In Netflix’s Holiday in the Vineyard, a rich guy is sent by his CEO mother to a small vineyard to buy it up and turn it into part of his family’s bargain-bin wine empire. The locals in town want nothing to do with this big corporation, so he conceals his identity in order to get to know the folks at the vineyard, and he ends up falling in love with the woman selling it. It’s your classic bad-guy-turns-good romance, but the great cast pairs well with the fun script and makes it work.
Opening Shot: Grapes are picked, crushed, and turned into wine. It’s like a mini-episode of How It’s Made!
The Gist: Carter Baldwyn (Josh Swickard) is the wealthy screw-up son of Margo Baldwyn (Eileen Davidson), the head of a huge wine brand (that’s basically just swill). But in an effort to prove to his mom that he’s not a total good-for-nothing, he agrees to visit a small winery called Huckabee Vineyard in the fictional wine country town of Los Santos, CA, that’s just gone on the market and which his mother wants to acquire for their company. The catch – Carter has to fly under the radar while he’s scoping out the vineyard so no one catches wind that it’s a Baldwyn that’s buying. No one likes the Baldwyns or their brand, because it’s such cheap, bad wine. Carter has to give up all the little luxuries he’s used to and pretend he’s just some random guy who’s visiting for… some reason that is not “I’ve come to acquire your winery and strip it for parts.”
The real estate agent selling Huckabee, Valentina Espinoza (Sol Rodriguez) is a widowed mom of two adorable boys, Santi and Fed. When Carter meets her at a walk-through of the vineyard, he pretends he’s just a guy off the street looking to move to Los Santos. Trying not to blow his cover, he tells Valentina he’s a carpenter, and she suggests they make a deal – she’ll let him stay in her guest house which is in need of some work, if he can make the repairs to it, and she’ll show him around the town. Carter agrees, even though he’s not actually a carpenter or looking to move to Los Santos, but he’s under deep cover by this point and has to keep up the charade. Plus, he learns Val absolutely does not want to sell this quaint, small vineyard to the giant mega-corporation he and his mom run, and she’s trying to get a collective of local winemakers to pool their money and buy it so it can remain a part of the community.
When Carter visits the local hardware store to pick up the supplies he needs to help renovate Val’s guest house, he meets Moe (Omar Gooding), the owner of the store and an amateur winemaker called a garagiste. Moe quickly catches on that Carter has no idea how to be a carpenter, so they decide to help each other: Carter will advise Moe on his winemaking, and Moe will help Carter with his construction job.
As the week goes on, Carter and Val connect, and he gets close to her sons, especially Santi, teaching him to snowboard and building him a snowboarding ramp in the yard to practice on. And Carter starts to realize how much Baldwyn’s purchase of the local vineyard with hurt the community, including his new friend Moe. Of course, his mother doesn’t see things that way, but Carter pushes back. Still, she places a bid on the vineyard without Carter knowing, and he has to scramble to rectify the situation and regain Val – and the rest of the town’s – trust.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? There’s a classic “rich jerk who softens up and learns there’s more to life than money” vibe not unlike You’ve Got Mail or Arthur (although here, no one has an actual drinking problem, they’re all just wine connoisseurs!).
A Holiday Tradition: While the movie takes place in the week before Christmas and features a wine festival in the town before the holiday, it’s oddly light on holiday flair and festivities compared to similar holiday romances.
Does the Title Make Any Sense?: In a very literal way. These characters are having a holiday in some vineyards.
Our Take: Even though the premise feels familiar, there are a lot of details that make Holiday in the Vineyards feel fresh, and Josh Swickard carries the film as Carter, whose caddish ways are short-lived, and he manages to be charming even when he’s supposed to be a jerk. Watching him transform from soulless entrepreneur to kind-hearted love interest, surrogate dad to Val’s boys, and actual handyman feels believable because he sells the idea that he wants to be all of those things. You know that the film will end with Carter trying to save Huckabee from his own mother’s ambitions, and by that point, literally everyone except for Carter’s mom is on board and working together to make it happen.
Sol Rodriguez, Omar Gooding, and soap opera legend Eileen Davidson are all equally good in their roles and don’t take anything too seriously. Davidson has had years of practice playing baddies and evil twins on soaps like Days of Our Lives, and she adds a dash of that campy villainy to this role as well. Despite being able to predict where this plot is going, there are more than enough details and solid writing to make Holiday in the Vineyards stand out as more than just generic holiday fare, it’s got complexity and balance with some lively notes thrown in.
Parting Shot: Now that the business stuff has been settled and Carter has proven himself to be a good guy, he, Val, and her sons hit the slopes to ski and snowboard together. (The rare holiday romance that doesn’t end in a kiss under mistletoe!)
Performance Worth Watching: I can’t decide if I like Eileen Davidson’s evil mom performance, or Omar Gooding’s kind and goofy but tough sidekick Moe better, but it’s a credit to the film that there are several great supporting characters to pick from.
Memorable Dialogue: “Carter, don’t go soft on me!” Margo tells her son when she senses that he might not want to become the face of a big corporation that’s come to destroy the little guy. Alas, spending time in Los Santos with Val has made Carter realize that being a part of this community is worth more than being a rich wine scion.
Our Call: STREAM IT! Holiday in the Vineyards doesn’t really need the hook of the holidays to make it worth your time: it’s a great romantic comedy suitable for any time of year.