Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS

Producers Ask: Do You Have a Passion for Wine? Would You Like to Win Your Own Wine Label? Become a Contestant!

(Washington) Doc City Productions, a leading creator of TV wine programming, announces an open call for contestants to participate in Season 2 of The Winemakers, the first reality format television series for PBS TV that will do for the wine world what Top Chef did for food and Project Runway did for fashion. Contestants will fly to the Rhone Valley in France in September 2009 to compete for the grand prize of creating and launching their own wine brand nationwide. The casting call will be held at Rayuela Restaurant at 165 Allen St. on the Lower East Side on Monday, August 10, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Professional winemakers are not eligible.

"We are searching for the most audacious, most passionate, most imaginative, most diverse group of people we can find," said Kevin Whelan, series producer, The Winemakers. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a dedicated wine enthusiast to become a winemaker, own their own wine label and have their wines distributed nationwide. The competition will be formidable, but the prize will truly be a wine lover's dream come true."

The New York City call is the culmination of the casting process, which also includes an event in San Francisco on July 27, as well as videotape submissions. In addition, the 16(th) contestant spot is reserved for the individual who creates the most innovative and talked about online social networking campaign to justify why they should earn a place on The Winemakers.

The casting call judges will include Mark Oldman, author of the bestselling "Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine," Elin McCoy, author of "The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste," and Hector Sanz, a rising restaurateur and co-owner of Rayuela, which pioneered Estilo Libre Latino (Freestyle Latin) cuisine.

The selected 16 contestants for Season 2 will be announced at the media preview of Season 1 taking place at Rayuela immediately follow the New York City casting call. Filming of Season 2 will begin in mid-August in California's Central Coast before pulling up stakes and relocating for a month to the Rhone Valley in September.

Season 1 of The Winemakers, which consists of six 30-minute episodes, will have its PBS debut nationwide in September 2009 and documents the triumphs and travails of a spirited group of 12 contestants as they compete in action-packed challenges and inevitable eliminations during the entire winemaking process, from the grape to the bottle to the store shelf. The series was shot in Paso Robles, Calif.

http://www.doccitytv.com