Most people know Maynard James Keenan from his work as frontman for alternative band Tool, and his solo project A Perfect Circle and Pusifer. Few would suspect, however, that the reclusive star would become have an interest in wine making, but the 2009 documentary Blood Into Wine, offers a rare view of a unique artist and entrepreneur.
Keenan moved to rural Arizona in the 1990s to escape the celebrity culture of Los Angeles. He soon partnered with winemaker Eric Glomski to form Arizona Stronghold Vineyards. Keenan also operates his own winery, Caduceus.
Together, Glomski and Keenan consider themselves pioneers of Arizona wine making, and the film shows just how little attention Arizona receives in the wine world. They describe the process of choosing grapes that best fit the climate of Arizona, and show the lengthy process of growing and trimming vines. The times of standing in a barrel and stomping grapes with your bare feet is long gone, and Clomski and Keenan invest millions in huge machines that ferment and bottle the wine. Yet it takes seven years for Keenan to bring his first bottle to completion, which he names after his mother, Judith.
Overall, the movie is enjoyable, and Keenan comes off likable, if somewhat aloof. Once he laughs at Patton Oswalt, but otherwise, hardly smiles the entire film. For fans of Tool, though, these will be miraculous insights. For fans of wine, the movie offers a glimpse of the hard work mostly seen only by residents of the world's wine capitals. For fans of documentaries, Blood Into Wine offers 99 minutes of passionate people bringing you into a world that few people truly understand.
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