Mondovino Genre: Documentary Rated: PG-13 Directed by: Jonathan Nossiter Starring: Jonathan Nossiter, Mike Broadbent, Bill Harlan, Robert Parker, Michel Rolland, Robert Mondavi, Neal Rosenthal, Piero Antinori Released by: Think Film Company In Short: It's big business everywhere. This documentary reveals the progressive disappearance of smaller and family-owned vineyards and wineries.

In Vino Veritas
The Truth About Wine
By Joe Lumière

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wine World. Globalization has hit the wine world, and the film Mondovino, an official selection for the Cannes Film Festival, seeks to expose the impact it has had on wine quality worldwide. Director Jonathan Nossiter puts large wine-producing corporations under the lens, to explore their common practices, among them, buying out small family-owned vineyards and homogenizing their wines to meet wine critic Robert Parker’s tastes.

Interviews with wine personalities Michel Rolland, Robert Parker, Hubert de Montille, Aime Guibert, Neal Rosenthal and others create a cast of villains and crusaders, all by their own accord. Interviews are conducted in the original language (and subtitled) as the film jumps around from country to country.

The documentary runs close to three hours and feels even longer due partially to the poor sound and image quality. As a matter of fact, there is a plan for a ten-hour, ten-part series. Dedicated wine lovers might want to indulge in both versions of Nossiter’s film, while the average movie-goer will be interested in the ever-expanding effects of globalization on culture as well as wine industry scuttlebutt.