March 25 2007
Two weeks ago I wrote a post called “The Endless Harvest” observing the increase in wine brands that are globally sourcing fruit and/or wine to create wine brands that definitely capitalize on the increasing “World is Flat” mode of operations.
I also observed that, from a marketing perspective, having somebody do a documentary, following harvest at various wine regions throughout the Europe, South America, Australia, Africa, etc would be a pretty good idea in order to connect with a younger audience attuned to import brands and travel.
One of the brands engaged in this global sourcing that I could have talked about is Don Sebastiani and Sons. I more heavily referenced Betts & Scholl for no particular reason, but they are much smaller and less well known than Don & Sons.
The post was timely enough, particularly because the Sonoma Valley Film Festival begins on April 11th.
In response to my post, lo and behold, I got in touch with a Napa Valley-based filmmaker, Bret Lyman, who is creating his current work using the pseudonym B. Napa. B. Napa not only is working on a project called “Crush,” but he is doing so with sponsorship from Don & Sons.
The short film is going to premier during the Sonoma Valley Film Festival on April 12th.
Damn. What a good idea. Those guys are smart—so smart they are at least nine months ahead of my post, which now looks simultaneously prescient, sanguine AND silly. Silly because I didn’t connect the dots that this was a project already coming to fruition, no pun intended.
I had the opportunity to catch up with B. Napa and talk about his project. As something akin to the “Warren Miller” of wine films, I sensed a vigor, hardened by his 15 years in New York, which belied his languid California wine country locale.
Plunging deeper, B. Napa is striving for greater permanence, working on a documentary that will take him to Chile and Argentina in the next several months while trying to create an oeuvre akin to the aforementioned filmmaker Warren Miller, an artist and documentarian whose work, primarily, focused on outdoor sports and embodied a grace, subtle wit and deep reverence for its subjects.
Asking, “What does wine mean” B. Napa is exploring this question after living in a post 9/11 New York City, coming to something of a career crisis and crossroads and subsequently moving back to the Valley while experiencing significant family upheaval.
Many good documentaries (and artists) use their subject as a medium to explore greater and more significant issues than what a first blush look would lead you to believe. The documentary “Hoop Dreams,” for example, used inner-city Chicago basketball as a tableau to explore social issues related to race.
“What does wine mean” is a good question, and in the hands of this talented filmmaker I’m pretty sure that question, in its exploration, will cut deeper and with more meaning than what we can imagine.
B. Napa’s work shows itself to be almost lyrical in its aesthetic beauty with a keen eye and a trained ear for the right music and, yes, the subtle wit that is a hallmark of Warren Miller. Check out the world premiere of his short film “Crush,” that will be a part of the Sonoma Valley Film Festival “Cinema Epicuria” on April 12th at 5:30 pm PST.
Check out some of B. Napa’s work at the following links:
“Crush” Trailer:
http://www.donandsons.com/films/
“Topaz” Film Short:
Posted in, Free Run: Field Notes From a Wine Life. Permalink | Comments (3) |
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Sorry to have to plug my blog here, but in my video interviews with such figures as Jim Clendenen, Dirk Richter, and Randall Grahm, I routinely ask “What does wine mean to you?” That almost always produces amazing responses.
Thanks for your blog.
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