Interview: Where does Wine Come From with Zev Robinson
Zev Robinson is an artist and a documentary filmmaker who is taking us through the wine making process. He was born in Israel, named after his great grandfather, which means “wolf.” Zev really wanted to explain wine as food, not as an elitist drink. We learn how the urban and rural connects in wine and agriculture with his talk.
Below is a summary of our interview:
Quote
Put yourself in other people’s shoes. Essentially, do unto others.
His Journey
Born in Israel, Zev moved to Canada when he was young and started viewing films when he was 13 years old. Once high school was completed, Zev chose to study art in college. He painted and scraped by on his art. After moving to NY for 5 years in the 80’s, he ended up in Spain, then moved to London for 10 years. Then, he began to do videos, art pieces and moved back to Spain where his wife was from. As he was taking a walk through the vineyards, Zev thought it’d be great to do a documentary on how grapes got to bottles of wine on the shelves in supermarkets in London. He also talks about the hard work and life of a farmer.
Low Point
In 1998, Zev got into a really bad car accident in Great Britain, and he thought he’d already had a bit of bad luck in terms of selling paintings, so something had to give and he started doing web design to round out his living. He put down his brushes and studied web design. He had cursed his life and felt bitter.
Aha Moment
What began as a short documentary project after his walk in the vineyard grew to an 80 minute documentary and the reaction was so good and it was a new audience, but he could take it to a different audience. People can learn about wines from the various regions of Spain.
Zev’s work now
His goal is to talk about wine as food, not as an elitist drink, and explain how the urban and rural connects. Zev works harder than the average worker of a 9-5 day. It took a long time to get a reputation as someone working in Spain making documentaries about rural life in Spain and sustainability. With interest, the challenge is to keep on going.
What’s exciting Zev now
Zev’s working on something called Cultivating Tapas, linking the farmers to restaurants and everything in between to be finished this year.
Lightning Round
Books Zev Recommends:
Zen in the Art of ArcheryHelpful Habit: Get up, have tea and get to work.
Helpful Person: His wife, Albertina and family have been fantastic as support system.
Internet Resource: Find Tessa’s Table on Facebook
What’s Your Purpose: Find your purpose in life and follow it.
Where to follow Zev
Parting Words
It’s your life. You have a life. Everybody’s circumstances are different, but what you put into something is what you get out.
One More Thing
If you enjoy this interview, please take some time to rate and review us on iTunes or Stitcher.
Jackie Abrams
Latest posts by Jackie Abrams (see all)
- Madeline Puckette - September 2, 2014
- Virginia Kuhn - September 1, 2014
- Claire Cook - August 29, 2014