The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is screening an award-winning documentary featuring San Luis Obispo County winemakers.
The Amphora Project - Past Forward tells the story of how modern winemakers, including many in SLO County, are using a winemaking technique that dates back over 8,000 years.
The documentary is being screened tomorrow in San Luis Obispo and next Thursday in Paso Robles.
It explores how winemakers are reviving the use of a vessel that has been around since hunter-gatherer societies learned how to domesticate grapes.
“Imagine it's egg-shaped with a base and a little opening at the top,” Director of the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County Libbie Agran said.
She said winemaking using an amphora is a very different process than using barrels.
“There's a lot of carbon dioxide that’s released, and that makes the liquid move within the vessel,” Agran said. “So we don't have to get up at the top and stir it with a stick or anything like that; It's natural fermentation.”
Agran said wine made using an amphora has a distinct taste.
“It adds a certain freshness, and it's a very different taste and mouth feel,” Agran said.
Agran helped produce the Amphora Project alongside a team of documentary filmmakers.The film has already seen international acclaim, winning the Best Documentary Film Award in the Republic of Georgia.
Agran said what sets this film apart from other wine documentaries is its deeply personal look into local winemakers’ lives.
“We don't get to see behind the scenes what these winemakers are doing and how they feel about it, so this is a very intimate look into the life of each of the seven winemakers that are featured in the film,” Agran said.
Agran said the film showcases what makes winemaking in places like SLO and Paso Robles so special: the winemakers' willingness to experiment and take risks.
“I think that's one of the great things I've discovered about the county and makes our history so rich,” Agran said.
More information on the documentary is at winehistoryproject.org, and the SLO Film Fest’s website is slofilmfest.org.
