"They're 40-50 meters high, right?" "Right." "Can you make wine from coconuts?" "No." "Only juice." "These words..." "You'd think we'd just discovered them." "Love and pleasure." "But love and pleasure have always made the world go round." "At least they should." "At 75, I'm overwhelmed with... with a need to share pleasure, to exchange, to meet people." "My husband had a real love affair with journalism." "At the Liberation, some newspapers were seized for collaborating." "He was in the Resistance, and when he came back..." "See how he's dressed?" "With his drooping pants..." "He died at 62." "I had so much fun with him." "That's when I planted vines." "And I have an exchange..." " When did you plant them?" " When my husband died." "He died J uly 5th, 1985." "I was in a fog for 6 months." "From J uly to December." "Then I woke up and I planted vines." "Ever since then, all this love inside me," "I give it to the vines." "I talk to them." "I have an exchange with them." "Our Malvasia is protected by "Vinest", a conservation project for endangered wines." "Because Malvasia of Bosa is endangered?" "Yeah, it's unknown." "And each winemaker makes a different style." "We went to his restaurant by accident." "We drank this astonishing wine." "We talked." "Five minutes later, here we are." "It never used to be for sale." "If you wanted to drink it, you had to come to Bosa." "It was a communal wine." "The people of Bosa offered Malvasia as a gift, like others invite you for tea." "Who did they give Malvasia di Bosa to?" "To friends." "To visitors." "The first time we met... was in J une of '58." "And what did you think of your husband when you met?" "Was it love at first sight?" "I'm not a very decisive person, really." "I have to be convinced." "But it didn't take long." "Right, Battista?" "It's very difficult to keep vines alive." "But it's not just the rich who should be able to do it." "Poor people also have the right." "Before, these hills were covered with small plots." "Everyone cultivated them." "There were vines everywhere." "There were vines everywhere." "Now, people have become lazy, carried away by consumerism." "They've lost their identity." "They don't know where they come from, or where they're going." "Often hurting themselves." "We've become reduced to the level of animals." "But animals at least choose what they eat." "We've lost our dignity." "I n cultivating the Malvasia di Bosa, there's a kind of ethical commitment." "A savoir-vivre, as the French say." "Really, it was great." "They were both there!" "There was Gérard Depardieu and Charles Aznavour." "He'll remember that one." "But these journalists, if you don't hit them on the head, they can't remember a thing." "I started working around here." "And little by little," "I became what I am now:" "A "flying winemaker"." "I think if I'd dared to dream, I would've dreamt of what I do now." "But I wouldn't have dared." "I n my work you can't ask for more." "I make wine in 12 countries." "I work with the wine world's greatest international superstars." "I really have a privileged position." "Who's that, Thierry?" "I'll take it." "Yeah, go ahead." "You've got to micro-oxy genate." "We won't be long here, don't worry." " And where are we?" " Château Le Gay." "Here you go:" "Catherine Peyré-Vergé, owner of Château Le Gay." " Hello, M r Rolland." " How's it goin'?" "Let's micro-oxy genate that barrel." "What's micro-oxy genation?" "Know what I think?" "Best not explain it at all." "You never go in for consultations?" "I have to take calls." "But ma'am, do you understand micro-oxy genation?" " No." "But she doesn't give a damn." " Really?" "If she understood everything, she wouldn't need me." "And if I say: "micro-oxy genate", she micro-oxy genates." " If it doesn't work, she fires me." " Really?" "That's how it works." "Leave it to the expert, I say." "Listen, the goal's simple:" "Make things better." "You don't need to ask why." "If it doesn't make it better, we don't do it." "Not everyone shares your ideas about what makes a wine better." "Yeah." "It's called diversity." "That's why there are so many bad wines." "Wine is dead." "Wine is dead." "Let's be clear, wine is dead." "Not just wine:" "Cheeses." "And fruits." " Is her name "Vanille"?" " Fanny." "I said wine is dead." "So let me clarify:" "What is wine?" "For millennia, wine has been a nearly religious relationship between man, essentially around the Mediterranean..." "It's a religious relationship between man and nature." "With the earth, of course, the live earth free of synthetic products." "And with the weather." "J ust micro-oxy genate." "As much as you can." "As long as..." "Listen, we'll keep in touch." " You're just like a doctor." " That's right." " Doctor or psychiatrist?" " I'm both!" "Can you sit tight 5 minutes?" "The wines that make you dream transcend time." "They bring youth instead of wrinkles and death." "That's 1% of the world's wines." "Among those great wines, Bordeaux has been supreme." "Obviously, that chapter is closed." "Today, Bordeaux worships only money." "A great wine springs from love, humility, a communion with the spiritual..." "With the earth and time." "It takes a poet to make a great wine." "That's been replaced by wine consultants." "Brilliant and seductive." "Like M r Rolland, for example." "It's a whole other species." "So I'm in H ungary, Italy..." "France..." "Take it, Thierry." "Spain, Portugal, Morocco..." "South Africa..." "Argentina, Chile..." "Mexico... the U S..." "I forgot one over there..." "I ndia!" "I only hope they plant vines on the moon, so I can be the first consultant there." " M ichel Rolland..." " He works for Mondavi." "Yes, I know." "Whom doesn't he work for?" "I heard him once." "I n Tokyo." "He spoke at a conference for hundreds of Japanese." "It's fantastic." "Exhilarating!" "A guy who wins clients so elegantly, just by laughing..." "He's always laughing." "You have to like him." "He's always got a smile." ""Gentlemen, let's not fool ourselves." ""Great wines can be made anywhere."" "There's only one rule to follow:" "Consult M r Rolland." "It's fantastic!" "J ust fantastic!" "I happen to often work with important people in the wine world." "The Mondavis are important people." "Who in the wine world doesn't know Mondavi?" "If you don't, you're not in the wine world!" "See those hills?" "They were going to raze them flat with bulldozers." "So they could put up huge billboards marked "Mondavi"." "Big enough to see from the coast." "It was a great idea to make a buck... and cause 20 deaths at the first flood." "Like at Sommières." "There are idiots who still think it's a shame Mondavi was stopped." "You know, people can be really stupid." "Aimé Guibert is the one who led the fight against Mondavi." "He led the fight against them, on a political level, stirring up ignorant people:" "Peasants, bumpkins, hicks." "Did you follow the Mondavi Affair?" "No comment." "Why not?" "J ust because." "Did you follow the Mondavi Affair?" "Here, the vine is all-important." "I n Paris, it may be factories and all that, but here it's the vine." "Do you know who'll give us the real scoop on Aniane?" "Yeah..." "M rs Gay." "Hello, Dog." "He's not a mean dog." "Without getting into politics or cheap anti-Americanism, we would've done the same with Depardieu, who's here now." "Whether it's Mondavi, Rothschild, or someone from Bordeaux, for us the problem was the same." "Our fight was against the deforestation of those hills." "They're among the last barriers protecting towns like us from Montpellier's urban sprawl." "It was the swindling of the whole village." "As always in history," "God sent a lucky break:" "Municipal elections." "That same year." "The eyes of the world are on us, because we fought back against Mondavi." "We're the tiny village that resisted a huge power." "One day, we found out, from the papers, that an American billionaire was moving in on Aniane:" "Mondavi." " You found out from the papers?" " The newspapers!" "So you see, we were never warned." "Things were going on behind our backs." "I honestly believed that Mondavi's move here would be a fantastic boon for the region and the wines of the Languedoc." "After that, I tried to get the project going." "Period." "What deal would I have made?" "If I had made a deal, it would've been with them, with Mondavi!" "Who else?" "So the elections:" "Something incredible happened." "It's very rare in France, where people are so politically minded." "Here, they forgot politics." "There was one honest man in Aniane." "He's a communist." "The old mayor had a deal with the Mondavis." " And Guibert?" " He was with us." "But for different reasons." "He saw Mondavi as a competitor." "It seems Mondavi tried to buy him out." "Since the Mondavis are extreme, they didn't just want a vineyard, they wanted to create a great wine." "Guibert said Mondavi tried to buy him out." "No." "I n fact, Guibert approached Mondavi." "Should I hold back..." "or not?" "The Mondavis came to my property." "The two Mondavi brothers and their whole financial team." "They even wanted to buy Daumas Gassac." "I don't want to get into it." "Guibert is a figure." "H is Daumas Gassac Domaine was critical for the Languedoc." "He was simply jealous of Mondavi." "For 20 years he dreamed of developing Arboussas Forest." "I think rejecting Mondavi was a historic mistake." "Mondavi is a P R powerhouse." "Mondavi is a P R powerhouse." "It's a marketing powerhouse." "It would've been a boon for the Languedoc region, but they didn't get it." "Goes to show they're still peasants." "They've got a long way to go." "Languedoc sure is H icksville!" " How's everything?" " Fine." "H is name's Javier." "With the Staglins, it's quite amusing, because there's a real family atmosphere." "There's..." "I forget his name..." "M r Staglin and M rs Staglin..." " Garen." " Yeah, Garen." "And Shari." "Where there's the vine, there's civilization." "There's no barbarism." "What is this mysterious chair?" "That's not a mysterious chair." "It's a Cabriolet from the living room." "I don't know who left it here." "Maybe the repairman." "We must've sent it in to get fixed." "We can't leave it out here." "You want us to put it somewhere?" "Let's take it to the living room." "That's its place, right?" " Can you give me a hand?" " Sure." "I n the Near East, in Babylon and Ancient Greece, they drank wine." "It wasn't always good, but it existed." "It went hand in hand with progressive societies." " I forgot my keys down there." " They're in the door." "Wine meant an absence of barbarism." "I like wines that cut through my palate." "Some wines spread outwards." "They fool you." "Those are modern wines." "You taste them, and three minutes later, you say:" ""Not bad, but there's no depth."" "When I taste a wine," "I like it to cut through my palate." "It's not this..." "But straight." " How many children do you have?" " Three." "An eldest daughter, Isabelle, who's not in wine." "Then Alix, who is in wine." "I wish she'd done law." "But she married Roulot." "Now they're divorced." "She still gets along with him." "I'm sorry she got divorced." "But it's none of my business." "Isn't she quite young?" "I told her" " I have a saying:" "Good sons-in-law aren't always good husbands." "Good husbands aren't always good lovers." "And good lovers are rarely good husbands." "My son made that wine in '99." "He started at the domaine in '91." "He sticks to my principles, but his wines might be more civilized than mine." "More polished, not civilized." "The texture is smoother." "I had more... edge." "We're in the Folatières vineyard, but the pickers left a lot of grapes behind." "It's unacceptable." "They have to come back through." "It's totally unacceptable." "We're a 1 er-cru vineyard." "There shouldn't be a single grape left on the vine." "It's outrageous." "So you're going to go back, take up your positions, and pick up all the grapes left behind." "And I'll go through each row to check on your work." "You don't realize what it takes just to get these grapes." "You don't seem to get it yet." "This isn't a scene from a film." "We're too scattered to fight." "I can fight for my beliefs, but I'm alone with my 8 hectares." "It's nothing." "God knows what Boisset makes in sales." "He's even got 50 hectares of his own." "If he wants to go over to the other side..." "Rather than volume, we're boosting our product value." "But with 70 million bottles a year, aren't you one of the biggest French companies?" " I n France, we're N ° 2." " What's your yearly income?" "Our yearly sales are 235 million euros." "About 220 million dollars." "You're the biggest company in Burgundy?" "I n Burgundy, by far." "It's incredible that your father started in '61." " With nothing." " Nothing at all." "But your daughter works for Boisset, doesn't she?" "Yes, but that's something else." "My daughter's good technically." "She has a good palate." "But in terms of management, she's messy..." "She's not quite there yet." "Boisset's the contrary." "We're in a human business, where family plays an important role." "The Boisset Business wouldn't exist without the Boisset family, and vice-versa." "The role of women is key." "For balance." "But also for the pursuit of perfection." "I guess you didn't put it up." "No." "But we have fun turning the pages." "I like what has purity and finesse." "That's the direction I take." "Do you take after your father?" "Yes, I think so." "My parents' wines are more subtle than opulent." "I have the same instinct." "I like wines that are streamlined, that aren't flaccid." "I like acidity in wine." "A wine has to exist in time." "It has to last." "She's not at Boisset for life." "Will she come back to the Domaine?" "If her brother lets her." "They want to start something together." "I n principle, Etienne's in charge of the family Domaine." "Of my three children, she's the one most like me... faults included!" "She inherited the most from me." "She inherited the most from me." "Etienne's more like his mother." "They're not the life of the party." "The leadership switch wasn't easy." "My father has such a strong personality." "To survive, you have to mark your own territory." "It's never easy." "You feel it's at the expense of the other's territory." "Which is stupid." "But father-son relationships are never simple." "Taillepieds means "Tethered foot"." "Because of the slope." "So the Taillepieds goes from here to there." "It goes from those vines, to over there... to the road." "So Taillepieds has existed since the M iddle Ages?" "Long before that, even." "Since the Gauls." "But... we know the history better since the Dukes of Burgundy, in the M iddle Ages." "Taillepieds remains Taillepieds whether it's H ubert or Etienne de Montille there." "The vineyard remains." "It's the terroir." "Is terroir more important than your name on the bottle?" "Ten times more important." "I know, but I..." "Alright." "Sit tight." "I'm coming back." "And put the phone back." "The batteries are low." "There has to be a personality and style." "There's always a style." "When I taste" " I mean, what is taste?" "It's intuitive." "It's personal." "I look for things I like." "So I do have a personal style." "There has to be my personal style." "Otherwise there's no man behind the wine!" "Otherwise there'd be no M ichel Rolland!" "Wouldn't that be a shame!" "Can you sit tight for one minute?" "Brands are a part of Anglo-Saxon culture." "Brands are a part of Anglo-Saxon culture." "You cultivate brands." "Mondavi cultivates a brand." "Here we cultivate a system of place or vineyard of origin." "After 50 years, it's clear:" "The place of origin beats out any brand." "Brands get forgotten." "Like people." "You have neighbors who talk about their brands." "I know." "That's why I'm taking a stand against it." "Not violently..." "When you have power... it's not quite imperialism, but when you have power, as the U S does... you impose your culture." "You try to impose your tastes." "It's logical." "Rome tried to impose its tastes." "Rome had power when it invaded Gaul." "I n Bordeaux, they make wines of terroir." "Not as much as here." "Since they make brand wines." "They don't like hearing it." "Take Mouton-Rothschild." "They abuse the name by making it a brand." "They've marketed everything but the kitchen sink." "They're no longer credible." "They've gone over to the other side." "From now 'till noon, you're going to see" "Patrick Léon, our winemaker." "You use the English term "winemaker"?" "Right, "winemaker"." "H is title is "technical director"." "There's M r Léon." "He came to meet us." "Patrick Léon." "Welcome to Château Mouton." "Baroness Philippine now heads Mouton-Rothschild and the company." "And of course in California, with the Mondavis, we've been developing Opus One for the past 20 years." "That's the famous Californian wine, Opus One." "It's Californian?" "Not Franco-Californian?" "It's definitely Californian." "Because wine is so dependent on soil, on terroir." "So you can call it Franco-Californian." "But it's Californian." "What you need to know is that M r de Eizaguirre is used to interviews." "I n a project like yours, he'll be less comfortable." "He's used to a clean frame." "Baron Philippe and Bob Mondavi felt an immediate connection." "It became the joint-venture which is such a gigantic success in the U S." " Opus One is a success?" " Absolutely." "Today, Opus One is the most successful winery, not in terms of volume, but in terms of sales and profitability." "We live in a global marketplace." "So Bordeaux also had to adapt to global trends..." "Wine is culture." "But the battle... is less a cultural battle than an economic one." "That said," " and we French know this better than anyone, unfortunately - when you go..." "when missionaries went to China, they tried to convert the Chinese." "Here's why I hate monolithic thinking..." "They tried to convert to Christianity people who'd lived with Confucian thought for who knows how many centuries." "It's ridiculous." "Are a lot of Mondavi workers Mexican?" "Almost all of them." "All over the valley, Mexicans... work in agriculture." "They know lots about grapes." "And lots about agriculture." "Are there Mexicans who produce wines?" "Not really." "Because of working in the fields..." "I think it's all fine." "With their "fiestas" and culture." "We have a lot of respect." "That's a portrait of the family founder." "He came from Hamburg." "They're all German." "Very austere." "Not German." "Hanseatic." "Germany didn't exist in the 18th century." "It was the English who discovered wine in Bordeaux under Eleanor of Aquitaine." " Back in the 13th century?" " Exactly." "You're better off buying wine in advance from a Protestant." "With Protestants, you've got the guarantee of reliability." "With Catholics, making money is a source of guilt." "I n Latin cultures, money has never smelled good." "Never." "The Rothschild name has a resonance that goes beyond being Jewish." "The Rothschilds rose through the centuries and became a legend." "Today, people have completely forgotten that they're Jewish." "Not a problem." "Ever." "No importance at all." "Jews were always well received in Bordeaux." "Take the Perreires." "They were Portuguese Jews." "The Gradis, also Portuguese Jews." "The Perreires owned Château Palmer until 1938." "And in 1938?" "Well, they sold everything." "The War was coming." "And the family disappeared." "The market for Bordeaux, at the end of the War, at the late 40's, was European, but mostly English." "The U K." "And during the War, it was the Germans, right?" "The Germans, yes." "So what happened during the War?" "Since the Baron was Jewish." " He fled." " To London." " He went to London." " With the Free French." "And his wife?" " H is wife was caught and deported." " Deported." " She died." " Died." " I n a camp." " Concentration camp." " Dachau?" " And she was a Catholic!" "How did merchants in 1940 distinguish between collaborating or not?" "Was selling wine to the Germans a form of collaboration?" "No." "It wasn't considered collaborating." "If we hadn't sold wine..." " I say "we" because my family sold to the Germans too - the Germans would've pillaged it instead." "So it was better to sell it to them." "Even if they paid with our money." "Money they stole from us." "Better sell it to them than do nothing." "And not put the business at risk." "To the lab!" "Stop here, and get me some cigarillos." "Get me the Figaro newspaper." "There's an article on wine." "Today, wines are at another level." "It's much better." "There are the famous critics, who now rank the wines." "That's where the wine consultant can make a difference." "Hand me the cigarillos." "For this one here, we're going to micro-oxy genate." "Not all wines are micro-oxy genated." "It's for those with a modern outlook." "'82 was the revolution, right?" "'82 was the big revolution!" "That's when the critics were born." "Before that they hardly mattered." "Among the critics," "Robert Parker got the lion's share of influence." "Wasn't it M ichel Rolland who...?" "Didn't he make Valandraud's reputation?" "No." "It was Parker." "Parker counts the most in terms of media power." "That's why they say Valandraud's a "Parkerized wine"." "What makes an estate famous is:" "Parker's ratings, the price you can get, and media attention." "And if an owner's got charisma, he can make the wine famous." "Personally, I have a lot of respect for Robert Parker." "You can think what you want of him." "He has a taste for certain wines, right?" "Not always our taste, right?" "But he's very honest." "Straight." "I'll never forget the day he came to Château Kirwan." "He was so nervous." "He was the nervous one." "My sister-in-law and I hadn't slept all night." "But he was even more nervous!" "Isn't that great?" "It's Parker's ratings that have power." "How they're used." "As for Parker..." "I know Robert very well." "We often taste together." "Right here, at Mouton." "And he's a magnificent taster." "So, two months after the article, Tim Mondavi says to me:" ""Let's get together," ""because I think you should work for Mondavi in the U S."" "Did Mondavi know you and Parker were good friends?" "Sure, sure." "Everybody knows that." "Parker's my friend, but let's be clear." "I'm good friends with Bob." "We've known each other for 20 years." "We're good friends." "But it has no bearing at all!" "But it has no bearing at all!" "Robert Parker incites people in France to commit fraud." "I don't know if he's aware of it." "We know some people have altered their wines, sometimes illegally, because they wanted to be in the Parker Wine Guide." "So they needed wines that were concentrated and deeply colored." "Sometimes what they present to Parker isn't representative of their production." "But he's inspired a whole school of wine production, that includes illegal methods." "It's a serious problem." "Even in Burgundy, which traditionally doesn't produce deep-colored wines, people need to have deep color or Parker won't be happy." "It all comes from his love of Bordeaux." "He really loves Bordeaux." "He's helped Bordeaux wine incredibly." "Throughout the world." "Not just in the U S." "The day he stops, we should name a street after him." "Bordeaux should do that." "Or Libourne." "Or Pomerol." "We could put up a little plaque." "He's always loved Pomerol." "He could get a little plaque!" "Look, if a pied piper comes to your town and enchants you, you'll have had pleasure from his music." "But the world doesn't stop because of that." "It's admirable." "Christopher Columbus discovered America." "Parker discovered the music that makes Bordeaux dance." "And how does the song go?" "It's amazing!" "It's an extraordinary song." "He says: "What I like is good." "And what I like most, is the best."" "And everybody says: "O K"." "Bravo!" "Parker's also criticized." "He's T H E critic." "People say he's too influential." "He makes or breaks a wine." "But those who fare badly with him need to do some soul searching." "They realize they should change." "They'd better modernize." "Parker's an important figure." "He counts." "We don't make our wines to suit his taste, but it's still important to get his blessing." " Does it matter for your sales?" " It's important, yes." "And I have to say that Parker hasn't always appreciated our wines." "We've evolved..." "not for Parker's sake." "But for ours." "But Parker approves of it." ""Terroirists"." "Today, that says it all." "Those guys are the ayatollahs of terroir." "They think terroir justifies everything." "100% new oak." "That's my philosophy." "Simple." "The new vintage goes into these new oak barrels." "It's about 80 or 90% in barrel..." "But our barrels are all new oak. 100%." "Is that traditional?" "Or is it new?" "It's almost traditional." "Opus One and all the great American wines are 100% new oak." "Parker..." "is one of the greatest advocates of American interests." "Because in the U S, in California, they know all about marketing:" ""Let's hide our lack of terroir with the taste of new oak." ""We'll explain that wine" ""should taste like the vanilla of new oak."" " When was that?" " It started in the 70s." ""And we'll convince the French, who really do have terroir," ""that that's what sells."" "It was already Parker." "It was already Parker." "Because he rated the wines." "And he rated them as... a good American Patriot." "Because by rating wines based on the taste of oak, he followed his own personal taste." "But he also served the interests of Californian winemakers, who haven't yet had enough time to uncover their terroir." "Get it?" " On purpose, you think?" " Of course." "I couldn't be clearer." "Bordeaux had to adapt to global tastes:" "Wines that are more intense, oaky, flattering." "The New World introduced wines that are easy to drink right away." "They don't need the long maturation process of a Bordeaux." "I n the last 20 years, it's true, Bordeaux has evolved that way too." "He's the Wine Spectator's photographer." "Who wants to continue working?" "We want dough!" "We want dough!" "Even little Louis wants to work!" "This is a tiny domaine." "My parents live off of the Domaine, but a second family couldn't." "The pickers are still harvesting..." "Joanna is the person who selects the grapes." "She's not the person who selects." "Etienne, you have no sense of humor, you never will." "No, I don't have a sense of humor, I'm a serious person." "Come on." "It's hopeless!" "He doesn't understand." " I'm a serious person." " Yeah, right." "Since you're a clown and have a sense of humor, come see." "Alix is the serious one." "Not serious, no." "She's competent." "That's different." "Competence and seriousness are different." "And talent, and rigor..." "different qualities." "You know what a great wine is?" "90% perspiration, 10% inspiration." "More than anything, great wine is rigor." "Those are clichés for journalists!" "You're not going to fool these guys." " O talented one!" " I never said I had talent." "Bow down!" "The Talented One approaches!" "So are we tasting your wine?" "All right, Dad..." "What do you want to taste?" "Something good." "If there is any." "Sure, I do." "I see Boisset invests in a "Thief", but not in a spittoon." "I think Dad and I have the same taste." "We like chiseled wines." "We feel that way about people, too." "We don't like limp people." "Or limp wines." "The wine you make is a reflection of who you are." "Dad can be... very charming but also very unpleasant." "Yeah." " You admit it?" " With pride." "I can be odious." "He can be pretty acerbic." "H is wines can be the same way." "You were about to spit on your daughter, weren't you?" "Not yet..." "Dad makes very rigid wines." "Almost too austere." "It's true." "But they were good after 15 years." "Yes." "It's like you." "It takes a long time to appreciate you." "But in the end, you drink me." "He's the brand manager of Ropiteau." "It's like the eye of Moscow." "I'm naked underneath!" "What an amazing feeling." "Taste the wine after this, it has a whole other dimension." "Is it playing peek-a-boo?" "It's teensie." "You could mistake it for a grape." "A whore wine comes right at you." "There really are trickster wines." "The wines that trick you..." "They come on to you right away." "Then they drop you." "They drop you, like that!" "I n fact, they're "traitor" wines!" "The modern world..." " because there's no time for anything - is used to wines that..." "This world likes to be fooled." "Each brand has key factors of success." "Not quite the key selling points, but almost." "Each of our brands has its own wines, like what you tasted with Alix." "The Ropiteau product-combos are different from those at Bouchard." "The marketing dynamics and our plan to convince the consumer are different." "The problem is..." "the Boissets want me to sign off on all the wines in their Ropiteau brand." "Ropiteau sells 125, 000 bottles of white and 250, 000 of red." "Have you seen any red wine here?" "No." "The reds are made elsewhere." "At N uits-St-Georges." "Then each wine gets a different label:" ""Boisset", "Vienot", "Ropiteau"..." "Depends on the market." "But they're the same wines." "And I won't play that game." "I won't play these tricks." "You're right." "So I'm quitting this winter." "I'm out of here." " Really?" " I'm quitting." "I'm leaving this winter." "For sure, Dad." "I'm not a believer, but I have faith in what I do." "Not a believer in the religious sense?" "I'm not religious." "But I really have faith in what I do." "I n what I love." "The modern world has spawned a new form of fascism:" "The fascism of monopoly distribution." "These monopolies, in democracies like the U S or France... which have always condemned monopolies..." "I n France, we guillotined a king because he monopolized power." "But we don't give a damn about supermarket kings like Carrefour, Auchan, etc." "But why not exploit us?" "The government does nothing." "No laws." "With a monopoly on distribution, what's bound to happen?" "They turn to the winegrower:" ""Get lost with your quality wines."" "I want 1, 2 million bottles." "All the same." "Yeah, Magrez." "I work on all his properties." "He's a force of nature." "He pours his energy into everything." "He created William Pitters:" "A huge success, as everyone knows." "And now he's interested in wine." "He's headed straight for Aniane." "But not the same forest Mondavi wanted." "People often ask me:" ""Is Depardieu taking up the Mondavi project?"" "The people of Aniane reacted against the globalization of wine." "That's all I understood." "I read it in the papers." "I don't really want to know more." "Mondavi wanted 50 hectares right away." "That's tough in this region." "But when you look closely, what's Depardieu going to do?" "He's going to buy a hectare here, three there." "Half a hectare..." "When we came in with a star like Gérard Depardieu, right after Mondavi and their differences with the town, we raised some eyebrows, inevitably." "But we explained ourselves very clearly on this point." "We're creating a project that's totally different from Mondavi's." "Depardieu's presence is a gift." "He's the icing on the cake." "Depardieu's a great fan of my wine, Daumas Gassac." "He's said it many times, in the papers and on TV." "The company I created with Gérard is called:" ""The key to terroir"." "Because we look for the key that opens the terroir." "But Depardieu's not coming alone, is he?" "Sure, he's coming with a huge merchant from Bordeaux." "He's bringing the magic of his name, and a guy who knows how to sell wine." "Some people say Magrez is just the French version of Mondavi." "No, I wouldn't say that." "Magrez..." "Magrez is a clever man, who built a great business out of nothing." "From the age of 8 to 12, when I was put in a school for apprentice laborers, at least 5 times a year, I'd go to school with a paper pinned to my back saying:" ""I'm a lazy boy"." "I'd slink along the walls, and the school director would say:" ""Your Dad's been at it again"." "You can't imagine how disturbing that is." "Were you more indulgent with your son?" "Certainly not, no." "My wife was even worse." "She really gave him hell." "But it was necessary." "Everyone needs their share of beatings." "You don't have to love everyone." "Thankfully." "You think Magrez isn't globalization?" "Magrez's capital, that's not globalization?" "I BM setting up offices in Montpellier isn't globalization?" "Wasn't it I BM that made Montpellier so rich?" "And why did we help Dell come to Montpellier?" "Isn't that more dangerous than Mondavi?" "Social Forum Today:" "City on alert." "Are you protecting the storefronts from the Social Forum?" "We have to try." "These are our ancestors." "Our name is written on that letter." "Here's a Lamberto Frescobaldi." "I n the 18th century, he was the richest man in Florence." "So people say." "This is a painting of a room at the Pitti Palace." "Yesterday, I had dinner with Prince Charles of England." "We talked about this painting." " Did he come for the Social Forum?" " Oh, no!" "These are the people from Mondovino." "It's quarter to 11." "I have to go..." "Vittorio, when are you coming back?" "Look, Bona, I'm in a hurry right now." "These are the Frescobaldi archives." "They go back to 1200." "I'm looking for the letter from Henry VI I I where he asks for Frescobaldi wine." "Here's how the marriage happened:" "When the Mondavis came to Tuscany, they made a study of who could make a good partner." "But they did it all in secret." "Without ever showing their hand." "They studied the field, they made comparisons, in secret." "First there were three families as candidates." "Then two." "I n the end, there was only us left." "I have a total admiration for Bob Mondavi." "I consider him... one of the greatest figures in the world of wine today." "H is influence is incredible." "That's all for the Social Forum." "They're watching from above." "But his influence has gone beyond California." "It goes beyond even the New World." "To the Old World, too." "He's influential in Australia, in Chile." "But also in the Old World." "Look at me, I'm influenced by him." "The Antinori's activities have always been intertwined with the politics, economy and history of Florence." "Our two families' destinies have always been linked." "Our two families' destinies have always been linked." "Frescobaldi Chapel" "Was it ever possible that the Mondavis would partner with you?" "I nstead of with the Frescobaldis?" "Yes, it was certainly a possibility..." "So..." " When did you do my brother?" " A few days ago." "Oh, alright." "We have an appointment with the Marquis." "So we turn left and then..." "Could you please reopen?" "The gates are closing on us." "The Frescobaldis have about 1000 hectares of vineyards, but weren't very good at selling wine." "My father had only 400 hectares, but he knew how to sell wine." "Wine has to reflect the place it comes from." "Otherwise it's just a brand name." "To be a great "estate wine", it must reflect a certain reality." "And this is our reality." "Making the N° 1 wine in the world means communicating something deep inside yourself." "The team at the Wine Spectator had a deep feeling that this was the #1 wine in the world." "I n the past 15 years in Italy, the wine that's caused a sensation was Ornellaia." "Sure, there's his brother Piero's Tignanello, and a few others." "But Ornellaia was the one that really grabbed the media's attention." "M ichel Rolland perfected the wine." "He's a friend and collaborator." "Of all his experiences across the world," "I think Ornellaia was the most fulfilling for him." "A challenge..." "I n '98," "Lodovico opened Ornellaia's capital up for investors." "He sold part of it to Mondavi." "I don't remember the details, but I think it was 10 or 20%." "He saw Mondavi respected the sense of place and the wine's creator." "So Lodovico decided to go forward with Mondavi." "I was in a vulnerable moment." "So my friend at Goldman Sachs took advantage of that situation." "When the Mondavis first came in, they started with a small share." " How much?" " 20%." "And then I saw..." "Jonathan." "Is that your name?" "Yes." "Jonathan, I saw that..." "I n February of this year, they bought the majority share in Ornellaia." "A month later, they announced they were selling 50% to Frescobaldi." "That's the scandal." "Because we think the Mondavis planned this from the beginning." "But they didn't tell me, because I would've never sold." "Because after their defeat in France, the Board of Directors said they must never invest abroad without a local partner." "It's better to have a local partner..." "They were coming out of a painful experience in Aniane, in the South of France." "They tried to do something..." "It didn't happen..." "They tried to do something..." "It didn't happen..." "They didn't get..." "I was in Aniane at that time." "We knew the Aniane project was finished." "Since I'm half-ltalian, they offered me this position." "Very sweetly." "They offered it to me in J une." "Right when they stopped in Aniane." "She's shy." "We work together here." " Is that your Dad?" " Yes." "He died two years ago." "He died young." "He was only 62." "This used to be my Dad's store." "We called him Beppe." "This store was called "Beppe's Cantina"." "He was born and lived among... among these products." " And he loved them?" " Yes." "They were his passion." "A passion that he passed on to his children." "There are no "Supertuscans"." "Only global wines." "All the same." "A single, worldwide gnocchi." "All over the world, wine production is the same." "There's no difference at all between the wines." "The wines are too manipulated by man." "It's mostly hype." "The land in Bolgheri was the same 20 years ago." "All this wine is from Bolgheri." "And Ornellaia is going for..." "110 euros." "These wines have a structure, a body, a color, that no soil can give." "I mpossible without the hand of man." "Oak barrels are fundamental to making wine." "The Italians call them "barriques" too." "So barrels are really in fashion in Tuscany these days." "There didn't use to be any barrels in Tuscany." "They've been used in Tuscany only very recently." "We put each wine, from separate vats, into oak barrels." "Before, wines matured slowly." "Now, since people want to drink at once, we had to create this idea of maturity with technology." "But in the end, the natural way of ageing a wine is the best." "Like those great 20-year-old Burgundies." "That's when I get real sensations from the wine." "Then I wonder:" ""My God, what am I doing?"" "And I must go back to my vulgarity." "Because all these modern products are a bit vulgar compared to an old Burgundy." "Two years ago, this wine cost 75, 000 lire." "That's 35 euros." "You want the truth about Ornellaia?" "Ornellaia was acquired by Mondavi." "The same year, it became the N ° 1 wine in the world in the Wine Spectator." "No need to say more." "It speaks for itself." "The economy is changing very quickly." "And, alas, many people are afraid... afraid of not being up to the task." "They're afraid of being left out." "Like the small retailers when the supermarkets arrived." "Let's ask Dad." " Politically?" "When?" " During the era of fascism." "A question." "We didn't adhere to the fascist regime in its totality." "But as a guarantee of order." "Of the status quo." "Fascism meant order for Italy." "The trains ran on time..." "My father..." "Yes, he was a fascist, but because it fit his needs." "He was a landowner." "He was a saintly man." "A good person." "He taught by example more than anything." "My father was a marketing genius." "He could've become a marketing master." "He never needed to study it." "It was in his blood." "He made Antinori a brand through brilliant marketing." "He replaced the Tuscan flask with the Bordeaux-style bottle." "My father's generation had seen two wars." "Was it hard for your father, during the fascist era?" "No." "Because in those days, Italian industry... was stimulated and encouraged." "A ton of things changed in Italy at that time." "With fascism." "The danger of communism." "How did your grandfather feel about fascism?" "At the time, my grandfather was... a supporter of fascism." "What you need to know... is that Italy, at that time, needed a strong, energetic hand." "And fascism did bring about a certain order." " M ussolini did..." " He did some great things." "Great things for Italy, which we're still enjoying today." "At a certain point he lost his head and ruined everything by allying himself with H itier... but..." "Still working?" "The Social Forum will finish before you're done!" "Still, we've got to do something." "Florence:" "Invasion of the "No Globals"." "The Social Forum?" "What's it going to achieve?" "Absolutely nothing." "It does concern me." "I'm from Cameroon." "I have to interrupt my studies because I can't afford to eat." "I have to pick up jobs like sweeping the streets of Florence." "So I can eat and pay for my studies." "And my parents are civil servants back home!" "That hurts." "Do they want the poor to just die?" "Sad reality." "We got married in April and came here in J une, right?" "And we didn't need our parents' approval!" "What did your parents say?" "They don't like that it was so far away." "We've heard about this region because they have more than one harvest a year." "That really piqued our interest." "The future of wine is here." "It could really be amazing." "H is idea has always been to make the best wine in the world." "Whatever." "We're almost there." "That's what he thinks anyway." "Out here, we're just beginning, right?" "There's no relation to the past." "To any winemaking tradition." "Here... winemaking history only goes back 17 years." "Your relation's more with the future?" "Absolutely." "Hello." "H i, say hello." "He's the 5th person called Arnaldo Etchart." " The fifth?" " There've been 5 Arnaldo Etcharts." "And you're the fifth one?" "My great-grandfather founded the Etchart winery in 1850." "I like your pin." "I got to know" "Napa Valley when Patrick Léon invited me." "He is Mondavi's partner at Opus One." "So I met Tim Mondavi." "How many points has Parker given your "San Pedro de Yacochuya"?" "91. 7." " 0. 7?" " No. 91." "He's really good friends with M ichel Rolland." "How many properties in Argentina does Rolland work for?" "Many." "He changed the face of Argentine wine." "He changed the face of Argentine wine." "He changed the quality of wine in Argentina." " M ichel by himself?" " Absolutely." "One man alone?" "Well, M ichel and I, because I brought M ichel." " Of course." " Two people." "The first time Rolland came to Argentina was for Arnaldo." "The label is signed..." ""M ichel Rolland"." "M ichel says:" ""Without art, without culture..." ""it's virtually impossible to make great wine"." "A winemaker without culture can't make great wine." "Generally, the indigenous people here have no sense of initiative." "They're more laid back..." " They're people without drive." " Yes, exactly." "Socially, they don't move forward." "They have no ambition." "Why?" " It's their culture." " Yeah, for sure." "It's because of their race." "Because of their ancestors." "So what do they want?" "J ust to live." "No worries." "They have no ambition, those people." "You can't stand for culture without having it yourself." "It's like standing for truth by lying." "Perón embodied the populist movement in Argentina." "He was most impressed by the... the social policies of M ussolini." "And above all, the working management of the regime." "Perón was really fascinated by M ussolini." "But also by H itier." "Although Perón wasn't that kind of... anti-Semite." "He didn't have anything against Jews." "Not at this corner, but the next one?" "Yeah, you can find him up there." "Come here, Negro!" " Are you M r Antonio Cabezas?" " Yes." "Your sister told us about you." "My father knew how to make wine." "Then we started raising sheep." " Even here?" " Of course." "These "Torrontes" grapes are for white wine." " What's your dog's name?" " N ilo." "This land's not profitable." "Not even for making wine." "But if you sell grapes, it's worse." "You get 10 cents." "Why, why do I hang on to this land?" "Why, then?" "Because I have no education." "I've nothing else to live on." "I have to work just to survive." "The worst of it is..." "I earn $60 a month." "I have to earn a little more just to have enough to eat." "But what if you sold your land?" "I'm a native." "My father was pure blood, indigenous." "So I love it here." "When you're born here, you grow attached." "All of us I ndians" " I'm an I ndian - we feel resentment." " I'm an I ndian - we feel resentment." "We owned this land." "Now we have to buy a plot to be buried in, or to farm." "For me, it's as if someone came here and said:" ""This is all mine now." "Goodbye"." "There used to be many natives here." "The two biggest tribes were... the Quilmes and the Tolombones." "But the Quilmes weren't as brave as the Tolombones." "The Spanish force-marched the Quilmes to Buenos Aires." "The Tolombones stayed and fought to the death." "What a beautiful smell." "And it ages really well too." "I'd like to offer a bottle to you and the young lady." "It was my wife and... and me." "We were 17 years old when that was made." "So young." "Did she help you make wine?" "No." "H is name is..." "Luther..." "Luther King." "That's what we call him." "Luther King!" "Because he's black." "Really black." "There's a sort of tradition with us." "We've always been... independent thinkers." "My great-grandfather was already an independent thinker." "We've always been skeptical and... we've always been against monolithic thinking." "We've always been that way." "I hope my children continue this tradition." "Do you think they will?" "With Alix, it's already happened." "With Etienne, it's less sure." "He inherited from his mother." "He's more traditional." "No, not traditional, that's not the word, he's more of a... monolithic thinker." "Order." "I like order, but I like disorder too." "Why not!" "Whether you're rich or poor doesn't matter." "But we're a dignified people." "A proud people." "But it took thousands of years." "We have a very ancient culture here in Sardinia." "Man has always lived here with dignity." "So why shouldn't we also live in dignity today?" "But we mustn't get distracted by the phantoms of progress, which can destroy us" "and destroy nature." "And bring suffering... to others." "We ought to live in tranquility on this land." "And there's room for others."