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WHY THIS STORY
NEEDS TO BE TOLD NOW
The Circular Vineyard will document how this vital industry adapts in real-time, because what happens in the vineyard shapes the wines in our glasses, the jobs in our communities, and the future of America’s wine identity.
Rising temperatures, erratic weather, drought, and wildfire are reshaping an $85 billion cornerstone of California’s economy that supports over 420,000 jobs and drives more than $170 billion nationally. Yet the crisis is sparking transformation.
Today’s wine drinkers increasingly demand sustainability and transparency, rewarding producers who lead with integrity and shun those that don’t. The solutions emerging in California’s vineyards—regenerative farming, soil carbon capture, water reuse, and ecosystem restoration, extend far beyond wine. These practices form a blueprint for climate resilience across American agriculture, proving that how we farm grapes today will determine how we grow everything else tomorrow.
LOG LINE
How can an industry reliant on nature adapt to preserve both the land and its legacy?
In California’s wine country, visionary vintners defy climate change and tradition to revolutionize an ancient craft and reshape their future. Told through the mavericks who shaped it, then and now, and their quest to close the loop on tradition, sustainability, and storytelling.
SYNOPSIS
Amid California’s sunlit vineyards
A quiet revolution unfolds. The Circular Vineyard explores the delicate balance between tradition and innovation as California’s wine industry confronts the existential threat of climate change. This film is an energetic, visually rich documentary that traces the evolution of California wine from its pre-prohibition roots to its climate-conscious present and regenerative future. It captures a cast of winemakers, soil scientists, land stewards, and innovators who are disrupting the wine industry from the soil up, championing a sustainable future.
ACT I
ROOTS AND REBELS
The rise, fall, and renaissance of California wine
California wine begins not with Napa luxury but with survival and conquest. Spanish missionaries introduce the Mission grape for sacramental use, establishing the first vineyards. In act 1 the film chronicles the early contributions of immigrants who built early wine communities across Napa, Sonoma, and the Central Coast.
The prosperity is cut short by Prohibition, which devastates the industry. A generation of knowledge is lost. But from this disruption, a new breed of winemakers emerges in the 1960s and '70s, embracing experimentation, small-lot production, and environmentalism.
The 1976 Judgment of Paris is a watershed moment: California wines unexpectedly defeat French classics in a blind tasting. Overnight, California becomes a global wine player, legitimizing decades of effort from rogue vintners.
ACT II
BURNT EARTH, BOLD IDEAS
A climate reckoning meets a new generation of winemakers
Modern winemaking in California faces a brutal new reality: fires, drought, and unpredictable climate. Legacy practices are no longer sustainable. Here, we meet a new generation of growers who are not just adapting, they're rethinking wine altogether.
The film profiles vineyards like Tablas Creek, the first in the U.S. to receive Regenerative Organic Certification, alongside others like J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Clif Family Winery, and Bonterra Organic Estates. Their methods include cover cropping, composting, carbon sequestration, polyculture, and a deep commitment to soil health.
Young winemakers from diverse backgrounds are democratizing wine: natural wine in cans, low-intervention techniques, and community-supported co-ops. Wine becomes accessible, expressive, and purpose-driven.
ACT III
THE LOOP IS THE LEGACY
From soil to bottle to soil again
In the final act, The Circular Vineyard zooms out to reveal the full ecosystem of the wine world: farmworkers, Indigenous stewards, scientists, and technology pioneers. We explore the intersection of land justice, transparency tools like blockchain, closed-loop packaging systems, and the poetic traditions that still define the act of winemaking.
The film ends where it began—with the land. A harvest, a compost pile, a soil test. A group of winemakers reflect on what legacy means in a time of climate crisis. Wine, it turns out, isn’t just about grapes. It’s about values. And when it comes full circle, it's about hope.
We offer options for larger investments by individuals and organizations at executive producer and sponsor tiers. You'll be credited in opening and closing titles, featured in press releases and festival materials, and invited to exclusive screenings, tastings, and set visits. Your support is more than a credit — it’s a chance to help preserve California’s wine heritage, spotlight innovative solutions, and inspire a global audience to act.
Become a patron
Bring your community together to champion The Circular Vineyard by hosting a private tasting, dinner, or vineyard gathering in support of the film. As a host, you’ll play a vital role in funding production while sparking conversations about the future of California wine. Whether it’s an intimate backyard soirée, a winery open house, or a virtual tasting, we’ll provide digital assets, a short presentation, and behind-the-scenes content to make your event engaging and inspiring. Hosts will be acknowledged on our campaign page, receive a personal thank-you from the director, and gain early access to exclusive footage. By opening your table to friends, wine lovers, and climate-conscious supporters, you’re not just raising funds, you’re directly helping build a movement for regenerative, sustainable winegrowing.
Host a fundraising event
Your contribution to our Seed & Spark campaign powers The Circular Vineyard. By supporting our campaign, you’re helping us film on location, preserve vital stories from pioneering vintners, and amplify solutions like regenerative farming that can safeguard the industry for generations to come. Every dollar brings us closer to sharing this urgent, hopeful story with audiences worldwide—proving that sustainable winegrowing isn’t just possible, it’s essential.
Contribute to our fundraising campaign
How to get involved and help bring The Circular Vineyard to life
Writer/Director Bio: Casey Hogue
Casey Hogue is an award-winning writer, director, and the founder of Serotonin Creative Consultancy, a creative firm and production studio dedicated to amplifying the voices of brands, companies, and organizations driving positive change.
With a background in branding, marketing, and the wine industry, Casey is passionate about telling stories of social and environmental impact that shift narratives, influence culture, and inspire action. His work with the Global Warming Mitigation Project, San Francisco Climate Week, and BEAM Circular has driven meaningful progress in regenerative agriculture, carbon reduction, and raising national awareness around environmental initiatives.
Casey has traveled extensively, interviewing wine producers, importers, and distributors globally. During his five years as a creative director at E. & J. Gallo Winery: the world’s largest winery, he gained unparalleled insight into the global wine trade, uniquely positioning him to tell compelling stories about this industry on a large scale.
With every project, Casey continues to elevate impact storytelling, reaching new audiences and driving meaningful change.
