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Book Review of Spirit Stones: Unraveling the Megalithic Mysteries of Western Europe’s Prehistoric Monuments

The prehistoric stone structures of western Europe grip the imagination with their mystery. Who put these immense monoliths and circles in place, and why? Some are nearly 7,000 years old, silent sentinels from the Neolithic and Bronze ages that are scattered throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. Spirit Stones: Unraveling the Megalithic Mysteries of Western Europe’s Prehistoric Monuments, by Dianne Ebertt Beeaff, addresses these questions and bases her theories about their meaning and significance on nearly ten years of meticulous research and reflection.

The 309-page book, published in 2011 by Five Star Publications, is packed with detail; even those who are familiar with the ancient stones will find it informative. I have a long-held interest in the megaliths and stone circles and, like many others, wondered how they were constructed. That issue is not addressed in Beeaff’s book. Her concern is with their possible meanings, and she goes well beyond speculation on their uses in the past to presenting insights into their relevance today. Beeaff makes a connection between humanity’s ancestry and present-day life, providing suggestions for “spiritual fitness” at the end of each chapter. Through the standing stones and burial chambers, she says, “we can rediscover the inexhaustible, multifaceted, and wonderfully divine existence that is the life in all of us.”

The author suggests a wide range of ideas for maintaining spiritual fitness, from walking a labyrinth to honoring ancestors to drinking eight glasses of water a day. Beeaff says that the silent stones have lessons for contemporary society. I have not visited all the sites she describes, but those I’ve seen leave no doubt that they can be places for spiritual reflection.

Spirit Stones is a sometimes-jarring combination of academic text (there is more here about the formation of metamorphic rock than many care to know, for example) and simplistic language. Beeaff tells dozens of fascinating stories, legends, and facts about ancient cultures and the natural world. This book is thorough.

The color plates in Spirit Stones show what marvels the monoliths and burial chambers are, even in near-ruins. The book is not a travel guide, however. The author names the locations but provides no information on how to get to the sites. If you want to see Vizar Roc’h, in Brittany, or Castlerigg Stone Circle, in England, or any among the scores of others, you’ll need to do your own research. Numerous guidebooks and websites give directions, particularly to the more famous places such as the stones of Callanish and the Merry Maids of Cornwall. After reading this book, I’m even more eager to visit the prehistoric monuments I haven’t yet explored.

Written by Marilyn McFarlane for EuropeUpClose.com

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All I Want for Christmas: Gifts for Travelers

Here are some great gifts for travelers; some are great stocking stuffers and others will be “just the thing” for your favorite traveler.

1,000 Places to See Before you Die
This second edition of the New York Times Best seller by Patricia Schultz, expands on her earlier version with more than 200 new entries. This book is for dreamers, and aren’t all travelers dreamers? I know I’m always thinking of the next place to discover. Her descriptions of places I have visited brought back wonderful memories: seeing the sunset over the beautifully preserved walled city of Carcassonne; the surprise of the fantastic architecture of Valencia, Spain; and the serene quiet of Venice, in spite of the crowds. But, learning about new places that “I simply must see” is the real beauty of this book. I never even heard of the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, now I ache to experience the fantastic Arctic light in summer. I recently became very interested in visiting Riga and Barbara’s description makes me even more so. The experiences she suggests are written in a brief, but engaging manner and include such important information as best times to visit, where to stay and where to eat. She covers the world and widens the reader’s horizons.
Under $20

Victorinox Camper Pocket Knife
I can’t tell you how often we use this knife when traveling, and we aren’t even campers! Our main use for this handy little tool, is to open wine bottles, cut up baguettes and spread cheese and pate for our picnics. We like to put together picnic lunches and save our euros for eating out at dinner. Aside from these obvious uses, the knife has a bottle opener, screwdriver, scissors, tweezers and more uses than I ever thought of. The Climber pocketknife measures 3.6 by 0.71 by 1.06 inches (W x H x D), weighs 3 ounces, and carries a lifetime warranty. Just be sure that when flying, the knife is packed in your checked luggage.
Under $20

Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale
I’ve seen it and I’ll bet you’ve seen it too: people checking in for their flight having to open their luggage and remove a few items because their luggage was over the allowed weight. What a mess…holding up other travelers and then having to find a spot in their carry-ons for the extra pieces. Don’t let it happen to you or your favorite traveler. A luggage scale lets you figure it all out at home, before you get to the airport. We chose the Balanzza scale because it is digital (much easier to see the numbers) and it gets great reviews form those who own one. This is an inexpensive way to save time and embarrassment at the airport.
Under $20

Sea to Summit 100% Premium Silk Liner
Are you or do you know an adventure traveler headed out to see the world on a budget? Staying in hostels or simply camping is great, especially if you have your own sleep liner for your hostle bed or sleeping bag. Silk liners are especially lightweight and breathable. Unlike cotton liners, they wash easily and dry in no-time. While there are several brands of silk liners out there, Sea to Summit gets great reviews and it will last for years of happy travels.
Between $55 and $90

Flip UltraHD Video Camera
Ok, Santa, this is what I have been waiting for: a high resolution, compact camcorder that takes great videos that I can use to post on EuropeUpClose. My son has the old version of the Flip and is perfectly happy, but I was looking for something with a few more bells and whistles. The Flip UltraHD video camera is slimmer than the original and allows you to shoot up to 2 hours of HD video. UltraHD’s newest feature, image stabilization will help keep the videos steady. Connect the built-in USB arm to your PC or Mac to launch pre-loaded FlipShare software, which helps to organize, create and share videos. Please, Santa…
Under $200

Written by Terri Fogarty for EuropeUpClose.com

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Have You Experienced Danger in Paradise?

It’s the traveler’s worst fear. You take the wrong turn onto the wrong street and then become disoriented. In a matter of minutes, you’ve stepped off of a beautiful boulevard into a creepy neighborhood. In your effort to retrace your footsteps, you find that you are only going deeper into what appears to be a dangerous neighborhood. Or, it’s discovering that the hotel you’re looking for in a city you have never been to before is closed -out of business - as your cab pulls away. All of us have had these moments when traveling. Sometimes its just our imagination getting away from us, but sometimes it’s real, and we’re actually in a potentially dangerous travel situation. In this article, I will share some of my own experiences.

The first experience takes place in Perugia, Italy. Perugia is a beautiful university town just north of Rome. My girlfriend and I arrived late and we decided to walk to our hotel, which should have been a fairly easy half-mile trek. When the sidewalks disappeared and we couldn’t find any street signs, we went into a bar to ask for directions. The woman working behind the counter couldn’t help us, but two very intoxicated guys sitting at the bar said they would. Though they didn’t give us directions, they said that they’d walk us to the hotel.

As the streetlights disappeared, the conversation grew dark. One guy told us that he used to go in and out of jail but now he only drinks until midnight in order to stay out of trouble. The other guy was on a bicycle and he asked if he could carry one of our bags. Becoming increasingly leery about our situation, we declined his offer. The walk seemed like it took forever, as though we were well beyond a half mile from the train station. Just as I was about to reject any further offer of their hospitality, we saw the sign for our hotel in big neon letters. In the end, these two generous, rough and tumble gentlemen didn’t ask us for anything; they just wanted to help… and get a little fresh air.

My next travel experience takes place between Prague and Warsaw. I’d gotten on a train in Prague that I thought was bound for Poznan, Poland. It was a night train, and I was alone in a six-seat compartment. My Polish friends had taught me to wrap a string around the compartment door to keep people out, but I had to remove it when the conductor wanted to check my ticket (I have since given up this practice). Soon after, two men came into my compartment. They were not clean, they carried their belongings in plastic bags and they smoked and drank liquor in stone silence for hours. I sensed they were watching me, just waiting for me to fall asleep.

As I sat there struggling to stay awake, I began to ruminate over a conversation I had with a fellow traveler just a few days earlier. This person described to me how he had been thoroughly traumatized when he was robbed on a night train. He was traveling by train through the Balkans when three men armed with Uzi submachine guns came into his compartment and stole everything: money, passports, computers, and more. The thieves jumped off at the next stop and that was that; there was nothing he or his friends could do. This story was circulating around my head as I worked hard not to doze off. But fatigue got the best of me, and I passed out sometime in the early morning hours.

As the train pulled into Warsaw, I was awakened by the conductor. My companions were still there, along with my belongings, but I’d missed a transfer and my ticket was no longer valid. The conductor issued me a new ticket without penalizing me, and my now two companions did everything they could — without speaking one word of English — to help me get on the right train for Poznan.

In both of these cases, things worked out ok. But it is the fear of the unknown that makes us perceive danger …even in paradise.

Have you ever been in a dangerous situation while traveling?

If you have a story, we invite you to share it below in the comment section (please include your name and city of residence). Keep it brief and to the point, and we will compile a series of stories in a subsequent article.

Written by Mattie Bamman for EuropeUpClose.com

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Values Based Travel Planning

Often when we are young, say just out of college, European travel with a pack on our back is very desirable: an adventure, a rite of passage. Once we get involved in work and family, we often have little time, and R & R travel closer to home looks really good. But when we finally have a little more time – when we aren’t simply desperate for R & R, what does travel really mean to us? How can we get the most out of our travels?

I have traveled much of my adult life and many trips have been mandated by work or family. But in the last several years, more travel has occurred because it’s what I really want to do.

When I was 25, I traveled to Europe for the first time — on my honeymoon! So I had a double dose of adventure: a new husband and my first experience in overseas travel. Everything was new: trying to survive in languages other than English, food other than the Midwest diet I had grown up on, incredible art, and even the camping we chose to do.

As my career progressed, and the hours got longer, all I longed to do with my vacation time was to sit on a warm Mexican beach under an umbrella, with a good book and a cold beer at my side.

For about the last ten years, however, I have chosen to work less than full time. Neil, my husband – the same man I traveled with on that first trip to Europe – and I took a hard look at our values and decided that travel was more important to us than a little more comfortable retirement. So, we started working less and taking longer trips.

Learning and intellectual stimulation, adventure, friendship (often with people from different cultures), and the creativity of sharing what we have learned are high on our list of values. These same values have driven our trip planning. For example, one trip came about because we wanted to brush up on our Spanish and knowledge of Mexican culture. We traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, went to class eight hours a day, and lived with a local family. Another trip to Mexico, this time to Guanajuato, was precipitated by a desire to do some community service. We tried out teaching English as a second language.

We’ve traveled all over Western Europe because of our interest in art, history, and architecture. When we are not on the road, we are armchair traveling through books and lectures, or enjoying international cooking with friends. Travel has permeated our entire lives.

In other words, we have been doing what is important to us. We have been living our values. Values are what drive us all, what’s important to us, what provides a source of strength. Values are the “what I really want to do” factors that will help determine whether travel is a success or failure.

The first step towards values based travel is to think about what’s really important to you in your life. Sit back and do some daydreaming. Think about how travel might tie in to these values. For example, if family, learning about the history of France, and physical adventure are all really important to you, a way to bring those values together might be to rent a boat in France and spend a week navigating the canals with your kids and/or grand-kids on board.

Another approach to clarifying what is important to you is to consider what would make your trip a success? Or do you have a particular goal, such as hiking a Spanish pilgrimage route or expanding your learning about the French Impressionists? Is community service important to you? Traveling with a group such as Global Volunteers or Habitat for Humanity might be the answer.

Be sure to check in with the other person(s) you might be traveling with. Talk about what is most important to each of you. A good exercise for everyone traveling together is to write down individually, and then discuss with each other, what activities or places are important to each person.

Now you are really ready to start all the normal travel planning activities: itinerary building, budgeting, making reservations and arrangements. But don’t stop asking yourself: What’s most important to me? What do I really want to do? What will make this trip a success?

Happy Travels!

Written by Joan Malling for EuropeUpClose.com

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England: Home of American English

The differences between the way the English language is spoken on each side of the Atlantic are a common source of humor. Americans who visit England can expect to receive plenty of comments about the way they talk, and most of the time this will be intended, and taken, in a friendly spirit. But every once in a while, the English will express indignation at the way in which “their” language has been “changed” in America. Should that situation arise, the American tourist might want to produce some of the following examples of supposed “Americanisms,” pointing out that they all come from the British Isles.

Soccer vs. football
Let’s start with perhaps the most emotionally charged topic: the national pastime that the English call football. Tempers run high when they hear Americans call the game soccer, to distinguish it from American football. And yet soccer, a nickname derived from association football, is a term that was coined in England in the 19th century to differentiate the game from rugby (or rugger). In the posher circles in England, you can still sometimes hear the terms used for that purpose.

Fall vs. autumn
We spend a quarter of our lives in it, so naturally the name of the season between summer and winter is something about which people have strong feelings. Referring to it as fall, because of what the leaves are doing at that time of year, is a custom that started in England in the 16th century, around about the same time as the word autumn entered the language. The colonists brought both words to the New World. For whatever reason, back in the old country autumn became the more popular, while Americans more commonly say fall.

Trash vs. rubbish
Why on earth would the English use a coarse word like trash to describe the things they throw away? It’s obviously an American coinage, contrasting with the altogether daintier rubbish found in England. Right? Not quite. “Who steals my purse steals trash,” wrote William Shakespeare in his play Othello.

Vacation vs. holiday
Supposedly, the Brits always use the word holiday to refer to time spent away from home for relaxation, while Americans came up with the word vacation to mean the same thing, and reserve holiday for specific festivals or public occasions. The truth is that vacation is an old English word that originally denoted a break taken in the summer by law courts and universities – a time when the upper classes would vacate their regular homes to stay in their summer residences. In Oxford, academics still use vacation or vac to describe their breaks, particularly the one in the summer which they call the long vac.

Realize vs. realise
… and all those other words ending in “ize” which are supposedly spelt with an “s” in British English. Whatever your spell-check may tell you, Brits have been using a “z” in those words since the 16th century, and it is still the method of spelling preferred by the Oxford English Dictionary. But realize has been coexisting with realise for a long time, and in recent decades the “s” spelling has become more common in England. All the major newspapers use an “s” today, although The Times only switched over from a “z” in the nineteen-nineties.

Ain’t vs. isn’t
“You ain’t heard nothing yet,” Al Jolson said in The Jazz Singer in 1927, and at least since that time, the word has sounded like an Americanism to many English folks. It’s one of those words that English rock stars pepper their lyrics with whenever they are trying to sound American. Of course, it’s actually a long-standing staple of speech in the British Isles, found in the works of Victorian writers such as Charles Dickens and Lewis Carroll.

Gotten vs. got
As in… I’ve gotten better with practice. In England, people would say I’ve got, and consider gotten to be a foreign word – maybe yet another one of those that the Americans made up. Wrong again. It’s an old British word that has simply fallen out of usage in the old country since the colonization of America, but has survived in the New World.

Diaper vs. nappy
“Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper,” Shakespeare wrote in The Taming of the Shrew. Yes, diaper is another word the English brought over to America, and then forgot all about at home. Today, English babies crawl around in nappies.

Candy vs. sweets
The English go to the sweet shop to buy sweets. Extending a pack of mints toward you, someone might ask: “Would you like a sweet?” Referring to those things as candy seems alien in England. But candy has been in the English language for more than 600 years. It’s merely dropped out of common usage in the British Isles.

All these examples seem to suggest that America is the more linguistically conservative country. Could it be that the people who have changed the English language the most are the English themselves?

Written by David Hill for EuropeUpClose.com

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Let’s Talk Water

Today is Blog Action Day. Bloggers across the world are writing to help people become more informed about the issue of sustaibable water.

As most world travelers can attest, water is something that most people in developed countries take for granted. You turn on the tap and out flows clean, cold, safe drinking water. This is not the case, however, in so many emerging countries across the world. Here are a few facts:

Unsafe drinking water and the lack of basic sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A.
More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease. Remember that scene from Slumdog Millionaire? I’ll never forget it.
Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted
It takes 6.3 gallons of water to produce just one hamburger. That 6.3 gallons covers everything from watering the wheat for the bun, providing water for the cow, cooking the patty, and baking the bun. And that’s just for one meal!
The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands, to watering our lawns, and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using that same amount to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.

Clean Water is everyone’s concern

Protecting the groundwater is imperative as more than 95% of the world’s freshwater, excluding glaciers and ice caps, is found underground. Groundwater provides the steady, base flow of rivers and wetlands. Maintaining this flow and keeping it free from pollution is vital for surface water ecosystems.

The recent dam breach in Hungary illustrates how the poor management of our industrial waste can impact the water resources of thousands of people in neighboring countries. Washington, D.C.- based EARTHWORKS said, “This spill underscores fundamental safety concerns related to producing and disposing of enormous quantities of contaminated wastes from mines and metal processing facilities”

What can you do?

Be mindful of the water you use and support the United Nation’s efforts to bring clean water to millions. Sign the UN petition on our home page to help to bring clean water to millions

Written by Terri Fogarty for EuropeUpClose.com

Let’s Talk Water

Today is Blog Action Day. Bloggers across the world are writing to help people become more informed about the issue of sustaibable water.

Unsafe drinking water and the lack of basic sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A.
More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease. Remember that scene from Slumdog Millionaire? I’ll never forget it.
Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted
It takes 6.3 gallons of water to produce just one hamburger. That 6.3 gallons covers everything from watering the wheat for the bun, providing water for the cow, cooking the patty, and baking the bun. And that’s just for one meal!
The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands, to watering our lawns, and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using that same amount to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.

Clean Water is everyone’s concern

What can you do?
Be mindful of the water you use and support the United Nation’s efforts to bring clean water to millions. Sign the UN petition on our home page to help to bring clean water to millions

Written by Terri Fogarty for EuropeUpClose.com

Remembering Princess Diana’s Death and Legacy

It was on August 31, 1997, that a chauffeur-driven car crashed at high-speed in Paris, ending the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and prompting a wave of public grief. The extent of that grief became clear over the ensuing days in London, as bouquets of flowers piled high on the streets, together with handwritten tributes from heartbroken admirers. When her funeral was held a week later, some businesses closed for the day, and hordes of people watched the event from whatever vantage point they could find, even if that meant crowding around the windows of TV stores. A large gathering occurred in London’s Hyde Park, where the event was broadcast live on huge screens, with people yelling at each other to sit down so that everyone could see.

If another royal had died, it’s hard to imagine that there would have been such a reaction. And this is a testament to the qualities which Diana brought to a monarchy that badly needed them: charisma, glamour, a skill in handling the media, and an ability to convey a sense of genuine caring. These were all the more remarkable since she appears to have been given so little preparation for her role, beginning as a 20-year-old bride in 1981, and so little support once she was in it.

Her popularity was, for a while, something that benefited all concerned. The media got great stories and photos. The public delighted in her glamour and her complex personality. She herself enjoyed fame for a while, both for its own sake and for the opportunity it gave her to highlight causes she cared about. And it was all good news for the monarchy, and for her husband and eldest son, both in line to be future kings. For all that anybody knew in the early eighties, Diana would just continue building up public support for herself and her fellow-royals, setting the stage for successful reigns for both Charles and William.

Of course, that’s not how it turned out. As Diana went through a very public separation and divorce and grew ever more bitter and depressed, her powerful public image started working in unexpected ways. And it continues to do so, leaving a complex legacy.

In a 1995 interview, after her separation from Charles was acknowledged, Diana said that she probably would not become queen, but would like to be “a queen of people’s hearts.” A veteran communicator by now, she must have been aware that this perfectly-formed soundbite was a direct provocation against both the present ruler and any woman Charles might eventually want to make his queen.

Once the divorce was finalized in 1996, the Palace agreed to let Diana be called “Diana, Princess of Wales,” an evocative accolade but one with no constitutional teeth, as she could no longer be a “Royal Highness.” While we’ll probably never know what backroom haggling led to that deal, it was clearly an attempt at damage limitation by the Palace, which had come to regard her as a loose cannon while recognizing that she had the public’s sympathy.

All the while, public opinion became more and more divided over whether she was exploited by the monarchy and the media, or whether she was the exploiter. That debate continued in the wake of her tragic death. All these years later, it’s perhaps a little easier to see it as a bit of both.

What does all this mean for the likely next two kings? The public image of Charles suffered massively from the acrimony with Diana, but William seems to have received none of the damage and all of the reflected glory. In a country where the monarchy remains a popular institution even when the individuals leading it are not, William is seen as embodying the best of both worlds. A dutiful scion of the House of Windsor, he is also an attractive figure like his mother, and has brought some of her charisma to his public duties. Exhibiting an independent spirit, during his early military career William repeatedly requested that he be involved in active service. But having been steered in a different direction by the Palace and the government, who were wary of letting him get into any real danger, he seems to have acquiesced.

For someone so young, William has suffered great sadness and learnt some tough lessons. He is apparently gifted with looks, intelligence, tact and skill. With all that going for him, he may grow to outshine both his parents.

Written by David Hill for EuropeUpClose.com

Understanding the French

I teach a course on Franco-American relations each year at a local college. The first day of class, I always ask the students to write down adjectives describing their impressions of French people. The typical responses range from “sophisticated” to “frugal”; many of the students choose their adjectives based on interactions with the French while traveling (and some of the students who take the course actually are French). As we move through the course, the students gain a clearer understanding of why the French are — or seem— “sophisticated,” “frugal,” or any of the other myriad adjectives on the list. I realized while preparing the course that my understanding of the French has been an amalgamation of my studies and travels (because, of course, nothing allows one to understand a culture better than going to the country).

If you’re planning a trip to France, or simply interested in what it means to be “French,” here are some of the best books I’ve come across for understanding the uniqueness and complexity of the intersections between French history, language, culture and daily life.

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French
by Jean Benoit- Nadeau and Julie Barlow (Sourcebooks, Inc. 2003) Written by two Canadian sociologists, Jean Benoit- Nadeau and Julie Barlow, this collection of essays unpacks topics such as personal relationships, cuisine, the Algerian War, World War I and II, immigration, national identity and the concept of privacy. Intelligent yet accessible to anyone (you don’t have to have a background in French studies to get a lot out of this book), Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong is an engaging read for the long flight across the pond.

French or Foe?: Getting the Most Out of Visiting, Living and Working in France
by Polly Platt (Distribooks, 2003)
Written in a friendly tone with loads of examples taken from real life, Platt’s French or Foe focuses on everyday interactions in France. She takes a concept, such as education, describes some of the behavioral or customary differences in behavior between Americans and the French, and then provides a brief historical or cultural explanation of why this is so. Though some of her examples rely on generalizations that don’t always hold true, it is filled with practical advice for negotiating simple Franco-American relations.

Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience
by Raymonde Carroll (University of Chicago Press, 1990)
Cultural Misunderstandings, written by the celebrated sociologist, Raymonde Carroll (a French-born American citizen) and translated by Carol Volk is somewhat heavier (in terms of tone) than the previous two books, but just as useful. Carroll buttresses her intercultural arguments with examples taken from her experiences living in France and the United States. The book’s emphasis is on successful communication, which depends heavily on being culturally literate.

Consider these three books a “crash course” in French culture. They are sure to clarify some of your queries regarding the French and hopefully make you think of even more questions — and you’ll just have to travel to France to get them answered.

Written by Jen Westmoreland Bouchard for EuropeUpClose.com

“Mondovino”: Insights into the French and Italian Wine Industries

Yes, we all love French and Italian wines, but have you ever thought about the processes and politics behind the wine you drink? If you are at all interested in viniculture, wine marketing, ratings systems, or simply how wine circulates around the globe, I highly suggest the film, Mondovino.

Mondovino is a 2004 documentary on the impact of globalization on international wine markets. The title literally means “world of wine” in Italian, but is conveniently similar to the brand name Mondavi, a company the film critiques throughout. Mondovino was both written and directed by American filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter (who is also a trained sommelier). The film was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or and a César Award in 2004.

In addition to examining the effects of the rapid growth of large commercial wine brands on the global wine economy, Mondovino also explores the international influence of high-profile critics and consultants such as Robert Parker (American) and Michel Rolland (French). Through conversations with small vineyard owners in France and Italy (who maintain a soulful connection to their land), the aforementioned critics and consultants (among others), wine industry middlemen in California and New York, and millionaire American winemakers in Napa, Nossiter’s film gets to the core of some of the major issues in today’s global wine industry.

Though the scenery and global scope of the film are impressive, the real richness of this documentary lies in the interviews with long-time wine-making families, such as the De Montilles, the Mondavis, the Antinori and the Frescobaldi. From the Bordelaise widow who admittedly pours the love she once had for her husband into the vines that produce her excellent wines to the elderly Provençal gentleman who refused to sell part of his vineyard to the Mondavis for a tidy sum, Nossiter introduces us to people who truly live for their wine. For them, it’s about something much deeper than sales or ratings. There is a centuries old sense of pride in European winemaking that, in the film, is contrasted sharply with the ratings and profit-driven wine market in the U.S.

A major theme in the film is that of “terroir.” “Terroir” loosely translates as “of the earth,” and, generally speaking, has to do with the minerals and natural properties in the soil that influence the taste of the grape. However, throughout the film, Nossiter shows us that “terroir” is a complex concept, that has as much to do with families, tradition and culture as it has to do with soil- all of these elements shape the wine that ends up in your glass.

Whether you’re an European traveler, oenophile, an international documentary lover, or a curious consumer, this film is sure to be quite thought provoking and may just change your wine purchasing habits for good.

Mondovino is available on Netflix and Amazon.com.

Written by Jen Westmoreland Bouchard for EuropeUpClose.Com