Maybe I’m late to the game but I discovered this gem the other night while browsing Nextflix for something to watch instantly. This particularly piqued my interest since the wine maker being documented is none other than Maynard Keenan! Who is he? Shame on you. He’s the lead singer of Tool and perhaps the even lesser known, A Perfect Circle. To be fair, I’m not a Tool fan but I was once upon a time a fan of A Perfect Circle, but in either case, I’m well aware of who Maynard is and how much of a following he has.
The real story here is how Maynard bought a vineyard in Arizona (subsequently making a G I N O R M O U S investment in something that isn’t all that common in those parts), and has created several award-winning wines. Pretty cool, right? Well, it’s really an interesting documentary… lots of dry humor, jokes, personal stories, guests (Patton Oswalt!?) and chit-chat with the main man himself. Of course there’s also music snippits and a glimpse into Maynard’s crazy antics.
Though it doesn’t appear as though Maynard’s wines (sold under the name Caduceus Cellars) are available here in the Northeast, I definitely have my eyes open for it now. That goes for Arizona wine in general… apparently a vineyard in Arizona uses four times less water than one single-family home would on the SAME land.
Take it for what it is, it’s a low-budget, yet well-done documentary (at some moments it even has a “mockumentary” feel) that is both light and entertaining. If nothing else, it will make you thirsty for wine, consider moving to the dessert to grow grapes (just me?) and mayyyybe incite a slight crush on Maynard (still just me?)…
OMG I cannot believe you know Tool is! AND Maynard! Or MJK as my friends and I like to call him haha. One of my best friends in college was OBSESSED with tool and he would drag us to his room constantly to have us listen to them and check out the album art and all of this stuff. And so now I've developed a small obsession myself. So cool.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes - when you come to NYC we HAVE to meet!