Why would the best filmmakers be coming out of Hollywood?

Right… Dumb question. It’s a set-up.

I’ve recently come across two video companies that have hitched their wagons to filming wine companies for marketing purposes of these establishments. Today I’m sharing one; and in the near future, I’ll share the second. I’ve listed both as links on this blog now, so that you’ll have quick access, if you ever need them in the future.

1. L.A company is One Way Pictures
2. The northern California company is video4wine

Honestly, having been around the block more than a few times, I can’t even begin to compare what I’ve seen in the past with what I’m now seeing from these Los Angeles firms… Well, one’s still in that L.A. neighborhood, while the other’s made their way to the Santa Cruz Mountains… and they’re both “hot” in my opinion.

Starting with the one still in L.A. ~ One Way Pictures ~ the video production division of Western Marketing & Media. I was contacted by Justin Olsen. He noticed that our Dark & Delicious video wasn’t professionally recorded, and wondered if we’d like it to be more polished the next time. I called him back and told him that the day I could afford to get paid for all I do for PSILY is the day we could also hire him. (It was a fun, late Friday afternoon phone call.)

Steve Heimoff just wrote, after coming to our annual Petite Sirah wine tasting event:

“So I’m appealing to the Petite Sirah producers who don’t support P.S.I.L.Y.–the same producers I give high scores to (and believe me, I could name names). In the name of fairness, and for your own benefit, join this organization that’s done so much to help you. It’s the right thing to do. It will help boost Petite Sirah even further into the limelight, and I can guarantee you that it would make Dark & Delicious absolutely one of the premier wine events of the year in California.”

I really wanted to underline “make Dark & Delicious absolutely one of the premier wine events of the year in California.” ~ but then it wouldn’t have been Steve’s exact words or intent, so I left the words not underscored.

Yeah… right. I’m doing it in the above paragraph, because he’s hit my cruxy nail on the head.

PSILY’s potential for having a spectacular event is there, and then recording it in the kind of style that we’d love to see… But, alas, Steve’s discovered my greatest frustration. We have the support of those who understand what collective marketing means. And they’re also the most passionate about praising the glories of this variety. There just aren’t enough of them to help elevate us to the status of being a Hollywood standard… Not yet. So, we’ll continue to be Off Broadway as we dream of making it onto the big stage.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of small companies in our league; underfunded and not able to go in this kind of Hollywood-styled direction at this time. However, for those of you who have marketing dollars, these two companies deserve your attention.

Back to what struck me about One Way Pictures video.

I watched the video link that I was given for Niner Wine Estates, a Paso Robles wine company owned by Richard (Dick) and Pam Niner. I was not only struck by the quality of the film, but I was also taken in by the quality of the script. It’s really well thought out, and brings in many aspects of the wine business… From owners to vineyards and winemaker, to a really unsung hero in any wine company with a store front, the director of hospitality. The Niners have taken it one step further for this position:  in true Robert Mondavi tradition, Rick Toyota’s director of hospitality position also includes Estate Sommelier in his title. This is a really important aspect of a physical wine company. I know that when I began working for a wine company I was first educating about wine, and then selling it as a result of having consumers become so enraptured with what they had just learned that they wanted more… which included some wine. Rick states in the video that he wants people to either take home some wine, or at least take home some information worth sharing. (Bingo!)

Having the heart and soul of Niner revealed in a distinctive and succinct style is very commendable.

You’ll notice that each person, from Rick Toyota to Pam and Dick Niner, to their winemaker Amanda Cramer, has a lot to offer in the script that captures the heart and soul of Niner Wine Estates. I’m a big green proponent. (I lived in Greene, Maine for 11 years on spring-fed Allen Pond… I’m green in ways you can’t even begin to imagine. I get green, and so was delighted to hear Amanda talk about the winery’s philosophies.

She disclosed that the Niner’s spectacular building is involved in water conservation for the wine estate. It captures 36,000 gallons of rain water per inch. This water is collected in a reservoir and is used for winery water, irrigation of their landscaping, and for some irrigation in their vineyards.

From the Niner Wine Estates’ site:

From the start, our team knew that we wanted to be as energy-efficient as possible, out of respect for the environment and also in the interest of keeping our own energy bills down. LEED certification never crossed our minds until our Architect Tim Woodle, after reviewing all the practices we wanted to implement, said that with the direction we were headed, if we wanted to pursue it, we could probably qualify for LEED certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—it is about the larger environment and the work environment itself, as well as energy-efficiency. Certification is awarded by the US Green Building Council using a point system. A building project accumulates points by being environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to work.

Amanda quickly touched upon this in the video, just enough to make me curious and enough to satisfy that aspect of One Way Pictures’ client. It’s just great production: scripting and directing, as well as filming and final editing.

One Way Pictures gets two thumbs up from Wine-Blog.