Mondovino, Jonathan Nossiter's globe-trotting documentary on the business of wine, has a lot in common with a traditional wine tasting. As Nossiter interviews literally dozens of vintners, the viewer can sample a little of this and a little of that. However, by always hurrying on to the next interview, Nossiter also forces his viewers to spit out what they've consumed -- leaving them not only without a buzz, but without much understanding how these people relate to the larger picture. Nossiter starts with what seems like a clear focus. He chooses Napa giant Mondavi as his entry point into the topic, and zeroes in on the company's failed attempt to purchase "terroir" in the south of France. The director gets good testimony from both the local purists and the naked opportunists who oppose them, making the father-son Mondavi team seem all the more grotesque through the tight, claustrophobic framing he uses while interviewing them. If only all of Mondovino could branch off this central spine, and wrap up in a tidy 80- to 90-minute package. But as the film tops the 120-minute mark, only just making its first forays into South America and other areas that deserve more than the viewer's dwindling attention, it's clear Nossiter would have benefited from deciding what we should walk away with, and what we should leave in the spittoon. In that last category falls his nearly pathological interest in "meeting" the pets of the people he interviews -- a quirk that eats up five to ten minutes alone. Nossiter gets points for the thoroughness of his research, but loses more points for failing to transform that work into a clear perspective on a complicated industry. What's more tragic is that unlike a film like Sideways, Mondovino doesn't send you away craving a good chardonnay, either.