Corked Movie Review
Corked, directed by Ross Clenenden and Paul Hawley, is a mockumentary-style film that examines common stereotypes about wine drinkers and wine producers as demonstrated by four Northern California wineries. In the film, the wine producers are competing to win the Golden Harvest Award, a prestigious local prize. Corked also features a couple who are on a wine tour, but clearly know very little about wine, and a hugely influential wine reviewer who is the man who determines the winner of the coveted award. In this lighthearted film that almost seems real, all the preconceived notions I had about wine drinkers before I took this class were addressed in a way that not only explained but debunked them.
Donald Smyth is the Ambassador of Wine at Moreno Russo Vineyards. The job title itself embodies the stereotype he represents: the snobby, pretentious wine drinker/producer. Donald's character provides the viewer with memorable quotes such as: "wine is meant to be drunk by upper class, white society" and "some people don't deserve wine." He also implies that people need money in order to appreciate wine. Obviously, none of those things are true. Though I never bought into any of those specific perceptions about wine drinkers, Geography of Wine has taught me that wine drinkers are a very diverse group, from all parts of the world and all levels of income. Donald and the Moreno Russo Winery also represent mass-produced wines. He goes on to (temporarily) win the Golden Harvest Award due to bribing the officials, which is easy for him because of the wealth and prestige of his winery. This also suggests that wine awards are rigged and inaccurate representations of which wines are truly "the best" (Donald had earlier suggested that he was sure he would win because "I'm friends with the people.")
Eli Tucker is a rich, spoiled 20-something whose father bought him Pena Cellars to give him something to do. He describes himself as a "scholar and aristocrat" and claims that, as a winery owner, "women love it." As the film progresses, it is increasingly clear that Eli has no idea what he is doing in regards to managing a winery. He attends meetings with the other employees of the winery and suggests outlandish, unfeasible ideas about how to "improve" sales, such as making sake or changing the bottle shape, and would probably run the winery into he ground if he did not have other people holding him back. Though Eli does not embody a specific stereotype, I think he represents that fact that not just anyone can make wine: it takes training, skill, knowledge, and passion. This could perhaps be a subtle attack on celebrities who simply buy vineyards for fun but have no previous winemaking experience, such as Joe Montana and Dave Matthews.
Gary Hannon is the owner and operator of Hannon Winery. He is the sole employee of his winery; in other words, he does all of the work himself. This independence means that he has full control of the style and marketing of his wine, but this also means that he is extremely overworked. His character demonstrates that winemaking is a labor-intensive process that must be taken seriously in order to produce quality wine. Gary works so hard at the winery that his wife has left him and he constantly falls asleep on the job due to the constant, taxing workload. Winemaking is clearly not a one-man operation, if Gary's life is anything to go by. However, he also shows that such hard work and devotion to wine pays off: he wins the Golden Harvest Award after it is taken away from Donald Smyth. Upon receiving the news, he cries, "I can put it on the label and the website!" To me, this suggests that wine awards are mostly beneficial for marketing and publicity purposes.
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| Gary Hannon, giving a tour of his winery. |
Finally, Scott and Gary are two marketing executives who run ScoGar Marketing. Scott states, "I don't have to drink wine to sell wine." They demonstrate the perception that wine marketers are very far-removed from the actual wine producing process, and are not necessarily experts on wine. Because they know so little about wine, they attempt ridiculous marketing schemes to sell more wine, such as making an "urban" wine called Shizzle Creek. Instead of working hard to craft a unique, high-quality wine, Scott and Gary instead buy wines in bulk in order to slap their crazy labels on it. Based on these two characters, it is clear that the marketing is not necessarily what makes the wine.
The movie also features a couple, Norma and Larry, who have traveled to Napa Valley to go on a tour of a local winery. They perfectly embody the stereotype of the oblivious wine tourist: is is immediately evident that they know absolutely nothing about these wineries they traveled so far to tour. In their interview, Norma complains that one of the wines they will drink at the winery cannot possible be good because: "it's three years old!" Additionally, she and her husband had previously toured a winery that she thought was bad because it had "machines and steel tanks." Clearly, they do not understand the reality of winemaking, and expected all the wineries to be "old-fahioned" and "family-run." They represent the fact that most non-wine drinkers have a very romanticized view of wineries.
Additionally, a major character in Corked is Richard Parsons, who is a famous wine reviewer. At various times during the film, he is called an "influential wine god" and a "messiah" of wine. Donald Smyth states that people buy based on what he writes. Richard Parsons fully embodies the perception that wine writers are hugely influential. In the interest of full disclosure, his character perfectly resembles how I see wine writers in my head: he wears a suit and bowtie, is very serious and snobby, and ignores the "little people," a.k.a. the small-time wine producers. The hotel he is staying at in Napa Valley is completely swamped by these independent, smaller wine makers who are desperate for him to taste their wine and give a favorable review, illustrating the power of the wine reviewer in potentially making the fortunes of a winery. There are obviously massive marketing benefits that come along with one of these elusive positive reviews.
Corked skillfully uses a subtly comical format to analyze common perceptions about wine culture. It was very interesting that each character in the film embodied such a recognizable stereotype: in my opinion, the fact that I could easily identify each one is further evidence that these wine stereotypes are pervasive in non-wine drinking society. I would definitely recommend this film to wine drinkers because it effectively demonstrates the stereotypical "wine people," and I think that people who actually drink wine would be able to fully understand it and appreciate the humor.
