SOMM Cup of Salvation is a new release from the talented team at SOMM Films who have already given us SOMM, SOMM: Into the Bottle, and SOMM III. Their wine-film catalog now also includes a streaming channel called SOMM TV. If wine is your passion and video is your medium, you can have it all pretty much 24/7.
SOMM Cup of Salvation is now available via Apple, Amazon, and SOMM TV streaming platforms and is scheduled for limited theatrical release very soon. Here is a link to the new film’s official trailer. It is worth seeking out. Sue and I approach wine films with caution because we’ve seen so many disappointing ones, but Cup of Salvation gets our top score, two wine glasses (sort of like two thumbs up, get it?). Here is our review.
What’s the Story?
Cup of Salvation unfolds in several layers. In the broadest terms it is the story of wine’s cultural importance. Wine might be just a casual drink to many people, but its meaning runs deep and what happens to wine can be a mirror of what happens to society. This is wine as religion, philosophy, and identity.
The Cup of Salvation story takes place mainly in Armenia, sometimes in Iran, and a little bit in Oregon. Armenia, which along with Georgia is arguably the birthplace of wine, is struggling today to restore wine to its rightful place. Armenia suffered repeated invasions and abuse at the hands of outsiders over the centuries and the historical vineyards have suffered, too.
When Armenia came under Soviet rule about a hundred years ago many of the ancient vineyards were destroyed, replaced by industrial farms growing grapes for brandy production. In the Soviet system of specialization, Moscow dictated that Georgia (Stalin’s home) make wine and Armenia make brandy. So the old vineyards, winemaking traditions, and wine culture survived on the margins and under the radar. This is wine and ideology, geopolitics, and James C. Scott’s theories of oppression and resistance.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the opportunity appeared for Armenian wine and society to emerge, but the road was not a smooth one. This is where things get personal as we meet the bold and charismatic Vahe Keushguerian (creator of the Armenian sparkling wine brand Keush) and his more cautious but very brave daughter Aimee (who makes Armenian wine from indigenous grapes under the brand Zulal).
Vahe and Aimee Keushguerian (shown here in a still from the film) are part of the returning Armenian diaspora who seek to preserve Armenia’s wine history and create its future. The story of what they do in Armenia, why they do it, and what it means to them and to others, is at the heart of the film.
Risk is a strong theme. Some of the very old, very high-elevation vineyards are in an Armenia-Azerbaijan war zone (Vahe’s winemaking cellar/bunker is fortified to resist bombs. Yes, that’s a flak jacket he’s wearing in the photo.)
And then, as if there isn’t already enough risk, there is the crazy idea that punctuates the film. Iran is right next door. Iran has a long history of wine growing. Grapes are still grown, but no wine. The authorities would never hear of it. So, why not smuggle grapes across the border into Armenia and make the first Iranian wines in 40 years? What could go wrong? It would be, if you could do it, maybe the riskiest wine in the world (although there are vintages from Syria and Lebanon that would compete for that title).
The tale of the smuggled Iranian grapes makes up the last third of the film. Tensions and emotions are revealed and released. The meaning of wine is shown, not explained, and it is hard not to be moved.
Where Did the Idea Come From?
I asked the film’s director, Jason Wise, how the pieces of SOMM Cup of Salvation came together. The answer, he told me, is that he was in Armenia working on a completely different project (set for release next year) and met Vahe Keushguerian. Vahe’s story of Armenia’s wine renaissance was compelling and seemed to demand a film of its own.
And then Vahe’s Iranian wine project came on the radar and I think that lights must have started flashing. Wise knew about Moe Momtazi from another film project. Momtazi and his wife Flora are Persians who fled Iran many years ago, eventually settling in the Willamette Valley, where they founded Maysara Winery and Momtazi Vineyard. They carried with them as they escaped across the border an understanding of Iranian wine and its potential.
Momtazi’s Persian origin story is well known in Oregon (I wrote about the Momtazis in my 2013 book Extreme Wine, for example), but Wise was talking with him about something else. Momtazi is well-known for his commitment to biodynamic wine growing. Once Wise learned the Iranian backstory, the dots started connecting and the new film’s story emerged.
Why the Film Works
Cup of Salvation works for many reasons. First, it is beautifully filmed and that is always a good thing. The story is strong, too, especially the Iranian connection. But it is the characters that dominate the film, Vahe and Aimee Keushguerian most of all, but also Iranian-American winemaker Moe Momtazi and his daughter Naseem.
The characters are strong and the emotions authentic. It is hard not to connect with the people and through them the wines. There is even the subtle thread of daughters worrying about fathers to think about. Memorable.
Sue and I have to admit that some factors probably predisposed us to like this film. We first tasted the Keush and Zulal wines last year thanks to samples provided by Storica Wines, the U.S. importers. And we know and like Moe Momtazi, whom we met when I spoke at the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon several years ago.
Even without these personal connections, however, I think we would be sympathetic to the Armenian wine story because of what we learned when we visited Georgia when I spoke at the UNWTO conference there. Georgia, remember, was lucky to get the Soviet wine franchise while Armenia was assigned brandy production. But it wasn’t really a gift because the Soviet wine system was focused on industrial production of sweet wines. As in Armenia, the task of preserving the essence of Georgian wine was left to families tending their grapes and making traditional wines. Our sympathy for the Georgian producers trying to revive their industry is, I suppose, part of our reaction to this excellent film about Armenia and Iran.
I know a critic who sets a pretty high standard for the wines he chooses to write about. They must be delicious, of course, but that isn’t enough. They also need to tell a story and to reveal something meaningful about people and places or maybe values and ideas. We are not wine critics here at the Wine Economist, but the Armenian wines we have tasted were both delicious and told interesting stories. Everyone we’ve shared them with came to the same conclusion.
We are not film critics, either, but we set something of the same standards when it comes to wine films. They should entertain, but that’s not enough. Somm: Cup of Salvation is a pleasure to watch, that’s for sure, but the stories it tells, the questions it asks, and the truths it reveals make it something special.
Raise two glasses (or more if you have them) to SOMM Cup of Salvation.
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Storica Wines is currently offering a “Sip & Stream with SommTV” package that includes a 4-pack of Armenian wines featured in Cup of Salvation bundled together with free access to the SOMM TV channel for the rest of 2024. Here is a link to the offer details.
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There is a fine film about the Georgian wine struggle, which we reviewed here in the Wine Economist back in 2018, “Our Blood is Wine.”