Sour Grapes Movie — About the Rudy Kurniawan Saga


Rudy Kurniawan was sentenced to 10 years in prison on August 7, 2014 after a long investigation and short, high-profile, trial. He was convicted of fraud, having created thousands of counterfeit versions of rare, old wines which he then sold for very high prices. The scale of his crime was so large that the court also ordered he pay $48.4 million in restitution and penalties.

The Sour Grapes movie is a documentary by Jerry Rothwell and Reuben Atlas that chronicles Rudy Kurniawan’s rise to prominence in the world of fine and rare wine auctions, the slip ups that caused some people to become suspicious of him and the methodical investigation which led to his conviction. It is now available on Netflix.

Sour Grapes starts in the way so many wine movies do, in a French vineyard with the owner waxing poetic about the nature of wine, how it’s more than a drink and is in his blood. But this owner, Laurent Ponsot, played a key role in exposing Kurniawan as a fraud. And so the narrative immediately takes a welcome left turn. We go to Manhattan, where novelist and wine writer Jay McInerney talks about the culture of elite wine collectors/drinkers that arose in there and in Hollywood. The scene is further set by expert wine authenticator Maureen Downey and others.

This is how the move progresses. It is follows a fairly straightforward timeline. However, periodic sidebars illustrate the passion and motivations of the collectors, the unique aspects of fine wine that make it so alluring and particular bottles so sought after.

There is no narration. All of the action and dialog comes in two forms. One is archival video from a variety of events and time periods featuring Rudy Kurniawan himself participating at auctions and tastings, interacting with his uber-wealthy wine-collecting friends. The rest is segments, shot specifically for this film, featuring people who had key roles in Kurniawan’s life, rise or fall. Included are journalists, wine experts, some of the collectors Kurniawan befriended, wine auction experts, investigators and even billionaire Bill Koch who is among those who purchased counterfeit wine. There’s also a walk-through of Kurniawan’s house at the time of his arrest, showing the kitchen he had set up to blend and bottle fake wine.

All of the scenes are effective, whether in explaining things, driving the narrative or helping us understand the motivations of the various parties. The various clips are woven together well and the film has good pace.

Sour Grapes has enough depth to be interesting to people in the wine industry or for people who are interested in collecting and drinking fine and rare wines. And the explanations aren’t so basic or trite as to annoy. At the same time, the film doesn’t go into so much detail as to bore or confuse casual wine enthusiasts or even people simply looking for an amusing “true crime” documentary.

Sour Grapes is mostly satisfying, but not entirely. There are questions Sour Grapes doesn’t answer. This is reflective of the case itself though and, therefore, the lack of fulfillment offered by the movie is appropriate.

We don’t learn what really propelled Rudy Kurniawan to do what he did. Nobody except he and his family knows and they have never given satisfying answers. Nor has Kurniawan consented to interviews, for this film or with journalists.

Likewise, we don’t learn why cases haven’t been pursued against some of the people who may have enabled Kurniawan. But that too is a question still being asked by many who are passionate about stamping out wine fraud.

Sour Grapes was released this year and runs 1 hour, 25 minutes.

This article copyright Fred Swan 2016. Graphic courtesy of Dogwoof Ltd. All rights reserved.

+ There are no comments

Add yours

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.