Trappist monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Tehama County will be featured in the new documentary “The Monks of Vina,” airing tomorrow evening on KQED. The film was made by Benicia resident John Beck. (Photo courtesy of John Beck)

Benicia resident John Beck is certainly a media man. In addition to being a writer for Sonoma Magazine and having spent 12 years as a journalist for the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, he is also a prolific filmmaker. His works include 2009’s “Stringers,” an Austin Film Festival award winner about a group of San Francisco videographers who drive around the city filming mayhem and selling it to TV stations; 2011’s “Worst in Show,” about an ugly-dog contest; and 2012’s “Harvest,” which follows a female grape-picking crew and several small family wineries in the Sonoma County Harvest of 2011. His newest documentary, “The Monks of Vina,” is also about winemaking and will premiere tomorrow on KQED.

The movie follows the lives of Trappist monks who operate a winery at the Abbey of New Calirvaux in Vina, a dusty region north of Chico where temperatures exceed 110 degrees in the summer. The monastery itself has a long and interesting history. It is located on a farmland that had once been owned by Stanford University founder Leland Stanford. The Abbey itself was established in 1955. It primarily grows prunes, walnuts and grapes, the latter of which are used to produce wine on the vineyard which was planted in 2000 although Stanford had a vineyard on the property in the 1880s. The film focuses on the monks’ winemaking process, particularly two newcomers to the order who have foregone all their worldly possessions to become a part for the organization.

Beck said the film is a sequel of sorts to “Harvest.” Whereas that film focused on the sociopolitical side of viticulture, “The Monks of Vina” focuses on the spiritual side.

“I’d read a few magazine stories about New Clairvaux Winery,” he said. “Once I found out the monks were led by a female winemaker, I was sold. I made contact with winemaker Aimee Sunseri, and she invited me up for the blessing of the grapes. I started filming immediately.”

Sunseri is a fifth-generation winemaker from a Napa Valley family who guides the monks through the winemaking process, Beck said.

A big theme of the documentary is brotherhood, but it also explores deeper questions.

“At its very core lies a question that has nothing to do with winemaking,” Beck said. “It arises as we follow two newcomers: why would someone give up all worldly possessions to take vows of poverty, obedience and chastity and join a monastery in this day in age?”

Beck learned many fascinating things while filming the documentary, including the fact that they all wear medieval undergarments beneath their robes at all times— even in 100-degree weather. More importantly, he noticed a tight bond among all the monks bound together by their lifestyle.

“I was very impressed by the intense devotion that guides them, by the huge sacrifice it takes to completely drop out of modern society and how genuinely happy many of these guys are to live this life,” he said. “I also learned, as the film follows two newcomers, that not everyone is cut out for this life.”

As much of what goes on in monasteries is shrouded in mystery, Beck hopes the film will allow viewers to have a better understanding of the culture.

“It’s a chance to go behind the scenes and see some of the rituals and hear some of the stories that are usually off limits,” he said. “I’m hoping they will see the very human side of an order of men often cast in secrecy and seclusion.”

Beck is currently working on a documentary about how mass incarceration affects the families of prisoners, particularly their children. The movie will be filmed at San Quentin and California State Prison, Solano.

“The Monks of Vina” will air at 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8 on KQED Channel 9. It will also air at 9 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 11 on KRCB Channel 22 in Santa Rosa and at 10 p.m., Monday, Oct. 17 on KVIE Channel 6 in Sacramento. It will also air on more than 70 PBS stations throughout the country in the fall. For more information, visit http://www.monksofvina.com.

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