The Ways of Wine

What’s the most ridiculous thing that could happen to a sommelier? As if it were a bad joke like that, a paradox, or the realization of an unmentionable childhood fear, renowned wine expert Charlie Arturaola is suddenly faced with something unexpected: he loses his pallet entirely. The fateful signs come to him during the prestigious Masters of Food and Wine event in Mendoza, and at first he’s not sure if this is caused by stress, the hectic social life of this kind of events, or a neurological condition. Later, his search for a cure leads him to meet the famous Michel Rolland and take his advice, so he sets on a long forgotten path that has alienated many wine critics from both producers and humble amateurs. He tries to recover the intimate and physical experience of the harvest and the old passion time had toned down. For Arturaola this trip will be a return to his small town origins, to the glass of wine on the family dinner table, stripped down from any pretense of sophistication. And the same path will take him –with sentimentality but no melodrama– to reunite with himself. –Mar del Plata International Film Festival