Christmas on the Vine (2020 Lifetime)

Christmas on the Vine (2020 Lifetime)

Cast: Julianna Guill, Jon Cor, Meredith Baxter

Listen to the Lifetime Uncorked Podcast here!

Please buy me a coffee (or glass of 🍷 ) Support Lifetime Uncorked by leaving a $3 tip.

Synopsis (via Lifetime)

A young marketing executive is assigned to help a struggling family-owned winery in a town that has lost its Christmas spirit due to a large wine conglomerate.

Thoughts

Brooke lives in the BIG city, Seattle, and takes her boss, Sara, out for a fancy dinner; she doesn’t even care to taste the wine served at the table. Brooke is sent for work to her hometown and drives like a psycho to get there. (She sings The Twelve Days of Christmas the whole way.) Brooke plans to save the town winery by decorating the place for Christmas. (Or they could make better wine.)

Evelyn, the winery owner, invites Brooke to stay on the property while she works on publicizing the vineyard. (Even though Brooke’s sister lives in town.) Tyler, Evelyn’s son, is resistant to change but understands that they need help. Tyler invites Brooke to the town diner to talk through her marketing plan. (Decorating, social media, and LOVE.) Tyler id over the mindset that they are a winery, and that should be enough.

Tyler, in turn, shows Brooke how to taste wine properly. She is horrified that you have to smell, taste, and spit out the wine. Normally she just drinks it. Then they go sledding in Santa hats, because why not! (Add a snowball fight in there for good measure. Meredith Baxter plays the bad guy looking to incorporate the family winery. Perfect casting. So happy that this TV movie legend is not just playing someone’s mother.

Brooke decides that the winery needs to become more family-friendly and lowers the legal drinking age in town to 13. Just kidding, she makes Tyler drive for a Christmas Hayride to bring more people to the vineyard, so it will become a “destination winery.” She also plans a cookie and wine pairing.

While checking the mail with his terrible hair, Tyler gets a letter in the mail from another distributor rejecting his wine. That is put on the back burner because Brooke’s sister’s Christmas pageant is happening. On the way, Tyler mentions he would have kids if it happened, but for now, he has the vineyard! That is basically like a kid, right?

Christmas marketing is going to the next level. Tyler dresses up as Santa, and Brooke is and Elf. They hawk the cookie and wine event. Meredith Baxter watches the commercial alone at home, and I have never related to any TV movie character more. (Haha, I’m fine. I have wine!) The event is a hit, and Brooke’s friend Lila is impressed. The winery could have had more people, but a winter storm kept them away.

Brooke finds an old journal of Tyler’s dead dad and starts making recipes while rudely exclaiming, “it isn’t that hard.” Then she decides to host the town Christmas festival at the vineyard. They plan the event while cross-country skiing and share a kiss at the top of the mountain. Brooke doesn’t want to give Tyler the wrong idea and reminds him that she has to go back to Seattle after the Christmas festival.

It is time for a misunderstanding to break the happy couple up. In this movie, they fight over a WINE LABEL!!!!! Tyler changes his mind after tasting Brooke’s wine (Which may or may not have Gummy Bears as an ingredient.) He goes to tell her that he loves it and overhears Brooke on the phone, talking to her sister about going back to Seattle. (Which he already knew.) He doesn’t tell her about his feelings.

One commercial happens, and they make up at the Christmas Festival. They take a picture on Santa’s lap, and then Tyler gives a speech where he offers everyone wine on the house. (Which could be why the business is failing.) Mr. Talbot arrives and wants to distribute the wine nation wide! He loved the Santa commercial and the “family angle” for the wine. (What????)

Brooke packers her things to leave on Christmas Eve sadly. Before she goes Evelyne and Tyler say their goodbyes and give her a Christmas ornament that belonged to Tyler’s grandfather because she is like family now. It begins to snow while Tyler and Brooke kiss on the doorstep. She decides to stay. The end!

Side Note

Minority Report: Sarah, Lila, Mr. Talbot

Meredith Baxter is a national treasure and I love her in ANY TV movie.

Don’t forget to listen to the Lifetime Uncorked Podcast available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

💳 🍾 Your Support is appreciated. You can help by leaving a small $3 tip today! Thank you. 🍾 💳

Overall rating

🎄🎄🎄(3 Christmas Trees)

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 (5 glasses of wine required.)