What reaction does Jason Wise hope to have from the Vancouver audience when he shows his documentary SOMM at the Rio Theatre on June 11?
Well I hope that after they leave the theatre, they immediately grab a bottle of wine, the director says with a laugh, and I hope that they fall in love with this story like I did.
The story that captivated the 33-year-old director will be making its international début as part of the Rio Theatres first ever Wine + Film night, which will include the a wine tasting as well as a Q and A featuring Wise (via Skype) and local oenophiles including Vancouver-based sommelier Robert Stelmachuk and WE Vancouvers wine columnist Kurtis Kolt.
Im all about anything that promotes the wine culture and making it more accessible, says Kolt, a well-known consultant for wine programs and menus around the city. If we can get away from the formal sit-down seminars, the intimidating parts of wine, its a good thing the film allows people to peek behind the curtain.
SOMM explores the enigmatic world of wine and the incredibly daunting exam required to achieve the highly esteemed designation of Master Sommelier. Wise followed the lives of four men studying for the three-day exam while attempting to maintain normal lives and sanity. Its staggering how much information on wine one needs to learn in order to pass the exam (less than 200 sommeliers have become Masters in the past 40 years).
These are guys you would expect to be sitting next to at a hockey game or bar youd never know that they were studying some of the craziest grape varietals in the world, Wise says. I want people to see the incredible amount of energy in this industry that they didnt know existed. When you see what these guys put themselves through, how much they put into it youre blown away.
He says the licensed, accessible character of the Rio Theatre is the perfect place to show his film.
Its such an unpretentious venue, he says. The world of wine film has some stigmas. People automatically think its a bit inaccessible, that if you dont know anything about wine its going to be above your head or its going to talk down to you. In this case, it cannot be further from the truth.
And plus, you can drink [at the Rio], he adds, semi-seriously. Any movies better when you can drink.
