Festival film tells tale of popular Malbec wine

A still from the film “Boom Varietal.” / COURTESY OF SKY PINNICK/RAGE PRODUCTIONS

Few things say romance quite like a bottle of wine and night at the movies. Fortunately, a few days before Valentine’s Day, cinema fans will get a taste of both as the new wine documentary “Boom Varietal” screens at 7 p.m. today at Voorhees Hall in New Brunswick as part of the New Jersey Film Festival.

Directed by Sky Pinnick, “Boom Varietal” looks at the rise in popularity over the last decade of Argentinian Malbec wine. The film will have its New Jersey premiere at the festival, now in its 30th year.

“It just seemed like if I didn’t pay to have a movie (about Malbec) made, maybe it would never happen,” says Kirk Ermisch, president of the Bend, Ore.-based South American wine importer Southern Wine Group and executive producer of “Boom Varietal.”

“From selling wine, it seemed like people had a very imperfect understanding of South American wine and South America, also, and it seemed like somebody ought to make something that’s a little more educational so people can see who are the personalities and some of the issues people deal with behind the scenes,” Ermisch says. “I tried to make it in a way that’s not self-serving, just kind of an educational piece that talks about the business.”

A still from the film “Boom Varietal.” / COURTESY OF SKY PINNICK/RAGE PRODUCTIONS

The lushly shot, leisurely paced film follows the life of Malbec from vineyard fields in Argentina to some of the bars, restaurants and shops in the United States where it’s developed a following over the last decade.

“It’s certainly (told in) a relaxed way, which is interesting, because the wine business is very relaxed. It’s a very patient industry,” Ermisch says. “From the vineyard waiting for the grapes to ripen to waiting for them to finish in the winery, that’s already a two-year process almost or a year-and-a-half process at best, and people do kind of slow down a notch when they’re in this business.”

Along with being incredibly accessible and enjoyable, Malbec wines are also relatively affordable, Ermisch says.

“There are some high-end Malbecs that are worth discovering, but for $15, $16, you can get a pretty decent Malbec, and compare that to what you would get for $15, $16, from like Oregon or Washington or California. There’s just no comparison.”