Wine au Naturel: On Georgian winemaking traditions

May 09, 2012 1 comments

An interview with ‘I Am Wine’ filmmakers Michele and Nicola Finotto

–Christina Pickard

I am Wine is a project created by Uncle and nephew (although they’re about the same age!) Michele and Nicola Finotto.

After dropping out of college, they “set off on a search to understand the ancestral relationship between mankind and Earth”.  Quite the undertaking!  What they ended up doing was make a series of films about artisan winemakers following the traditional practices of their ancestors.  They posted all the videos on their website, and they now sell the wines they feature.  Their particular focus has been on Georgia, the oldest recorded winemaking country on earth.

Michele and Nicola spent a good deal of time with John Wurdeman, an American artist living in Georgia who is the co-founder of winery Pheasant’s Tears and spokesperson for Georgian wine culture.

I met Michele and Nicola at Vini Veri’s fair outside Verona last month.  I was interested in chatting with them about their videos, but mostly about Georgia’s fascinating wine traditions.

Nicola was shy about speaking English so Michele was speaking for both of them.  Have a listen on the player above to what they had to say.

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And click HERE to watch an I Am Wine video featuring John Wurdeman:

Get the chance to meet John Wurdeman and join his masterclass, “Qvevri and Georgian wine culture” 2pm on Monday the 21st at the Real Wine Fair!