Eastbound Westbound, a winemaker’ story from Bordeaux & California
This investigation aims to trace, understand and demonstrate the historical and unwavering links between the United States, Bordeaux and its wines.
Runtime: 82 mins
Released: 2022
Eastbound Westbound film Synopsis:
An investigation like no other, Eastbound Westbound lets the viewer understand how this Franco-American friendship around Bordeaux wines had its starting point in the 18th century around the greatest connoisseur of fine wines and lover of Bordeaux, the American Thomas Jefferson, US Ambassador to Paris and third President of the United States. To better demonstrate Thomas Jefferson’s legacy, this intimate relationship between the two winegrowing continents is illustrated through interlinked portraits of wine families, from many and varied backgrounds but all sharing a real passion for wine. Leading players in their field, they produce some of the best wines in the world.
These endearing and outstanding women and men are introduced in a more contemporary section by the American wine merchant and former wine journalist Jeffrey Davies, an expert on the terroirs and winemaking fabric in Bordeaux and on the other side of the Atlantic.
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Film Director: Julien Couson
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The cast : four families linked by the vineyards of Bordeaux and California.
To better demonstrate Thomas Jefferson’s legacy, this intimate relationship between the two wine-growing continents is illustrated through interlinked portraits of four major wine families, from many and varied backgrounds. Despite their differences, these families share an entrepreneurial spirit and a real passion for the civilization of wine, the land, for wine in its hedonistic and cultural dimensions.
The documentary highlights prestigious names, renowned properties at the origin of some of the world’s best wines. The owners featured in the documentary, appearing as themselves, are indeed the real actors in this film.
Dillon family:
With HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg (CEO of Domaine Clarence Dillon)
Tesseron family:
With Alfred Tesseron (owner, father)
With Justine Tesseron (co-owner, daughter)
With Noé Tesseron (co-owner, son)
With Matthieu Bessonnet (technical director, Château Pontet-Canet)
Lurton family:
With Claire Villars-Lurton (owner, wife of Gonzague Lurton)
With Gonzague Lurton (owner, husband of Claire Villars-Lurton)
With Léopold Valentin (technical director, Château Durfort-Vivens)
With Thomas Bontemps (technical director, Château Haut-Bages Libéral)
With Nicolas Vonderheyden (technical director, Acaibo Trinity Estate)
Adams family:
With Denise Adams (owner)
With Hakima Dib (manager, Château Fonplégade)
With Romain Gonzalez (technical director, Château Fonplégade)
With Alberto Bianchi (winemaker, ADAMVS Estate)
Other influential US personalities.
Two major participants – featuring here as Guest Stars – did the honor of receiving the team in the United States during filming in early November 2021. Their accounts, providing additional insight into the investigation, are essential to understanding what unites Bordeaux wines and the United States, Thomas Jefferson’s influence on contemporary Bordeaux winemaking, and the American market’s love for Bordeaux wines.
George Sape: Managing Director Emeritus, Epstein Becker & Green / President of the Board of the American Friends of the Cité du Vin (AFCDV)
Robert Parker: International critic specializing in Bordeaux wines from 1978 to 2017, Founder of the famous Wine Advocate and its owner until 2012.
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