We
watched the movie Blood into Wine in
my Geography of Wine class.
Professor Boyer claimed this movie was his favorite documentary wine
film, and I soon realized why.
When I first heard that we were watching a “wine documentary,” I could
not figure out how a film dedicated solely to the winemaking process could be
entertaining. For some reason, I
thought it would be boring and mundanely educational. However, I was definitely wrong about what type of film this
was. Blood into Wine turned out to be an enjoyable, and even comical,
documentary about Maynard James Keenan and Eric Glomski, and their Caduceus
brand wine out of Arizona.
Directed by Christopher Pomerenke and Ryan Page, Blood into Wine is a must-watch film for young or beginner wine
lovers.
Maynard
James Keenan, the lead singer of the heavy metal rock band Tool, and his
business partner Eric Glomski team up to create a winery. Maynard becomes extremely interested in
winemaking during his rock tours in Europe, the land of wine. Maynard
returned to the United States, and settled down in Phoenix, Arizona. He started studying the winemaking
industry and found Eric Glomski, whom had experience working in the wine
business. After some research,
they started growing grapes in Verde Valley of Northern Arizona. The film then goes on to document the
initial wine growing process that Maynard and Glomski went through when
starting their wine business, Caduceus Cellar. It shows the audience the ups and downs of growing wine in
Arizona. The film also follows
Maynard and Glomski as they attend autograph signings during wine
presentations, and it shows wine tastings at the Caduceus wine store. Famous wine critic, James Suckling, even
appeared in the film to critique the Caduceus wine.
Throughout
the film, we experience some comedic relief from comedians Patton Oswalt and
Bob Odenkirk. They “interview”
Maynard through what I’m pretty sure was a made-up show. They joke about him being a merely
“D-list” celebrity, and mock his wine business and “disgusting” wine, even
though they end up getting hilariously drunk. Maynard also provides some humor, mostly through his very
sarcastic and biting personality. He
is a very smart and polite person, but the film depicts his bottled up anger,
possibly from his rocker days.
Personally, I think the wine business, although stressful, is actually
having a relaxing and calming effect on Maynard.
Maynard
began studying wine in 1999, and soon after finding his business partner,
Glomski, they began growing grapes in the unusual area of northern
Arizona. The early problems
Maynard and Glomski faced where mostly due to the initial grape growing
period. Like most wineries, the
first batch of grapes makes it or breaks it. They needed a successful season of grapes, or they would
have wasted a lot of money, time and effort. Maynard himself gets down, dirty and involved in the grape
growing process. Luckily, they
ended up producing a good batch of grapes, and named their vineyard Merkin
Vineyard. They then experimented
with the grapes in order to perfect their uniquely tasting wine.
There
are two main points that the film wants the audience to follow. The first intention of the film is to
highlight Maynard’s duel personalities.
One lifestyle portrays is his “rocker” personality, and the other his
“winemaker” personality. Many
people are in disbelief when they hear that Maynard is a winemaker as well as
the lead singer of a heavy metal rock band. These two professions do not usually mix or work
together...at all. However,
Maynard specifically explains in this film that he was never keen on the
“rockstar” lifestyle. He favored a
life away from the sex, drugs and rock and roll, and much preferred the winemaker
lifestyle free from fame. Many of
his rock fans show up at his wine tastings and signings, and Maynard shows them
his winemaker side of life. Maynard
is actually very serious about his winemaking, and this is seen through his
winemaker personality. Maynard even
says he prefers the winemaking business to the rocker business, and he does not
regret giving up his rocker lifestyle for the winemaker lifestyle.
The
second main point of this documentary is to show the audience that Arizona is
an up and coming wine making state.
The audience gets to experience the vast, beautiful desert scenery known
to Arizona. Maynard and Glomski
started their lush vineyard on a stretch of land in arid Arizona, in the Verde
Valley. The stretch of Arizona
land is actually a desert, and not a place someone would think to plant grapes
or make wine. The Arizona desert
landscape is not a typical environment for the winemaking business. However, this documentary shows the
audience that Arizona can actually produce some great wine; some may say it’s
on par with California wine. I don’t
exactly remember which grapes were grown at Merkin Vineyards, but James
Suckling tasted Maynard’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which he dedicated to his late
mother, and gave it a favorable review.
I
would definitely recommend this film to a wine audience. In addition, I would recommend this
film to anyone at all because it might make someone interested in wine. It highlights the up and coming wine
industry in the unlikely state of Arizona, but not in a dragging educational
fashion. Oswalt and Odenkirk, and
even the dry humor of Maynard, bring the comedic punch to this fascinating
documentary. Rocker Maynard, and
the mostly forgotten about Glomski, make this film delightfully interesting and
relatable by their unlikely business relationship. This isn’t a typical clean-cut, sophisticated film about
wine. Some film critics claim this
film is very sporadic, unfocused and random. Well...duh. The
film is about a rocker turned winemaker, and that is pretty random. Blood
into Wine will not disappoint anyone looking for an out-of-the-ordinary wine
film experience.
