Terroir

Terroir begins with a young and ambitious wine critic named Madison Hu, who has just moved from the United States to France to pursue her dream career. Madison quickly makes a name for herself in the French wine scene with her sharp palate and keen observations. However, her career takes an unexpected turn when she visits the small, family-owned Domaine de la Rien, where she tastes their wines and writes a scathing review, declaring their wine nothing more than mediocre. The news of her negative review spreads like wildfire, and the once-peaceful Domaine de la Rien is now shrouded in controversy. One year after her review, Madison returns to the vineyard, having traveled back to France after learning that one of her editorials has been shortlisted for some highly respected French wine literature. She brings along a group of friends, including her photographer, Claire, her food critic, Jamie, and her videographer, Sebastian. Upon their arrival, Madison is met with a mixture of resentment and a hint of curiosity by the vineyard's owners, Antoine and his brother, Edward. Madison attempts to make amends for her bad review by writing a follow-up piece that highlights the vineyard's commitment to their terroir, an essential French concept in winemaking that focuses on the soil, climate, and other environmental factors unique to a certain wine region. The Domaine de la Rien owners are initially hesitant to accept her offer of goodwill, but eventually, they agree to give her a chance to showcase their terroir in her new article. As the group begins to explore the vineyard, they realize that something is amiss. Equipment goes missing, and scathing graffiti is left around the property. At first, everyone attributes these events to local pranksters or disgruntled Domaine de la Rien employees, but as the incidents escalate, they start to suspect that the situation is more sinister. Their suspicions are confirmed when one of their group members, Jamie, stumbles upon a sinister clue etched on a dead tree hidden deep in the woods. The phrase, 'Your taste really brought out the rotten fruit in ours', now clearly aimed at Madison, ignites a chain of questions and fears within the group. The words evoke memories of the devastating effects her review had on the vineyard and the feeling that they are being made the target of some form of retribution. Under the veil of night, the group discovers that the Domaine de la Rien has been attacked, with broken barrels, vandalized cellars, and mangled vines as evidence of the mayhem. And to their horror, they come across the first victim, Jamie, who has been brutally murdered with a wine bottle. As the night unfolds and panic sets in, Madison and her friends realize they are trapped, and their lives are now in danger. Clues start to pop up everywhere, guiding them on a desperate chase for survival, but more importantly, finding the identities of the killer and their motives. The night gets darker and the air thick with wine-scented fog, obscuring the line between past and present. Claire soon discovers that an earlier version of the Domaine de la Rien farm might have employed several workers who are indeed bitter about the actions of the Domaine's past owners. Moreover, further inquiry leads them to uncover the history of this divided village, specifically a history riddled with a web of family feuds, vendettas and the once brutal struggle for farming land. The truth isn't far behind anymore, but the night only continues to push everyone to their limits as Madison and her friends must tackle the peril, where nothing is more certain than the existence of 'terroir', which holds the answer to why the killer has taken an interest in them.