaded the vineyards. Row upon row of grapes sit and ferment in their own natural way, never being touched by chemicals or additives. It’s a rarity in the elite world of grape growing, where the spike in global demand has led most other growers to use modern technology and chemicals. Wine Calling, the delicious new documentary from Bruno Sauvard, follows this community of natural growers over a year.
“It’s magical” is how one grower sums up the process. “You have grapes, then a few months later you can get drunk. It’s great!” With this debut feature Sauvard has created one of the all time great documentaries about food, stepping over the regular pitfalls of French high-art and throwing himself into the passionate spirit of this unique cohort. Wine to these people is what rock-and-roll was to the children of the sixties; an embodiment of the anti-establishment, feel no hate and live by love ethos which seems to be serving them very well.
The natural wine movement takes the process back to the way that it has been done for hundreds of years. They’re the bane of the chateau vineyards who rule the world market, the avant-garde of a new movement, elements of which seem to be taking hold across the Western world. “This isn’t a trend of some hipster fad” we’re assured by a loyal customer. “Natural wine doesn’t poison the soil or other human beings.” This might be the future of wine making, which in France is serious business. There are over 3,000 wine growers in France, less than 3% of them using this method, and this isn’t just a simple difference of opinion; food is a way of life here. Some of the Bordeaux labels are still working with grapevines planted by Julius Caesar’s garrisons back in the time of the empire.
It’s a sense of personality that makes this such an infectious experience. The editing is fast paced, adding a sense of energy and blending perfectly with the music. Everything is so romantically and unmistakably French: farmers with unkempt beards taking a break to go home for a glass of wine and a cigarette, black coffee fresh from the stovetop, and copies of Proust sitting on bookshelves. There’s even a scene where someone starts playing an accordion while the others tuck into a cheese platter. Classic French stubbornness creeps in as well; they’re not a people afraid to say what they think, like snorting and dismissing rosé as only “for Parisiens and tourists”. The whole process looks so appealing, that when it was finished I was ready to quit my job, throw some things in a backpack, and speed towards the airport.
It isn’t easy; when you go traditional there’s so safety net. You’ll only know the season was a failure at the very end, and slight differences in work can cause big variations in the outcome; there’s a reason why so many other have turned to using pesticides and other chemicals. Yet when it goes right it produces some of the best results in the culinary world. The whole process takes nine months, which one of the women is proud to point out is like giving birth – “I raise it as best I can. A little femininity in a man’s world.”
You could read this community as a perfectly little Marxist dream. You appreciate and respect your fellows by (literally in this case) enjoying the fruits of their labor. Their work is not alienated, they see the best of themselves in the goods they produce, externalising what’s good inside them. They’re a close knit community too, helping each other out when one of them is down. The year filming took place one of their fathers passed away, so all the surrounding growers came over to help prune.
Wine Calling is one of the most delicious food films to come along recently. It’s great fun from start to finish, an experience that will make you leave the theatre and go to the nearest wine store. There are few things in the world better than an evening spent with interesting people and good wine, but documentaries about them come in a close second.
Wine Calling screens as part of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival from 6th March to 10th April.
