A Year in Champagne

A delightful documentary about life in the Champagne region of France, filmmaker David Kennard's A Year in Champagne offers fascinating insights into family businesses involved in the strictly-governed champagne-making industry, while also featuring interesting historical information about the area, which has—over the millennia—been an easy target for all kinds of invaders, from Genghis Khan to Gauls to Germans. Archival footage illustrates how trench warfare played out during World War I on what are now vast fields of grapevines. But this is primarily a cheerful film that details how champagne came to be associated with celebrations and glamour, while also covering the steps involved in growing, harvesting, and squeezing grapes for their juice (actually, the same crop of grapes is squeezed as much as three times, with the juice from second and third pressings sold to producers of lower quality wine and champagne). Bottles and magnums of champagne have to be maintained in the 60-plus miles of underground cellars in the region. Interwoven throughout is the suspenseful story of various families who must cope with a weak harvest in 2012, resulting from a particularly rainy season. A treat for both oenophiles and history buffs, this is recommended. (T. Keogh)