We care more and more about the provenance of our food but do we apply the same criteria to our wine? If we are interested in supporting small producers, many of whom are indigenous and have worked their vineyards for generations perhaps we should.

This documentary film is written and directed by sommelier, Jonathan Nossiter and examines the globalisation of wine, the development of ‘brands’ and shows the implications on both small producers and on the variety and quality of the wines we drink.

Pivotal to the film is the incident at Aniane in Languedoc-Roussillon in the early noughties. The Mondavi Company in Napa wanted to lease two hectares of land for premium quality syrah. At first the company had the support of Aniane’s socialist mayor but a newly elected communist mayor in April 2001 led a unanimous vote against the project. “According to the owners of Languedoc's only 'first growth' Mas de Daumas Gassac, 200-year-old common land would be deforested and ruined. . . the new mayor, Manuel Diaz, said to accept Mondavi 'would be to die little by little.' (Decanter.com, May 2001).