André – The Voice of Wine
The award winning film André The Voice of Wine, narrated by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes, is about one of the founding fathers of American wine, a globally influential wine personality and the force behind the California winners of the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” – the true back story of the film Bottle Shock.
Runtime: 98 mins
Released: 2020
Synopsis:
André Tchelistcheff, the “Dean of American Winemaking,” was a seminal figure, a legendary winemaker, and one of the most remarkable men of the twentieth century.
His influence and contributions almost singlehandedly made possible the rapid development in the quality of wine in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition. For over five decades, he worked with numerous wineries that together helped establish the American wine industry: Beaulieu, Charles Krug, Louis M. Martini, Buena Vista, Firestone, Schramsberg, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Hanzell, Heitz, Simi, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hoffman, Jordan, Quilceda Creek, Sequoia Grove, Villa Mt. Eden, Conn Creek, King Estate, Rodney Strong, Niebaum Coppola, and many more.
Though small in stature, André seemed larger than life, and all those who knew him experienced him that way, for he was a mountain of energy and inspiration. He brought together the science of enology with the patience of viticulture and the art of winemaking. Countless technologies that are now routine in wineries around the world – cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks, controlled malolactic fermentation – were developed by André and tested in Napa and Sonoma.
He was known as “The Maestro” and “The Winemaker’s Winemaker” and believed in sharing information and teaching all those who yearned to make great wine. He mentored countless winemakers: Louis Martini, Robert Mondavi, Joe Heitz, August Sebastiani, John Daniel, Mike Grgich, Richard Peterson, MaryAnn Graf, Warren Winiarski, Rob Davis, Michael Silacci, Mike McGrath, Jan Shrem, Rick Sayre, Marco Cappelli, Heidi Peterson Barrett, Jill Davis, and others. He taught young winemakers that they could make a wonderful wine whether they were in Napa, Sonoma, Oregon, or Washington. His students and protégées now make wine in all corners of the world, weaving the subtleties they learned from him into their work. Years after his death, many still ask themselves in time of crisis or decision, “What would André have done?”
An epic journey of an extraordinary man who changed the world of wine forever.
“André Tchelistcheff first caught the world’s attention in 1976, when a blind tasting competition held by a panel of France’s most glorified oenophiles produced a shocking result: Two California wines – Miljenko Grgich’s 1973 Chardonnay [Chateau Montelena] and Warren Winiarski’s 1972 Cabernet [Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars] – both made using Tchelistcheff’s methods, took top honors for the best white and best red.” The Hollywood Reporter
Watch the Trailer:
Film director, and André’s grandnephew, Mark Tchelistcheff, has spent the better part of a decade creating a film that chronicles the extraordinary life of his uncle André. Mark has assembled an illustrious team of filmmakers including multiple Academy Award winner Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The English Patient, The Unbearable Lightness of Being), whose poignant directorial advice helped shape the film, crisp editing from BAFTA winner Michael Chandler (Amadeus, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg, Mishima in Four Parts) and a stirring original score from award winning composer Alexei Aigui (I’m Not Your Negro, Le Petit Poucet, Moloch Tropical).
Cast:
Miljenko Grgich,
Warren Winiarski,
Steven Spurrier,
Michael Silacci,
Rob Davis,
Marchese Lodovico Antinori,
Count Gelasio Gaetani d’Aragona Lovetelli,
Christian Moueix,
Greg La Follette
Francis Ford Coppola
…
Want to know more about Judgment of Paris? Watch Bottle Shock – Film