I’ve been listening to Jason Wise’s (director of the Somm movies) new podcast, which has been really enjoyable during my long daily commute. On the podcast, he promotes the his new streaming service, SOMM TV, which contains lots of content that didn’t make it into the films + some other original content. Any thoughts about this would be appreciated, as I’m considering a subscription ($75/yr) even though I don’t really have much time to watch it.
If you liked the movies, then I suppose it’s worth while. I hated the movies. Caught a few snippets on various airlines and couldn’t stand the whole concept of turning wine into a contest between a few frat boys I wouldn’t want to hang out with. The idea that quickly learning as much as you can is like one of those cooking shows with fake excitement is not something I really relate to. Zero appeal for me but I understand others feel differently and that’s fine.
So if it appeals to you, just go for it.
If I’m not mistaken, Jason has posted here on occasion and seems to be a decent sort.
I decided to give it a try, and have really enjoyed it so far. The content is varied enough that if you weren’t a fan of the movies, there are other options that will likely appeal to you. They did a fun segment on Lagier Meredith wines, another on Schramsberg’s history and have an upcoming piece on Chappellet.
All the above to say, credit to them for pumping out a good bit of content, but also content that isn’t always the same. I look forward to seeing what else is on the horizon.
I have only seen the first two movies. I liked them both. The second film, “Somm: Into the bottle” does not have any of the Sommelier exam stuff - it’s completely different, more like profiling a bunch of producers/regions. You may actually like that one.
Is there a trial/single month option? I would love to check it out, but not for $75.
There’s a $10/month option, which I assume can be cancelled after the first month. I need to watch the Lagier Meredith episode, others are probably interesting as well. Not sure I can imagine enough content to justify $75/year, but maybe I’ll change my mind after watching what’s there so far.
I went for the 10/month option and I enjoy it. There is a ton of content and it seems like a lot more coming based on the previews they have up.
I signed up for the year on launch day as I enjoyed especially the second movie - although speculating if they had enough content currently to justify the yearly subscription, but a part of me wanted to support their effort in creating more wine content.
I’ve been a subscriber for about a month now and my current verdict would be to go for the monthly plan.
The library is simply not comprehensive enough to justify the yearly subscription, yet… I’m sure in time it will be in time.
I greatly enjoy their Verticals and Legends of the Wines series’ focussing on the producers - as the second film did.
I have very much enjoyed my subscription. I hope it gets well subscribed because I’d like to see it prosper and continue to explore all parts of the world. Today I watched the Chappellet interview.