Blood into Wine

SEDONA, AZ - (February 25, 2010) - Dry, complex and provocative.  These are words that not only describe interesting wine, but also the new film "Blood into Wine," and its central figure Maynard James Keenan, that screened recently at the 16th Annual Sedona Film Festival.

The documentary follows the quixotic quest of the heavy metal rock star of Tool and Puscifer, along with his mentor Eric Glomski, into the world of grape growing in Northern Arizona.  The movie is as much an exploration into Keenan's psyche as it is into winemaking.

Born in Ohio in 1964, Keenan is the product of a broken home, and a mother Judith who suffered a cerebral aneurism when he was 11 and later became paralyzed.   In 1981 Maynard joined the army, only to become a rock star who at times sports a Mohawk, wears wigs, and paints his entire body with grease paint.

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In 1995 Keenan escaped to the solitary, mile high town of Jerome in Northern Arizona; and it wasn't long before he realized that the town's steep slopes, limestone rich soil, abundant sunshine, and slightly cooler elevation were ideal for growing grapes.

Keenan says he loves wine because of its complexity, and likens it to the complex character played by Milla Jovovich in the movie "The Fifth Element."  Jovovich, a Maynard fan, makes a cameo in Blood into Wine.

When asked why he was making wine and not kicking back in Las Vegas with a girl on each arm, he replied, "Look at this face.  This is a working man's face."

Keenan is about opposites with a dry sense of humor.  He invites you into his world and at the same time says "Fuck you!".  "I've built an entire career at not giving away the whole farm," says Keenan. 

Throughout the film he sports t-shirts with sayings that challenge us, like one with the words "Green Piece" coupled with a picture of a green gun; or a "Welcome to Jerome" t-shirt with a subscript that says "Now get the fuck outta..."

After establishing Merkin Vineyards on a 1/2 acre slope in Jerome in 2005, he soon discovered that cold snaps and monsoons can lead to grape rot; and javelinas and other animals eat the produce.  As the movie title and opening soundtrack "A Cowboy's Work is Never Done" sung by Sonny & Cher suggest, Keenan enjoys a worthy challenge mixed with fun.

Keenan says if you find something special, it's worth the risk.  "No one in their right mind would plant a vineyard that's less than 6 acres because financially it's just as easy to farm 100 acres as it is to farm 10 acres, so to farm a 1/2 acre is just kind of silly," says Keenan, with a slight chuckle.

"Blood into Wine" is uneven in spots intertwining western and shamanic segments with a wine documentary and comedy bits.

During the film Keenan appears on a talk show called "Focus on Interesting Things" where the two hosts mercilessly insult him and his wine.  It's as if Keenan is saying, "I'm going to insult my wine before you do." 

Keenan and Glomski also spend considerable time telling us how they don't care about wine rating systems. Says Glomski, "We're not chasing the market we're making wines that we love to make."  But then the film devotes long segments to wine critics and bloggers who taste and rate wines, such as Steve Heimoff, the West Coast Editor for Wine Enthusiast Magazine.  At one point Keenan flies in friend and wine critic James Suckling, Wine Spectator from Italy to taste his wines.  The friend's favorite?  Naqual de Judith 2007.

"Blood into Wine" teaches us many things about wine tasting and wine making; like that grape growing uses little water; and that the art of wine tasting is about fully utilizing your sense of smell along with your sense of taste.  As for creating a great wine, it's all about the soil, weather conditions, and how one blends different wines together. 

Said Keenan, 'We let the grape speak for itself."  Says Glomski, "The art of wine making is blending."