Wine cellar stories

I spend my life behind the camera, but my real work is helping people feel confident in front of it.

Most on-camera nerves come from one thing: forgetting that the camera is just a witness, not a judge.

Here are a few tips I share with everyone I film:
• Take a deep breath
• Ground your feet: your body leads your voice
• Talk to me, not the lens
• Pause when you need to (I’ll edit later 😉)
• Remember: authenticity reads better than “confidence”

Cheers
Chrisa 💋💋

Warm wishes for a happy 2026!

A year full of good people. Thanks for all the beautiful memories!

What happens when prominent sommeliers in the DC restaurant scene blind taste Virginia wines against their French counterparts? I wondered so myself and put it to the test. The result? You will have to wait for the film. 😈
Spoiler alert ‼️ they were pleasantly surprised by the Virginia wine quality. 🍷 🌟 🌟 🌟

Thank you to the Jose Andres Group for letting us film in the most cinematic restaurant

Thank you to the somms: .emotions

Thank you to for providing the Virginia wines and to for providing the French wines and helping curating the whole experience along with .runnerstrom and

Thank you to and for the Virginia vintages wine knowledge, and to .us for filming with me.

Cheers to the beautiful community in Washington DC, cheerleading Virginia wines!

Every time I’m with the siblings behind Burnt Hill and Old Westminster, I’m reminded why I’m making this documentary on regenerative viticulture in the Mid-Atlantic. Their courage isn’t abstract. It’s lived. It’s in the way Lisa shapes each wine with intention and precision. It’s in the way Ashli weaves warmth into every layer of hospitality and storytelling. And it’s in the way Drew keeps choosing life and land, even after walking through the hardest parts of his leukemia journey.

I’ll never forget filming with him on the day he learned he had relapsed in back in 2023. I asked him to dig his hands into the soil to plant a baby vine and he did it without hesitation. Bare hands, steady breath, steady eyes. A vow to the earth and to himself. He is winning that fight now.

Being back at Burnt Hill felt like witnessing the blooming after the burning.

And the wines told that story too.
Earthsong 2021 — 93% Pinot Noir and 7% Cabernet Franc, delicate but grounded, like the moment right before sunset.
Regent 2021 — a single-barrel selection with the quiet power of a hybrid grape and deep purpose for the future of viticulture.
Terrafirma 2021 — a beautiful balance of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Tannat, tasting like a love for soil health and farming conscientiously.

The food honored the season with humility and beauty. The atmosphere was minimal, clean, honest. And outside the windows, sheep grazed in the last light, as if even the land itself was practicing gentleness.

These siblings aren’t just making wine. They are building a future rooted in care. They are showing what devotion looks like when it’s put to work.

I left with a full heart and a deeper reverence for this family and the land they protect so fiercely.

Burnt Hill, you are something sacred. And to Drew, Lisa & Ashli: thank you for letting me witness and document your story.

New Moon in Scorpio this November→ a perfect moment to honor the winemakers whose Scorpio intensity reshaped Virginia wine.

From Dr. Daniel Norton, who gave us the Norton grape…
to Emma Randel, who established the Shenandoah Valley AVA…
to Gabriele Rausse, the father of modern VA wine…
to today’s forces: Jon Wehner, Damien Blanchon, Scorpio energy has always pulsed at the heart of this wine region.

What makes Scorpios extraordinary winemakers?

🔥 Depth: They see what others can’t.
🔥 Obsession: They commit with their whole soul.
🔥 Resilience: They rebuild, reinvent, rise from the ashes.
🔥 Alchemy: They turn challenge into beauty.
🔥 Intuition: They make wine with both science and instinct.

Here’s to the Scorpios who transformed a region.

Tell me, did I miss anyone? 👇

When I asked Reggie to organize a group wine tasting for a scene I needed for my upcoming film about courageous winegrowers in the mid-Atlantic, I never expected it to be so much fun. But then again this is what happens when one hangs out with the cool kids. I felt the community, connection and love, what I think wine should be all about.

Hybrid grapes are interesting and strong and beautiful and weird and I wanted to see how they stand when blind tasted next to wines made from vinifera grapes. The results were fascinating and surprising but you will have to wait for the film release to found out what happened…

I am grateful to Reggie Leonard and the Oenoverse family for welcoming me in the community and the Commonwealth Crush for hosting and letting us film in their salon and winery. Thank you to the talented cinematographer Jamaal MacKenzie who filmed the event with me.
Special thanks goes to all the people who were brave and playful enough to blind taste on camera. It’s not for the faint of heart, but you were amazing!

Until next time.
Love,
Chrisa 💫

Drinking delicious wines and discussing storytelling in wine while building community and filming a scene for one of my films? This is my happy place!

Join and I at this Thursday to taste wines from the and more, learn about the power of storytelling, watch clips from my wine films and maybe, if you’re willing, blind taste wines on camera. Count you in?

See you Thursday!
Cheers,
Chrisa 💫 🍷 🎥