Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: WINE AND WAR [Sonoma International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The aspect of winemaking is a gamble even in the best of circumstances but it is understanding the story of the grape. Many of the great winemakers and vineyard owners understand that. While the Sonoma and Napa area has battled the texture of the wildfires with many hardships and tragedies as well as triumphs, it is interesting to see the path of "Wine And War" which looks at the texture of winemaking in Lebanon. The story that director tells her is one that has taken many years. One of the core interviewees is essential to this and to reveal his name will give away too much of the story. Needless to say the 15 year war starting in 1975 and the month-long war in 2006 shaped the modern idea of Lebanese wine. The beauty of a lot of Lebanon, especially the archeological sites along the water, has taken somewhat of a beating. Hearing some of the initial textures including the history of wine there, and the underwater artifacts that have been found, speak to Lebanon as the cradle of this. Its location packed between Israel and Syria has obviously placed it in the crosshairs but it also has been a cradle for refugees for thousands of years. Many left and moved to other countries (including France). But the ones who stayed at times or kept coming back including the Godfather, as it would be, of Lebanese wine really gives a sense of what went into the wine, just in a sheer physical sense. He even states that when the shells were falling and they were drinking, that changed the context of how the wine tasted. Poetic to be sure, but he has the right to tell it. The idea of the fighting and airstrikes as the grapes are growing are revisited in a variety of different contexts but also very specific examples that are jarring and vivid without being overwhelming. One winemaker was mistaken for a terrorist, thrown in jail in Israel, was finally released back to France and then came right back to Lebanon to make his wine. Two specific stories of how to get the grapes from the vineyard to the actual winery are both harrowing and interesting, especially including the strategy and close calls. But it is the humanity and just the drive of these winemakers that is quite riveting. These guys (one in particular stayed at his winery as bombs fell around him) have sense of place and peace and the way he pours from a decanter shows that sense of pride. As they contemplate the future, that part of the world, they say, will always been back and forth with conflict, but its beauty, history and the essence of something like wine will allow it to stand the test of time. A-

By Tim Wassberg