Feature film puts Napa winemaking in spotlight

A feature-length US documentary film looking at what if takes to become successful as a winemaker in the Napa Valley is due to launch in February.

Decanted is a feature-length documentary following the trials and tribulations of launching Italics Winery in Napa

The film, titled Decanted, seeks to portray “the true world of winemaking” by following the development of a brand new winery called Italics Winegrowers.

Involving contributions from a selection of ‘elite’ Napa winemakers, including Heidi Barrett (ex of Screaming Eagle, now Barrett & Barrett Wines), Steve Reynolds (Reynolds Family Winery, Italics Winery), Anthony Bell (Bell Wine Cellars) and Michael Scholz (St Supéry), Decanted poses the question of what kind of person decides to jump into this highly competitive and now well – established arena… and – once started on the venture – what it takes to succeed.

“The amount of hard work, talent, and luck that goes into the art of winemaking often goes unnoticed, so our goal was to present the world with an accurate depiction of all the hard work that goes into a bottle of wine,” director Nicholas Kovacic (whose previous films include a documentary on beer brewing called Brewmore Baltimore) said.

“My inspiration for the film started with history and legacy. Napa Valley, California, is this place where history and legacy are really starting now to intertwine, creating some lasting effects on global wine.”

The director also explained how the film was inspired by “American perseverance” and the sense of a ‘wild west’ that persists in this region owing to its minimal regulations on winemaking – winemakers in the Napa Valley can grow whatever they wish, wherever they wish, as long as they own the property.

“That’s something you can only find here in the US,” he added. “To have the opportunity to tell a little bit of that Napa story from a contemporary perspective; is very special to me.”

Decanted will be available digitally on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play from 21 February. The film’s trailer can be viewed here: