In my post last week about Legend Australian Wine Imports, I mentioned how Legend founders Jane Lopes and Jon Ross were both on the reality television series Uncorked. Along with the movies Sideways and Somm, behind-the-scene portrayals of the wine world are starting to show up more often on small and large screens.
If you’re interested in hearing more stories about wine or learning about specific wine-making regions, varietals and styles, there is an entire streaming service dedicated to dropping that sort of knowledge. SOMM TV comes from the team that brought you the movie of the same name, and the platform streams older movies and videos as well as producing new content.
Like Netflix for oenophiles, SOMM TV streams to every device and smart TV worldwide through a custom app and the platform's website. If you have additional equipment such as Roku, Apple TV or an Amazon Fire device, you can also access SOMM TV via those platforms.
Samples of the programming include travel guides to great wine regions of the world, blind tasting sessions, winery tours and director’s cut scenes from the featured movies and television series.
What drew my attention to the network was the announcement that the network has put together some special programming to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the legendary “Judgment of Paris,” a seminal event in the popularization of California wines as they went head-to-head with the best of France. The events were dramatized in the 2008 film Bottle Shock, which also introduced many viewers to a young Chris Pine before he took the captain’s chair on the Starship Enterprise. Pine played maverick California winemaker Bo Barrett.
Another character at the center of the Paris tasting was Steven Spurrier. (No, not that one!) Portrayed by Alan Rickman in the film, Spurrier was a British wine expert who put on the big tasting of California cabs, savs and Chardonnays facing off against the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Spurrier wasn’t a big fan of the movie’s version of events, threatening legal action if he felt misrepresented.
SOMM TV producer Jason Wise had a long friendship with Spurrier before the wine expert passed away in March, and Wise has been working for almost a decade on a documentary about the Judgement of Paris, with participation from every winery involved in the tasting and interviews with all living parties. This movie will be released on SOMM TV this summer, so that’s another reason to consider subscribing for $5.99 a month or $49.99 annually.
If you’d like a little taste of some SOMM content, specifically about Spurrier, you can watch a preview of a special episode of Legends of the Vine dedicated to him here and a short segment of Wise and Spurrier watching Bottle Shock together on Vimeo.Â
