There is a cup in the hand of the Lord,
where ferments a wine full of mixture,
And he pours it:
all the villains of the earth revel,
drink to the dregs.
(Psalms 75:9)
In just fifty years, agribusiness methods have radically changed the way our food is produced. Half a century was enough to make fifteen thousand years of natural agriculture forget. Wine, a cultural setting if any, seemed so far untouched, at least that’s what we thought. Today, the vine consumes 20 of the plant protection products used in French agriculture, while it is present on 3 of the cultivated land. The flora, fauna and biological activity so important to the development of the beverage are thus destroyed, going so far as to endanger the health of the men and women who work there. But in the vineyards it is the omerta.
Beyond this observation, this documentary is a demonstration that more respectful viticulture is possible. « Vino Veritas » takes place like a road movie through the vineyards of Europe of the major producing countries of France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, at the forefront of agrobiology research.
The film gives voice to the winemakers, who consider nature as an essential element in the production of a quality wine, a living wine. Whether they are bios, bio-dynamic or natural, now professionals who have become essayists show us that another path is possible, with almost no inputs.
Making wine differently, by conducting farms on a human scale, with respect for people and the environment, is the new situation of 21st century viticulture. Another alternative exists, with a common goal that the chemical whole channels seem to have hidden: to regain taste!