By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Robert Coe | Warwick Ross
Country: australia
Year: 2021
Running time: 95
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9914972/reference
Vicki says: “In the Q and A, the director stole my opening line, ‘This is the wine version of COOL RUNNINGS.’ An unlikely quartet of refugees from Zimbabwe end up in South Africa where they get jobs in restaurants, often as sommeliers and become quite proficient at identifying wines. They decide to form the Zimbabwe Wine Tasting Team, get a coach ( a good side story), and go on to compete in the World Wine Tasting Championships in France. Participants get points for identifying variety of grape, country of origin, wine region, year and producer.
“It’s about wine but it is really about the dedication, pride and ambition of typeset four men who decide to pursue their passion and break into the elite world of wine tasting. They compete twice and one may or may not be surprised by the results.
“It’s much better than the usual underdog competition film because it is crafted well and gives us a compelling portrait of the four men and their journey. As the credits tell us, they did not drop their interest in wine after the competition. One moved to the Netherlands to import wines from Africa; one started his own vineyard. 4 cats
“Screened at the Tribeca Festival 2021“