Friends team up to produce online wine videos
‘Judd’s Enormous Wine Show’ takes a skewed look at the wine world
Since the beginning of the year, St. Helena filmmaker Rudy McClain and winemaker Judd Finkelstein have made four online videos and are working on their fifth, to be released in mid-June.
The video series, called “Judd’s Enormous Wine Show,” is wacky and features a “skewed perspective toward Napa Valley wine,” said Finkelstein. The first video featured a character called “The Wine Pirate” using a cutlass to fight a forklift at Judd’s Hill Winery. It was a teaser of what to expect in the next episode, except that it never made it into the next episode. Finkelstein said the response to “The Wine Pirate” was fantastic, “so we made him a part of the series.”
During the recent taping of the fifth episode, “The Wine Pirate,” played by David Bennion, is seeking to be a stowaway in Finkelstein’s SUV. He said he was glad Finkelstein wasn’t driving a compact car, because he’d have a hard time getting into the trunk. Getting in, though, he offered an observation: “This SUV wasn’t designed for a tri-corner,” as his headgear got dislodged.
Bennion is a freelance photographer, who does a lot of work for Judd’s Hill and has fun being a pirate. A few blocks from his Vallejo home is the site of the annual Northern California Pirates Festival. This influenced him to become a pirate, complete with costume. There’s no parrot on his shoulder — yet — but it doesn’t mean there won’t be one someday soon.
McClain and Finkelstein have been friends for 20 years, ever since both attended classes in the same high school. “He was in my brother’s class,” McClain said. He added he wouldn’t be doing the project, except for his friendship with Finkelstein.
McClain is a producer and director and produced a full-length documentary, “Merlove,” that celebrates merlot wine in response to the movie “Sideways,” which featured pinot noirs from the Santa Barbara coast. McClain said the DVD of “Merlove” will be released in November. When asked if the documentary will be shown at St. Helena’s Cameo Cinema, he said nothing is scheduled. “But if you write the owners and let them know you’d like to see it that would help a lot,” he added.
Finkelstein and McClain first began working on the video project in January and Finkelstein said he’s had a lot of help, including from Matt Sloan, who is the series’ creative consultant. He’s a comedy writer based in Los Angeles and Finkelstein and Sloan will get on the phone for an hour or so once a week. “He’s been great, with story ideas that are coherent, flow well and are entertaining,” Finkelstein said.
The music is all original and composed by Gordon Lustig, a Napa resident. In the fifth episode, which was filmed in the last two weeks and is now in production, two Napa brothers, Craig and Ryan Ramirez, will provide some of the music.
“Everyone at the winery has been very supportive,” including Pat Burke, the winery’s hospitality director, who is also a national barbecue champion, Finkelstein said. “During each episode, Burke usually has something — a cream pie or barbecue sauce — all over his face. It’s become a running gag. He’s been a good sport about it.”
Finkelstein, his wife, Holly, and McClain are headed to Los Angeles — the Finkelsteins for a wedding and McClain to shoot a few more episodes of “Judd’s Enormous Wine Show.”
One of the episodes will be a cheese and wine pairing conducted by Barrie Lynn, who calls herself “The Cheese Impresario.” She’s seen the video series and Finkelstein said she loved it. “She’s put together a cheese and wine experience on the rooftop of her Hollywood apartment building,” he said. “It will be amazing.”
Last week, as he worked with McClain, Finkelstein said he had an interesting revelation: “I’m finally putting my education to work.” After growing up in Napa and before becoming a winemaker for the family business, he studied in Los Angeles and earned a degree in television production.
The videos are available on YouTube and at the winery’s Web site, www.juddshill.com.