“Hugely entertaining.”
Sour Grapes
Feature Documentary • 2018 • 85’ • UK
Credits
Directors: Jerry Rothwell, Reuben Atlas
Producers: Al Morrow, Catherine Siméon
Base on an idea by: Nick Ware
Composer: Lionel Corsini
Editor: James Scott
Executive Producers: Phil Hunt, Stewart le Maréchal, Maxime Owyszer, Jonny Persey, Compton Ross, Barbara Truyen, Nick Ware
Assistant Director: Lauriane Jussiau
With pockets full of cash, charisma and a preternatural memory for vintages, an unassuming young Rudy Kurniawan earns the reputation of a wine savant, surrounding himself with some of high society’s most fervent wine connoisseurs. But when Bill Koch, a top US collector, and, Laurent Ponsot, a Burgundian wine producer, discover suspicious bottles, a humorous and suspensefulinvestigation begins into one of the most ingenious cons of our time.
This feature length film unfolds Rudy’s story though the eyes of his friends, his fellow wine enthusiasts and his French adversary. It draws on a colorful cast of characters from New York socialites to celebrity wine buffs. An FBI sting takes us into the complex world of Bourgogne wines, made in small quantities by wine makers who view their products as a form of art. But all art has a close kinship with illusion, and Kurniawan had himself mastered an artform as he turned from connoisseur to conman.
Festivals
Hot Docs 2016
Sheffield DocFest 2016
Reviews
“Highly entertaining uncorking of counterfeit wine scandal.” — The Guardian
“Heady and very entertaining.”
— The Independent
“Hugely entertaining.”
— The Financial Times
“It's a revelation.”
— The Huffington Post
“Compelling.”
— The Times Literary Supplement
“A real-life comic mystery fit for Hercules Poirot.”
— Variety
“Hilarious, fascinating and undeniably entertaining.”
— NOW Toronto
“Endlessly fun and informative.”
— Digital Journal