Rotman Documentary Insights presents "Crush: Message in a Bottle"

Rotman Documentary Insights presents: Crush: Message in a Bottle

Documentary Synopsis:

A growing movement of winegrowers and winemakers are using eco-conscious practices to reduce their carbon footprint, merging modern and traditional techniques to infuse their craft with authenticity. Similar to the Slow Food movement, it’s a return to old ways, a response to concerns about the planet as well as what we put in our bodies. Crush: Message in a Bottle is a cinematic portrait of a year in the life of artisanal winemakers and winegrowers in a new fine wine region. Documenting one of the most difficult harvests in recent history, Crush is a testament to the challenges of producing an exceptional bottle of low-intervention wine in a frequently inhospitable climate. Featuring Ann-Marie Saunders (Saunders Vineyard), Kelly Mason (Mason Vineyard and Domaine Queylus), Shiraz Mottiar (Malivoire Wine Company) and Thomas Bachelder (Bachelder Niagara and Le Clos Jordanne).

Speakers:

Maya Gallus, Director and Producer, Red Queen Productions

Kelly Mason, Owner, Mason Vineyard

Shiraz Mottiar, General Manager & Team Principal, Malivoire Wine Company

Ann-Marie Saunders, Owner, Saunders Vineyard

About our Speakers:

Maya Gallus is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent documentary, Crush: Message in a Bottle, has been screened at the Hot Docs Cinema, Devour: The Food Film Fest!, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Napa Valley Fork2Film Festival and the Most Festival internacionale de Cinema del Vi I el Cava in the Penedès, where it was honoured with the Sustainability Award. Her previous film, The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution, about female chefs and toxic kitchen culture, opened the 2018 Hot Docs Film Festival, as well as the prestigious 2019 Berlinale Culinary Cinema, among others.

Red Queen Productions was formed by partners Maya Gallus and Justine Pimlott to create culturally and socially relevant documentaries, focussing on marginalized and under-represented communities, including women/female-identified, queer and BPOC subjects. Her work was honoured with a midcareer retrospective at Hot Docs in 2017.

Kelly Mason was born and raised in Montreal. Before establishing herself as a premiere Canadian winemaker, her career began in 2007 in the Carneros subregion of Napa Valley with an internship at Saintsbury Winery under a Burgundian winemaker.After studying Winemaking at Brock University, Kelly continued her focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as an intern at Tawse Winery followed by Le Clos Jordanne.

Continuing on her focus, Kelly became a well-sought-after expert in Burgundian varietals which brought her to balance the head winemaker roles for Honsberger Estates for many years as well as The Farm winery for their five award-winning vintages. During that time Kelly took on the role of assistant winemaker at the esteemed Domaine Queylus, becoming head winemaker in 2018. Over the last decade, Kelly has owned and farmed the now-recognized Mason Vineyard; growing low-yield grapes for several top-tier wineries in the region including Domaine Queylus and The Farm. In 2021 Kelly launched Mason Vineyard, her winery dedicated to meticulously crafting exceptional estate, single vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Franc wines.

Shiraz Mottiar, born and raised in Fergus, Ontario, was in the first graduating class at Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI). Upon graduation, he joined Malivoire Wine Company in 2000 and was promoted to Winemaker in 2005. Shiraz personifies Malivoire's founding philosophy: a winery’s excellence begins with healthy soil and vines and depends on minimal human manipulation of the fruit and its wine. His passion is gamay and maintains a focus on a select few varieties and styles best suited to the Bench in Niagara. In 2017 Shiraz was awarded Quench Magazine's Winemaker of the Year at the Ontario Wine Awards, and in 2021, Malivoire was recognized by WineAlign as Canadian Winery of the Year at the National Wine Awards.

Shiraz currently chairs CCOVI’s Advisory Council, is a committee member of Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario, and has also been a Board member and Education committee member of the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration. Now the winery’s Team Principal & GM, Shiraz continues to guide the winery and industry towards a more sustainable future. Shiraz has also farmed his own vineyards since 1999.

Ann-Marie Saunders is a winegrower who isn't just nurturing grapes, she's preserving a legacy, one passed down from her parents, Warren and Ivy Saunders, pioneering farmers and visionaries in the region. Today, Ann-Marie manages the farm with her brother Leslie. They uphold the Saunders family tradition, farming organically and now focusing on regenerative agriculture. Ensuring that every grape tells a story, they focus on minimal intervention, embracing nature, and cherishing the environment.

Event Logistics:

This event is available to attend IN-PERSON only.

Rotman Events is committed to accessibility for all people. If you have any access needs or if there are any ways we can support your full participation in this session, please email Mandi Gosling [events@rotman.utoronto.ca] no later than 2 weeks in advance of the event and we will be glad to work with you to make the appropriate arrangements.

General Admission: In-Person Ticket Details

• The event will be hosted at Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave. Toronto, ON M5S 1J5). Your registration fee includes a seat in the theatre for the film screening and Q&A + wine tasting (3 x 1 oz. glasses) from featured vineyards and light refreshments.

Cancellation/Refund Policy

• Refunds will only be issued for cancellations received in writing NO LATER than 24 hours prior to the event. Please email events@rotman.utoronto.ca for processing.

Questions: events@rotman.utoronto.ca, Mandi Gosling