Stories from the Cellars

Mondovino (Kino), Jonathan Nossiter’s absorbing 10-hour, 10-part television mini-series about wine and wine-making, was previously seen hereabouts as a two-hour movie distillation of the themes, personalities and rivalries in the surprisingly cutthroat world of wine and wine-making. Although the movie version was informative and thorough, it’s the complete series that’s an exhaustive and endlessly fascinating look at one of the most profitable industries in today’s world, with a global expansiveness that moves from California to Tuscany and Burgundy to Argentina. Nossiter interviews wine makers, wine importers, wine salesmen, and even wheelers and dealers and superstars like tastemaker and critic Robert Parker; his adroit editing juggles disparate characters and story lines that meander around and often overlap with each other. Like a fine wine, Nossiter’s Mondovino has a full-bodied, delectable lushness that’s worth drinking in. originally posted on timessquare.com