Elijah wants to become a sommelier. And likes to compare wines with Drake or Jay-Z. The Netflix film “Uncorked” tells its story accompanied by the finest hip hop soundtrack. Why not only wine fans should stream? A film tip.
Granted: I can understand that the subject of wine can be daunting. When snotty experts interpret sunny days, asphalt taste and the full range of the supermarket fruit and vegetable counter into one sip and then not even drink the cool grape juice but spit it into a bowl, it’s anything but sexy. Because the most important thing is lost: wine is fun. Wine should be fun. And that’s why I drink first, and keep my mouth shut. For me there are exactly two kinds of wine: Tastes and tastes not (read also: I was a guest at David Klenert’s online wine tasting and for the first time live in front of the camera).
Of course, if you want to inspire someone with a wine, you always come to the same point. The reason. But you can also do that in a contemporary way. Different. Own. Only stop: so that the curious can imagine something. A comparison with an experience, a memory, maybe fashion or: music.
“We had no money for long trips. But when you drink the wines, from France or Spain, it’s like being there.”
Barbecue and Bordeaux
This plays a major role in the Netflix film “Uncorked”. And already in the intro it becomes clear: The film has less to do with the dusty wine cliché than the Wendler with advantageous sunglasses. Wine harvesting, tastings and food porn, plus rough beats. It’s been a long time since I fell in love with a film so quickly. The story even starts slowly, there are no action fireworks. And everyone who is up for wine immediately feels for the main character Elijah. The boy lives in Memphis, and has been working on good taste since childhood. His dad owns a BBQ restaurant, Elijah helps in the kitchen, takes care of smokers, smoke and ribs. And: Grape varieties. They are his quirk, and also his future. If he has his way. He wants to turn his passion into his profession and become a sommelier. Little problem: His dad has long since planned him as his successor. Barbecue instead of Bordeaux, meat instead of fruit salad.
Uncorked or: Happy Wine time
Which would be a pity, because Elijah speaks wine for wine makers. Crisp, pure, elegant, sometimes sweet and full of feelings – when he compares Riesling with the music of Drake, I simply celebrate it. But the film is also about more than just half-full glasses. It’s about the relationship between father and son, stubbornness, giving in, punching through. It’s about the courage to find out what you want to do. Daring the unknown to face the fear of failure, and, now it gets romantic for a moment: finding your wine princess. Of course, you also learn a great deal of specialist knowledge, which you can confidently put aside. Wine, as I said, is there to drink, not to babble. So: Open a good bottle and have a look.
