One country. 700 million bottles. Over 2000 years of history. In every calendar, the die is cast in September. Men, women and children measure their lives in harvests. The world has only begun to discover Portuguese wine, A Whole Life of September invites the viewer to embark on a journey through the intimacy of vineyards, cellars and souls, unveiling passions, crimes and adventures. A universal theme with the local alchemy. But this cinematographic documentary is also about passion, freedom and faith, inviting to reflect about the human nature and the relationship between landowners and those who work the land. Because nothing else ferments like a good story, wine people are the passport to understand Portugal. STARRING WITH PORTUGUESE WINE Nowadays, wine is fashionable and everybody is talking about Portugal. In 2014, three Portuguese wines ranked the first four places on the prestigious Wine Spectator’s Top 100. Now, for the first time, an unfortified wine can get the mythical score of 100 points. There are over 2000 years of untold stories. DIRK NIEPOORT
In the wine industry, his name is like a magic ticket. Some people call him crazy, but his true reputation is that of a revolutionary. He never takes off his vest of “countless pockets” and in the summer he refuses to take off his crocks, not even for the President. OLAZABAL FAMILY Her name is Maria Luísa Nicolau de Almeida, his name is Francisco Olazabal. Wine runs in their blood and they want to make sure this tradition passes on to the future generations. They cling to the old idea of living each day as if it might be their last. Life in a smile. LEONOR FREITAS She decided to move back to the country on the very same day her father died. The family did everything they could to keep her away from the hoe. But fate has its own way. “I am at one with the country”. When she was a little girl she used to watch the harvest festival parade from afar, today she has her own place in a box reserved for local eminent people. GUEDES FAMILY His story is that of Sogrape, the largest and most international of Portuguese wine companies. Fernando Guedes, the patriarch, doesn’t let a day go by without reading all sales reports, which include the fate of Mateus Rosé and Barca Velha. He owns wineries all over Portugal, but also in Argentina, Chile, Spain and New Zealand. In each of them, he knows the exact place of every socket and every picture. But tragedy struck the family… LUÍS PATO He went to war, then became a teacher. After, he occupied himself with the family estate. Pato enjoys saying he is a rebel and wine proves him right. He has a daughter, who is an oenologist, and a 91 year-old mother who fills him with good advice. His wife, though, is tired of having wine dictating her life. RICARDO DIOGO FREITAS His accent gives away his background, Madeira. He often stresses how his life is made of wine: “I spend my life thinking about wine. Sometimes when I’m driving, my wife is talking to me and I can’t even hear her because I’m thinking about this or that barrel… I can’t remember a name or a phone number but I know all my barrels by heart!” VINEYARD SQUAD Between Setúbal and Alentejo, a high-security prison holds a cellar. “Vineyard Squad” is a group of inmates who tend to the vines. They have all been condemned to long-term sentences, most of them for drug dealing. The vineyard is their freedom. CARTUXA CONVENT They live a cloistered life. In Cartuxa, father Antão Lopez is the only one allowed to contact the outside world. They are guardians of the most notorious wines of Fundação Eugénio de Almeida, Pêra Manca and Cartuxa. Wine and monks together in song.