Sort of basic and without emotional or technical interest, yet honest and well done. Nice to see the land and the grapes and generations of winemakers. A large chunk of the film is spent on what I already knew, that rain around harvest can present lots of tough decisions or even disaster.

Now I need to go back and see WIne for the Confused, then A Year in Champagne and A Year in Port. Whoa I'm getting thirsty! I even looked at flights from US to Paris. Ha!

By the end I think my French comprehension had seen a tick up.

WOW. This is my first review and didn't know they had to be six hundred characters.

Rather boring. Rather stuffy. Rather not too interesting. Rather not informing documentary

The film is an in-depth look at the 2011 vintage in Burgundy, following San Francisco-based wine importer Martine Saunier and seven of her wineries – Domaine Leroy, Domaine Perrot-Minot, Domaine Morey-Coffinet, Domaine Bruno Clavelier, Domaine Mortet, Domaine Michel Gay & Fils, and Dominique Cornin through the vintage that – with its heat waves in the spring and the crop-threatening storms at harvest time, was a rather challenging year for many wine-makers in the region but a lucky break for the filmmakers. (For more on the wine-makers, see here.) Following the seasons, and finding its break points between the four seasons works well from a narrative perspective, and the filmmakers aren't afraid of getting in-depth into the wine-making at the risk of possibly alienating some non-niche folks. Telling us about the history of the region, the geographical challenges, the terroir, the wine-making methods, and all that makes up wine-making in Burgundy, the film does a fantastic job of explaining why Burgundian wine fetches the prices it does, and why it has risen to the levels it is at.

From a cinematic standpoint, the film is well-paced, beautifully shot (those extreme closeups with the wine-makers not noticing the camera are beyond intimate to the audience). What's more, it does not lean on the crutch of creating protagonists and antagonists the way many docs have done in recent years. A Year in Burgundy stays the course on delivering a solid and self-respecting story without melodrama – Mother Nature did more than her part to add drama and thrills.

This is a powerful film that inspires and delights, and is a unique addition to the all too limited pantheon of wine films.