SOUR GRAPES

"The F for Fake of the wine community ... uncorks a number of fascinating questions about what ultimately determines the true value of art." – Indiewire

With notable good humour, Jerry Rothwell (How to Change the World, MIFF 2015) and Reuben Atlas (Brothers Hypnotic) pop the cork on one of the most impressive wine frauds in modern history. Central to their story is Rudy Kurniawan – part Catch Me If You Can, part Gatsby – and his flagrant hoodwinking of some of the wealthiest connoisseurs on the international wine scene, including billionaire Bill Koch. Known as "a rock star of wine tasting" by elite tasting group Twelve Angry Men, Kurniawan was selling so-called vintages into the millions of dollars until fourth-generation winemaker Laurent Ponsot smelled a rat.

The filmmakers maintain an open perspective as they enter a world of collectors and growers, auction houses and billionaires, detectives and organised crime played out against another great fraud of this generation: the Global Financial Crisis. The resulting film is more than just an oenophile's heist film, however; it's an insight into the intangibility of artistic value.

"Paced like a thriller with aromatic notes of journalistic intrigue, Sour Grapes is a finely balanced blend." – POV Magazine