Life on the Douro – a film by Zev Robinson

Yesterday’s report (here) of the Symington’s remarkable Single Quinta Vintage Port tasting (2006-1950) may have given you a sense of the Douro Valley – the place, the people and, of course, the Ports, but there’s no substitute for seeing the region yourself.

And if you can’t go any time soon, the good news is that Zev Robinson’s understated film, Life on the Douro, lifts it off the page in all its majesty and grandeur, remoteness and ruggedness.

Quite rightly, the Douro’s wild beauty is the star of the show.  Not for no reason is it a World Heritage Site.   Sweeping vistas capture its scale, solitude and slow-moving, sleepy, pace of life.

Spliced together interviews with leading players in the Port and Douro wine industry give you a grass roots insight into its history, tradition, evolution and challenges.  You are left in no doubt about the hefty price tag associated with farming the world’s largest mountain vineyard and the artisinal process which is making premium Port and Douro wine.  As Dominic Symington puts it, “it’s madness!”

Though based on 45 days of filming over a 15 month period, one thing that didn’t come across to me is the region’s oppressive, parched and dusty summers.  Perhaps Robinson is keeping viewers hungry for more.  Maybe his aim is to ensure you visit the region after all?

If you go during harvest, when the valley is transformed into a hive of activity, I guarantee you’ll salute the people who have put the Douro on the map and, with great passion and determination, are finding ways to make it sustainable.

Life on the Douro is being screened in Los Angeles on November 15, San Francisco November 17 and the Paso Robles Film Festival on November 20. The film will be followed by a tasting and presentation by Roy Hersh of For The Love of Port, Oscar Quevedo of the Quevedo winery in Sao Joao de Pesqueira and Luiz Alberto of The Wine Hub.

Plans are being drawn up for events in Germany in December, North America late February and other parts of Europe  in March, including London.

Check out the film’s trailer here and the Life on the Douro facebook page here for information about screenings and events.