|
A well-tended vineyard nurtures the quality of a wine over generations. But its micro-world is a battleground, an animal empire fought over in hundreds of tiny dramas every day. The irresistible smell of fresh vine leaves tempts deer out of the woods. European and Asian ladybugs swarm out of their underground colony after sleeping through the cold season. They will help save the vines from aphids.
Foxes and buzzards eye the young rabbits playing in the morning mists, waiting for a moment’s inattention from their wary mothers. An ant-lion lies in wait in its sandy pit, and a European green lizard flashes the flamboyant blue of its neck to impress the females, as it basks on the limestone walls, not far from its natural enemy, a smooth snake. In the South of France the cat-like genet, the top vineyard predator, will dine on rabbits, lizards, snakes and even unwary pigeons, before finishing with a dessert of ripe grapes.
ORF-Enterprise presents a full preview of this blue-chip journey through the vineyards, airing on ORF’s awarded Universum slate this autumn sieben
Empire of the Vineyard is produced by Interspot Film and Kwanza for ORF, France 2 and SWR in association with ORF-Enterprise, funded by Creative Europe Media, Austrian Television Fund and Kultur Niederösterreich.
|
