I'm inherently suspicious of celebrities or other simply rich people who jump into making wine, even if out of passion. It's like any other field: proper training and experience are vital components of success, though often celebs simply outsource the work to others with the necessary background. Thus, I approached the documentary Blood Into Wine with some suspicion. It presents the story of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's (pictured on the right) winery Caduceus, located in the Verde Valley of Arizona.The documentary, however, peels away various misconceptions I had going into it. Just as one might expect Arizona to be blisteringly hot--it's not at higher elevations where Keenan farms--I'd expect Keenan to be kind of a stuffy, obnoxious guy thinking he is running some modern day wine plantation. He's not, though sometimes a bit of overconfidence shows. In reality, he's down to earth about his approach. Most impressively, he has joined forces with Eric Glomsky, a professionally trained winemaker. Glomsky isn't simply his wine-monkey, though, not by a long shot. There's a give and take evident, and Keenan views Glomsky as a mentor, not an employee.
Glomsky actually steals the show at times with his passion for the 'terroir' of Northern Arizona. He has a clear distrust for the wine establishment's hard-wired belief that certain regions and styles are inherently superior. Much to his credit, Keenan also does not go around name dropping famous producers or regions much, nor does he seem concerned that his wines are not imitating those of other regions. In fact, when James Suckling (pictured on the left) compares Keenan's wines to various reference points, Keenan rather visibly seems annoyed. The blog HFF delves into this subject a bit more deeply, and is definitely worth a read. Suckling comes across, unsurprisingly, as a pompous snob; out of all wine critics, he is probably the one who most fully personifies the typical wine snob stereotype.
There are definitely some running gags intended to bring levity to the proceedings, but fall a bit flat. In sum, though, I came away with a positive view of Maynard Keenan James and am especially interested in tasting Verde Valley wines at some point. This is a very good wine documentary that balances nerd appeal with more broadly accessible material. Additionally, it's worth adding that Caduceus' wines have dropped in price recently. When I checked out the price list over a year ago, it was kind of outrageous for wines with no track record. The wines are still not cheap, but they are more in line with what I'd expect for a younger wine region. It's not that I don't think the wines could command a premium eventually. Rather the market is competitive, and it's probably smart to get the wine into folks' hands to try rather than make it just a collectible.
