Blind Ambition is a 2022 documentary based on the lives of four people from Zimbabwe that take part in the World Blind Wine Tasting Championships in France. [1] [2]
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 32 reviews.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote that "It’s impossible not to smile along with this feelgood documentary about four Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa who got jobs in restaurants, discovered in themselves a brilliant talent for wine-tasting and in 2017 were brought together as the exiled team Zimbabwe for the World Blind Wine Tasting Championships in France". [3] A critic from Daily Express wrote that "The subject matter initially suggests a kind of Cool Runnings with plonk - but Blind Ambition soon builds into a full-bodied feel-good film". [4]
Except a mixed review at Roger Moore's Movie Nation [5] and another at the BFI website, [6] other reviews were generally also very positive. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
A sommelier, or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the sommelier in fine dining today is much more specialized and informed than that of a wine waiter. Sommeliers Australia states that the role is strategically on par with that of the chef de cuisine.
Mondovino is a 2004 documentary film on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and a César Award.
The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant, and his colleague, Patricia Gallagher, in which French oenophiles participated in two blind tasting comparisons: one of top-quality Chardonnays and another of red wines. A Napa County wine rated best in each category, which caused surprise as France was generally regarded as being the foremost producer of the world's best wines. By the early 1970s, the quality of some California wines was outstanding but few took notice as the market favored French brands. Spurrier sold predominately French wine and believed the California wines would not win.
Steven Spurrier was a British wine expert and merchant who was described as a champion of French wine. Spurrier organised the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, which unexpectedly elevated the status of California wine and promoted the expansion of wine production in the New World. He was the founder of the Academie du Vin and Christie's Wine Course, in addition to authoring and co-authoring several wine books.
Blinded wine tasting is wine tasting undertaken in circumstances in which the tasters are kept unaware of the wines' identities. The blind approach is routine for wine professionals who wish to ensure impartiality in the judgment of the quality of wine during wine competitions or in the evaluation of a sommelier for professional certification. More recently wine scientists have used blinded tastings to explore the objective parameters of the human olfactory system as they apply to the ability of wine drinkers to identify and characterize the extraordinary variety of compounds that contribute to a wine’s aroma. Similarly, economists testing hypotheses relating to the wine market have used the technique in their research. Some blinded trials among wine consumers have indicated that people can find nothing in a wine's aroma or taste to distinguish between ordinary and pricey brands. Academic research on blinded wine tastings have also cast doubt on the ability of professional tasters to judge wines consistently.
Odette Kahn was a leading authority on wine and editor of the La Revue du vin de France and of Cuisine et Vins de France. She was a judge at the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. Kahn was outraged at the results of the tasting, unsuccessfully demanded her ballot back, refused later to speak to organizer Steven Spurrier after the event, claimed fraud, and wrote disparagingly about the wine competition. This event was later portrayed in the movie Bottle Shock.
James Cameron Suckling is an American wine and cigar critic and former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator as well as European Editor of Cigar Aficionado. Suckling is internationally regarded as one of the world's most influential wine critics, and one of the most experienced critics of vintage cigars.
Bottle Shock is a 2008 American comedy-drama film based on the 1976 wine competition termed the "Judgment of Paris", when California wine defeated French wine in a blind taste test. It stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman and is directed by Randall Miller, who wrote the screenplay along with Jody Savin and Ross Schwartz. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwide total of 274 people have earned its Master Sommelier diploma, the highest level.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a 2011 Japanese-language American documentary film directed by David Gelb. The film follows Jiro Ono, a then-85-year-old sushi master and owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, then a Michelin three-star restaurant. Sukiyabashi Jiro is a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station. As of 2023, Jiro Ono serves a tasting menu of roughly 20 courses, for a minimum of JP¥55,000 (US$270).
Somm is a 2012 American documentary following the attempts of four candidates to pass the extremely difficult Master Sommelier examination, a test with one of the lowest pass rates in the world. Directed by Jason Wise, a sequel, Somm: Into the Bottle, was released in 2015 and a third film, Somm 3, came out in October 2018. A TV series based on the movie launched on the Esquire Network in November 2015. In 2019, SOMM TV was launched by creator Jason Wise with original shows.
The Guide Hachette des Vins is a French wine buying guide published by Hachette Livre. Its first edition was released in 1985. It is France's best-selling wine guide and one of France's oldest. The Guide Hachette des Vins is considered to be France' most authoritative guide and commonly referred to as the bible of the French wine industry.
Somm: Into the Bottle is a 2015 wine documentary and a sequel to SOMM (2013). The film tells the story and history of wine through ten different bottles opened throughout the film in different chapters. Directed by Jason Wise, it premiered at the Napa Valley Film Festival and featured the main cast from the original SOMM film as well as additional notable people from the wine world.
Circus of Books is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Mason, written by Rachel Mason and Kathryn Robson and starring Karen Mason, Barry Mason and Rachel Mason. The premise revolves around Circus of Books, a bookstore and gay pornography shop in West Hollywood, California, and in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Jennifer Lopez: Halftime is a 2022 American Netflix original documentary film directed by Amanda Micheli. Its story follows the career of Jennifer Lopez, with a heavy focus on her performance at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show and her film Hustlers (2019). The film premiered at the opening night of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, and was released on Netflix on June 14, 2022.
The Velvet Queen is a 2021 French-language documentary film. It follows Sylvain Tesson and Vincent Munier as they attempt to find a snow leopard in Tibet. The film was directed by Marie Amiguet and Munier in their feature-length debut, and premiered in the Cinema for the Climate section at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 13 July 2021, with a wider theatrical release in France on 15 December and a limited release in the United States on 22 December. It won Best Documentary Film at the 47th César Awards, and Best Documentary at the 27th Lumières Awards.
Estelle Touzet, born in 1981, in Châteauroux (Indre), is a French chef sommelier.