Film Review - Wine for the Confused

Wine for the Confused is a wine documentary written and hosted by John Cleese. It is a great introduction to wine for beginner wine drinkers.  This is a really informative film is for people that like wine and want to get into wine, but don’t really know how. 

        

         The film begins by John Cleese explaining that wine can be scary. This is exacerbated by some people who are very familiar with wine often acting in a snobbish manner and not fully helping a new wine drinker gain the knowledge which is important for them to decipher which types of wines they enjoy and which wines they do not. He stressed the point to not let someone else dictate what type of wine you like. Instead of letting someone tell you that you will like a particular style, a person can use key words that are common throughout wines that they have enjoyed. These key words will allow for a sommelier or anyone else to be able to find a wine, which will suit their particular palate.

         In terms of varieties John first hits on the big 3 whites: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. He gives brief background on Riesling how it became less popular during the 80s and 90s and how now there is a renewed interest in Riesling and trying a "dry" Riesling. We look at some of the manipulations with fermentation. John really simplifies fermentation simple process of sugar into alcohol and to stop it sooner you have a sweet more sugary wine. The second white is Sauvignon Blanc we learn how its typically almost always acidic and how its dryer that Riesling. He describes it as fresh and "really wakes the pallet up" and it’s good to have before you eat. He talks about the small concentrated grapes and how they are manipulated during the growing via snipping off excess bunches and not watering regularly. Lastly for the white, John discusses Chardonnay by visiting Barrow Winery. He uses words like rich and lush and creamy and buttery which are descriptors of the texture and the aromatics. He talked about the oak barrels and the 2nd fermentation "malolactic fermentation."

        

         The documentary then went on to discuss the three common red wine grapes, starting with Pinot Noir. This wine is a very deep color with a peppery taste. The particular wine maker which John Cleese talked to told us that this wine grape is one of the most difficult grapes to grow but when it is done right it is fantastic.

         The next red wine grape was Merlot. The particular Merlot John Cleese tried was from the Australian Outback. This wine had a plum and cherry flavor. The word “vintage” appeared during this discussion. Again, a box defining what “vintage” is appeared on the screen to reiterate what the documentary had already said about it being how you taste the weather in the wine and every year is different for this agricultural product.

         The final red wine grape tried was Cabernet Sauvignon. This came from the Foxen winery. This wine has lots of tannins, which allow the Cabernet Sauvignon to have a long life. The term “terroir” came up while discussing this particular wine and how the soil can drastically affect the flavor of the wine.

 After talking about the particular wine variety John talks about money price does it matter? How to not get ripped off in a restaurant and how restaurants really run up their price. He encourages you to really shop around you don’t have to strain your wallet! He does a test on the wine tastes to taste, expensive vs. inexpensive. Everyone seems to have trouble telling the difference, thus supporting the key theme that the importance is that you judge on your own taste because everyone is different. Lastly he talks about storing and serving. Wine is stored at around 60 degrees; white-chilled and red-room temperature. Touches the basics and a using different shaped glasses but its okay to use an all-purpose wine glass

This is really a good movie for people who have started dabbling in wine, but are unsure of what they need to know about wine. John does an elemental break down of the largest produced grapes and the fermentation methods and the handling and storage of the finished product.  I would recommend this film to someone who is just starting to get into wine and feels clueless and intimidated. Someone who has already been in wine a while wouldn't really gain that much from this film. It was cute and very simply which was really comforting. In conclusion this short film taught a lot about wine in a simple way.