My Somm TV subscription was a companion as I studied for wine certifications. I was delighted to learn that there was a connection between Jason Wise’s new film, “Somm: Cup of Salvation” and Oregon wine. Thanks to Dominic Allen at Maysara Winery for connecting me to this project, which appears in the March 2024 issue of Oregon Wine Press. HERE is a link to the online version.

Every bottle of wine tells a story.  That adage strikingly comes to life in a new film, “Somm: Cup of Salvation.”  Rooted in winemaking’s origin story and plotted through forgotten history, the movie’s narrative wends its way to arrive in today’s Middle East and, unexpectedly, our own Willamette Valley.

WINE’S ORIGINS

The lands surrounding Mount Ararat – present-day Georgia, Armenia and northern Iran – are considered the primordial birthplace of wine.  Archeologists have found evidence of wine-making there dating back 11,000 years.  But human conflicts, religion and politics have obscured this long history.

Against this backdrop, we meet winemaker Vahe Keushguerian and his daughter Aimee.  As active members of Armenia’s modern wine industry, they tirelessly advocate to enhance its international reputation.  But this challenge is not enough for Vahe.  Early in the film, he attempts to calm his daughter's fears while revealing a risky plan that becomes the movie’s narrative frame: to make wine from grapes grown in Iran.

In the late 1970s, there were hundreds of wineries in Iran.  But alcoholic beverages have been forbidden there since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.  The region and its wine faded from the consciousness of most wine lovers after decades of non-production.  Aware that old vineyards in Iran continue to bear fruit, Keushguerian set out to harvest these grapes and smuggle them into Armenia to make a modern wine.  His forbidding journey required evading armed soldiers and penetrating an arid and mountainous region to harvest the local grape variety, Rasheh.  Once located, the fruit was loaded into a refrigerated semi-truck for the perilous journey out of Iran.

Spoiler alert: his daring adventure is successful and the result is 1200 cases of a red wine called Molana. Made in 2021, it is the first wine produced from Iranian grapes in over 40 years.

OREGON CONNECTIONS

The film’s focus shifts to Oregon’s Willamette Valley as it interweaves the story of the Momtazi family and Maysara Winery. Moe and Flora Momtazi fled Iran shortly before that revolution which resulted in the alcohol ban.  They settled on land near McMinnville and developed a biodynamic vineyard of over 500 acres that supplies fruit for their own brand as well as for neighboring vintners.  In one of the film’s most affecting scenes, Moe and his daughter, Naseem, taste a bottle of Molana together.  Amid tears Moe remembers his homeland - and even smells it in the wine.  A bottle of wine tells a story transcending time and distance.

The Maysara production facility hosted the Oregon premiere of “Cup of Salvation” last November.  A large group of interested wine lovers and wine club members gathered around a generous charcuterie table while sipping Maysara wine and admiring the spacious structure which is crafted from repurposed stone and wood found on the property.  While the rainy autumn evening lacked the 1000-watt glare of similar events in Hollywood, anticipation filled the air nonetheless.

Following the well-received screening, director Jason Wise and several people featured in the film answered questions posed by members of the audience and Dominic Allen, Maysara’s Tasting Room and Wine Club Manager.

Naseem Momtazi related that people often make assumptions about her family’s Iranian background.  “When they find out that we have a winery, they’ve always been very confused,” she said.  “But it’s a big part of our culture that’s just been lost.”  Moe Momtazi affirmed that the farming and winemaking practices of his Iranian ancestors inspired him as he set out to make wine in Oregon.  “My dad used to say… water separates people and wine brings them together,” he said.

CHANGE OF PLANS

“This was not the film you’re supposed to see,” director Jason Wise said.  He originally intended to create the “Planet Earth” of wine.  The title “Cup of Salvation” fits better with the five years he spent filming in various parts of Europe, South America and the secret archives of the Vatican.  But the project changed direction when he encountered the father-daughter stories of the Keushguerians and the Momtazi family.  He believes that the film works because of the impact of the scene in which Moe and his daughter share a bottle of Molana. “There would be no movie without him,” he said.

A feature-length film with the highest production values, “Cup of Salvation” celebrates wine’s early history and the human passion it inspires. The unexpected intersection of a faraway and lesser-known wine region with Oregon’s own accompanies a gripping adventure story to make an engaging and entertaining film.

“Cup of Salvation” is the fourth in the SOMM series of wine films directed by Wise.  It is available for viewing, along with hundreds of hours of wine and food content, on Somm TV, a subscription streaming platform that Wise launched several years ago.  A free three-day trial is available and subscriptions are $5.99 monthly or $59.99 for the annual plan.  Visit www.sommtv.com to learn more.