Natural wine short film series captures the voice of a revolution
Few wine stories are able to capture the sentiment and meaning of such a subjective and personal experience, let alone when the narrative is based on the unconventional philosophies associated with low intervention and natural wine making. But the fourteen part short film series produced by Terroir Squad, weaves cinematic and visually-rich storytelling, with the deeply personal voices of the unique individuals nurturing nature in a bottle.
Produced and published from 2017 - 2018, the collaboration between Mark Molnar and András Zombori is an epic under-taking covering mostly vintners in Hungary, but also stories from Austria, Slovakia and Germany.
“The duo aims to connect nature, confessions, deep sentiments, tenderness, hardship through high-quality shots, and incredible composition to provide a digital frame into the analog world of natural winemakers.”
The spiritual
Whether it’s a fight against the generic, industrialisation of wines, or the softly spoken truth of mother-nature, what is evident are the unwavering beliefs of each wine maker’s reason for doing.
Stephan Spiegelberg is a wine maker in the Somló region of Hungary.
As his wines mature under the sounds of a medieval monastery, which also forms the soundtrack to the film, his fight to get back to tradition and the character of Somló bridges history with the wisdom of time and patience.
The revolutionary
Systemisation, control, and compliance are all things which these wine makers come up against as they pursue a path of letting go. At the end of the day, they look towards identity as a value which they live by personally, but also look to evoke in their wines.
Géza Lenkey is a winemaker in the Tokaj village of Mád in Hungary, who has committed towards building an his unique approach to leaving the wine to evolve over many years. His turbulent past is something which defines an unyielding attitude to his wines as a voice against this control.
The terroir whisperer
The common thread with all of the fourteen wine makers and their short film storylines, is the respect for the natural elements around them, and being in reverence to the nature of occurrence and alchemy. On the outside, these people have strong voices and strong resolve to push forward. But when it comes to their wines, they speak in delicate terms. A homage to something bigger than themselves.
Alwin Jurtschitsch is a fourth-generation winemaker from the Kamptal region of Austria. He speaks for the younger generation who are turning their backs on conventional approaches and technological knowhow, instead seeing the virtue of listening to the vines as a way to provide the intelligence to shape the path forwards.
“Imposing our own cultural interventions during winemaking denies wine’s authenticity - It separates the soul from the soil, mutes the wine’s honest & unabashed expression, and disconnects provenance from time and place.”