Saturday night. No plans. The Dodgers have clinched the National League West so I'm taking a baseball break for the night, and simply placing my iPad in my lap has somehow not inspired me to actually get any work done, mainly because it's Saturday night.
Sounds like a perfect time for movie night, and I got a recommendation today for a film I had been meaning to watch, but somehow forgot: A Year In Burgundy.
I was kicking back getting a pedicure earlier in the afternoon when a got a note on Tumblr from sweet-peach-tea: "I'm watching this netflix documentary called "A Year in Burgundy" about winemaking and I'm getting some serious sotto voce feels." Aaawww, thank you!! I figured it was just because, well... wine. But just a minute in, and I got it—scenes in this documentary about the renowned Burgundy wine growing region in France were similar to scenes in Sotto Voce.
I could see Tom, the wine critic, sampling vintages for review or for featured tastings in the first scene, a high-end wine tasting in San Francisco. And then there's the winemaker who plays piano when a rainstorm prevents him from working in the vineyard. There are barrel tastings of young wines, struggles with drought and yes, even a herding dog. (Oh yes, and a draft horse named "Lady Bug," which has nothing to do with Sotto Voce, I just liked her.)
Ah, and the part I love? The comparison between the family of vintners who approach winemaking as an art, and the wine executive who runs several Grand Crus who says that winemaking is academic, pure and simple. That art has nothing to do with it.
This may be set in France, but the issues and stories of winemkaing are truly universal. Thanks for the rec and the heads-up, sweet-peach-tea. Ends up, I had Sotto Voce feels, too.
