The Nashville Wine Auction is premiering SOMM 3 at the Franklin Theatre on November 7, continuing its journey into the wine industry. Master sommelier Dustin Wilson, a SOMM star, talks about what to expect from the third installment and why he’s coming to Nashville to promote the new film.
Nashville Lifestyles (NL): Tell us about the 1976 Judgment of Paris that SOMM 3 is based on.
Dustin Wilson (DW): The Judgment of Paris was a tasting that was put on by a sommelier named Steven Spurrier, who was a wine merchant in Paris. He had been traveling and found that a lot of California wines he was tasting were really top-notch, and he thought [they] could compete well with the French wines. So, he put on a tasting of some cabernets and chardonnay … and got a bunch of great tasters from all around France together, winemakers, sommeliers, journalists, you name it and tasted these wines blind and ended up ranking them, and the American wines ended up coming out on top.
NL: What can audiences look forward to in SOMM 3?
DW: I think it definitely tells the story of that tasting. It tells the story of Steven. It also tells the story of some other great wine personalities, Jancis Robinson and Fred Dame, and it also talks about the wines that got them into wine in the first place. And then, we put on a little tasting of our own in New York at Verve that makes its way into the movie and adds some additional drama and some twists to the film. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it ties it all together nicely.
NL: What are you most looking forward to about the new SOMM documentary?
DW: I think it’s just entertaining. What I like about Jason [Wise] and the way he does these films, the first film was about wine, but it was also about people overcoming something challenging, so I think a lot of people could connect with it. The second film was definitely a love letter of wine. It was all about wine. This one is a nice balance between the two, and it shows reverence for wine and a love for wine, but it also has a lot of funny parts to it, and it keeps it really lighthearted and enjoyable. I think it can reach a broad audience. I’m excited for people to see it and learn a little something and be entertained.
NL: Why did you decide to participate in the Nashville premiere?
DW: I was down in Nashville a couple months ago, and it was my first time down there. I was just blown away by how awesome the food and wine scene is and how incredible people were, and I had such a great time. We were planning these screenings, … and it just hit me while I was down there that it could be a really awesome place to do it. It felt like there was a great audience for it down there, so we pushed on it.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit nashvillewineauction.com/events.