• Winemaker Randall Graham, in a pink shirt and tan hat, inspects a grapevine
  • Winemaker Randall Graham tends to leafless grape vines in a gray t-shirt; director Jeffrey Reiner stands behind him with a camera on a tripod
  • Winemaker Randall Graham samples a glass of red wine. He wears a tan hat and a small pair of sunglasses.
  • Movie poster for The Terriorist, showing winemaker Randall Graham in both close-up and mid-distance in between rows of wine grapes
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France 44 Events

Film Screening with Wine: The Terriorist | November 13th | 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Film Screening with Wine: The Terriorist | November 13th | 7:00-9:00 p.m.

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Join us for the Minneapolis Premiere of The Terriorist, a documentary film about winemaker Randall Graham.

The Terroirist follows legendary winemaker, writer, and lifelong troublemaker Randall Grahm on his most  personal pursuit yet: growing the first truly American grape. After introducing generations of Americans to new wines through his label, Bonny Doon, becoming one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world, and then walking away from the company that made him famous, Randall has risked nearly everything to pursue his singular dream of creating a wine that could exist nowhere else. A wine that truly expresses the land from which it grows. In addition, vines that can thrive in our everchanging climate conditions.

The Terroirist is about more than wine. It is a story about obsession, connection to the land, ambition, aging, life’s regrets, and the complicated cost of refusing to let go of an idea. Like Fitzcarraldo pulling a ship over a mountain, Randall continues pushing toward something that may always remain just beyond his reach, one that he probably won’t live to see. Funny, philosophical, and deeply human, the film asks what it means to dedicate your life to a dream—and whether the pursuit itself can ultimately be enough.

Included in the ticket price is a welcome glass of Aligoté; wines from Grahm's Popelouchum Winery will also be offered by the glass (prices TBD).

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Winemaker Randall Graham stands in front of waist-high grape vines, holding a glass of red wine. He wears a striped button-up shirt and tan pants and hat, with a black sweater loosely tied around his shoulders.

WINEMAKER:

Randall Graham

Randall was born in Los Angeles in 1953, studied philosophy at UC Santa Cruz, and later plant science at UC Davis. With his family's assistance, Randall purchased property in the Santa Cruz Mountains and established
Bonny Doon Vineyard, intent on producing the Great American Pinot Noir. The GAPN proved elusive, but he was encouraged by early experimentation with Rhône varieties, the upshot of which was the iconic Le Cigare
Volant. In 1989, Randall appeared on the cover of Wine Spectator, clad in blue polyester, as "The Rhône Ranger." In 1991, Randall was honored to have the "Rhôneranger" asteroid named after him, and he was proclaimed Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year by the James Beard Foundation in 1994; in 2009 he received a second award from the Foundation for his book, Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology. In 2010, he was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame by the Culinary Institute of America and is well recognized by the wine industry for his many innovations.

More recently, Randall purchased an extraordinary property near San Juan Bautista, CA, which he calls "Popelouchum" (the Mutsun word for "paradise"), with very ambitious plans to produce true vins de terroir, or
"wines of place," deploying rather unorthodox viticultural practices and arcane varieties. He sincerely believes his most useful work lies ahead of him.

Black-and-white photo of filmmaker Jeffrey Reiner, a man with short hair and dark glasses, in a dark crewneck shirt

DIRECTOR: JEFFREY REINER

Jeffrey is an award-winning film and television director and executive producer, with notable credits including the iconic Friday Night Lights, Fargo, Homeland, Dirty John, and The Affair. He has been awarded a Golden Globe, a Peabody, and multiple American Film Institute Awards for his outstanding contributions to film and television. 

Jeffrey got his start as an independent filmmaker and returned to his roots with Lake George, a gritty, dark comic neo-noir. Lake George premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and was released  theatrically by Magnolia Films. In addition, Jeffrey's latest feature documentary, The Terroirist, is about winemaker Randall Grahm and his cutting-edge project, Popelouchum.

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