Part two of this week’s “Cogill Wine and Film, A Perfect Pairing” on reVolver Podcasts we discuss the well-made sequel to the 2006 film “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” paired perfectly with one of our favorites, Stoller Family Winery in Willamette Valley. To listen to the show just follow the link here, and click “Episode 56.” A few more thoughts from Gary on this important film below, and from me on the wine.

The Wine: Stoller Family Winery

The Dundee Hills winery owned by Bill Stoller has dedicated itself to producing preimum quality wine (at the hand of Winemaker Melissa Burr,) while working in an eco-friendly, sustainable manner since its inception. Last week the winery received an additional level of recognition, receiving B Corp Certification status. Companies with this certification status meet the highest standard of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability.

Thankfully, we are seeing more and more wineries look towards the furture, embracing organic or sustainable farming methods, and working in ways that have minimal impact on the environment. Stoller has been an ardent leader in working clean and green for the good of their workers now, and their children’s future.

And, they make incredible wine. From their juicy, watermelon and strawberry filled Rose, to their crisp, lively, orchard fruit and citrus filled Estate Chardonnay wines to their earthy, hearty Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, these are wines that I would be thrilled to drink every day.

The Film: “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power”

I grew up in Oregon, embracing all things made beautiful by nature and doing my best to fight pollution. I have planted fir trees where logging or fires decimated patches of forests and rescued hundreds of cans, bottles, and tires out of rivers and lakes because it always breaks my heart to see the amount of trash people leave behind.

My part has been small and simple but almost came to blows one afternoon in Dallas years ago when a man in front of me at a stop light rolled down his window and threw an entire bag of garbage on to the street. I immediately got out of my car, picked up the trash, asked him to roll down his window and proceeded to throw the trash back in his car. He wasn’t happy and I was furious.

I also found former Vice President Al Gore boring until he made an Oscar winning documentary ten years ago with Davis Guggenheim called, “An Inconvenient Truth” and from that moment on have fully embraced the concept that our planet is threatened by man made pollution and humans from all nations need to do better in taking care of Earth.

It has always made common sense to me. If you throw garbage everywhere and never clean it up, you are going to eventually live in garbage and our beloved planet is the perfect example. The earth can only “self cleanse” so much of the pollution and suffering thrown it’s way.

“An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power” is both alarming and encouraging. Melting polar ice caps, water levels rising in certain parts of the world, multitudes of climate deniers including, Scott Pruitt, the current head of the EPA, and of course, our President recently pulling out of the Paris Climate accord.

It just makes better business sense to me to stay in the damn thing.

My best take away from the film happens to be the conservative Republican Mayor of Georgetown, Texas who also thinks it makes fiscal sense to run his entire city on renewable energy because it’s cheaper and saves the city money. He didn’t have to change his ideology because he made a smart business decision.

My disappointment in the sequel is the fact that not enough “truth to power” is actually spoken in the film, it’s mostly under the radar, and likely because numerous important events in leadership have happened since the film was edited.

You can be a conservative and embrace climate change. You can even be a conservation Christian and embrace climate change, just ask Christian climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe, the director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. She is a smart lady, and passionate about her faith and science.

“An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power” does preach to the choir but it’s also filled with some tremendous images and important rhetoric. I’m no longer bored with, Al Gore, I find him consistent in message and a willing listener on a global stage. #BeInconvenient