by Ben Turner
Now I’m sure I’m not the only one who holds his passion for fine and interesting wines as high up as his love for heavy rock music but I do find I am a rare breed. Consider then my almost as equal love for cinema, and you have to say that getting the chance to go and see the UK’s premiere screening of Maynard James Keenan’s Blood Into Wine documentary at the RSA on Wednesday was a massive bonus for one such as myself.
Here’s where I’ll fill in the gaps for those of you I may have lost already; Maynard James Keenan is the famously reclusive front man for seminal bands Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. In the mid-90’s he decided to move to a small (population 300) town called Jerome in Arizona. Now to say that Arizona’s not known as ‘wine country’ over in the States is an understatement. So when a 40 million record selling music artist claims he’s a wine enthusiast, wants to start his own vineyard and become a become a winemaker, it’s no wonder he wasn’t taken seriously.
This film is a documentary about that journey. Under the watchful eye of his mentor Eric Glomski (former David Bruce winemaker and current owner of the award-winning Page Springs Cellars) who quite frankly is a revelation himself, Keenan starts down the long road of bringing credibility and notoriety to Caduceus and Arizona Stronghold Vineyards amidst wine industry prejudice and the harsh Arizona terrain.
Between them Keenan and Glomski aim to de-bunk the snobbery that’s goes with the wine industry alongside a desire to be taken seriously by breaking new winemaking ground. The film shows that perfectly with Glomski’s informative yet relaxed pieces to camera and Keenan often mixing his true passion for winemaking as artistry with his arid sense of humour. Whether or not the film gets the full release it deserves remains to be seen but it’s well worth trying to get hold of the DVD upon its release later in the year. If you like rock music, wine or independent filmmaking, they’ll definitely be something here for you.
In the meantime, check out the trailer on You Tube:
I was also very fortunate to walk away with a bottle of the Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra 2006 made by Keenan and Glomski thanks to the film’s producer Chris “Topper” McDaniel with advice that if I have the patience that it’s best to wait another year for the wine to show its best… I’ll keep you all updated.
Tags: Arizona, Ben Turner, Blood into Wine, Blood into Wine Review, film, USA
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