A cutthroat world of crime opens up when millions of dollars worth of wine are discovered to have been made in a California basement in Sour Grapes.
Filmmakers Jerry Rothwell and Reuben Atlas take a deep dive into the Burgundy barrel with a caper-tale documentary that is light and breezy despite the big money at stake – think The Big Snort instead of The Big Short. We are introduced to Rudy Kurniawan, a charismatic Indonesian oenophile and excellent fraudster who fascinatingly pulls one over on the mostly white, male and privileged culture of fancy wine hoarding and auctioneering. It's a ripping yarn well-told, about a world of greed, grapes and bleep-you money. Although directors Rothwell and Atlas have fun with their rosé exposé, they never laugh at the well-off aficionados who are swindled nor do they present the con man Kurniawan as the Robin Hood of the wine world. Have a taste of Sour Grapes, then, a cheeky vintage best described as the rascal of the vineyard.
Brad Wheeler