Review: Sour Grapes

For all wannabe sommeliers and wine enthusiasts, this Netflix-produced documentary is a must-watch.

The viewer is thrown into the world of high-calibre wine right from the outset, as collectors throw farcical amounts of money around to obtain the finest of the fine wine. What’s immediately mind-boggling is the sheer altitude of the prices; collectors are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single bottle of wine, which is often so old it’s actually undrinkable. High-calibre collectors show us around their cellars and show off their prized possessions.

After this fascinating insight into this enormously exclusive club, things turn sour as we are then introduced to the world of counterfeit wine. Who knew that such a criminal underworld existed, scientifically mixing and blending cheaper wines to create a bottle that tastes like a vintage before printing fake labels and then selling it at auction. It’s genius. And, what’s obvious from the programme is that you have to be a total wine genius to do it; how else would you dupe the professionals?

Have a watch of the trailer here, who knows, perhaps you'll be saving your pay cheque for a coveted vintage sometime soon.  Definitively unlikely my end but you just never know.