Go “Back to Burgundy” in Fact and Fable
Gerry Furth-Sides (Some content and the photos are courtesy of the production companies) Every winemaker we ever met has been as generous with sharing their wares and knowledge as sharing their passion for what they do. Burgundy winemakers are no exception and we see this in both fact and fable in the commercial film, “Back to Burgundy” with an engaging fictionalized family (and a real winemaker among the actors (!), and in David Kennard’s mesmerizing documentary following six artisan family in “A Year in Burgundy” with legendary Martine Saunier as guide.
Whether you are a wine connoisseur or a novice as I am, or even a teetotaler, the rich films are enlightening and entertaining. I came upon A Year in Burgundy when I had a HULU trial and it turned out to be about the best thing on it.
With the Morey-Coffinets, we meet three generations of wine-makers. In Lalou Bize-Leroy, we meet the uncrowned Queen of Burgundy – now in her eighties, still involved in every detail of her winemaking, creator of some of the best-renowned and most famous wines on earth. I will forever have in my mind this graceful elderly lady, pruning vines, dressed in a t-shirt and pearls!
We get a sense of the deep history involved in this area, possibly the most valuable agricultural land on earth with some backyard-size plots and wines that can sell for $1,000 a bottle.
Winemaking in Burgundy and the discovery of the best terroirs (and how to exploit them) have been developed since Roman times. The Cistercian monks actually kept the art alive during the Dark Ages (500-1000), developing a whole industry in the Middle Ages. Their central wine-making HQ, Clos de Vougeot, still exists and is the location for one of the central scenes of the film: a great mid-summer banquet.
Martine Saunier, Senior Producer, Consultant, was born in Paris. She spent childhood summers at her Aunt’s home in Prissé, near Mâcon, which included a winery and where she grew up loving the process of making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Martine Saunier The first woman to establish a wine importing company in the United States, she founded Martine’s Wines in 1979. It came about because when Martine moved to California in 1964, she was dismayed by the absence of many of her favorite wines and started making buying trips to France. In 1965, she drove to Beaulieu Vineyards, knocked on the door, and was lucky enough to meet the great André Tchelistcheff. He told her in his good French that if she wanted good Pinot Noir, she had to go to Burgundy to get it!
So in the spring of 1969, she flew to France, bought a small VW bug and started her tour and started her illustrious She became an importer/distributor! Martine has been decorated twice by the French Government with the title of Officier du Mérite Agricole and Chevalier du Tastevin.
A Year in Port is the climax of a trilogy of films beginning with A Year in Burgundy (2013) and A Year in Champagne (2015) again written and directed by David Kennard, created by InCA Productions and Executive Produced by Todd Ruppert.