“Valentine in the Vineyard” aired on February 2, 2019 on the Hallmark Channel. It stars Rachel Leigh Cook as Frankie, and Brendan Penny as Nate. This is the third installment of the “Vineyard” storyline, starting with 2016’s “Autumn in the Vineyard, followed the next year with “Summer in the Vineyard.”
In a nutshell
I didn’t think I’d like this one, but I did!
Plot
Since this is the third movie in the trilogy, Hallmark assumes we already know all the characters and their backstory. But even if you haven’t seen them, you can still follow along. This time around, Frankie and Nate manage life on their growing vineyard. But when Nate’s brother Marco (played but Marcus Rosner) announces his engagement, Nate and Frankie decide to keep their own recent engagement a secret so as not to interfere with the upcoming Valentine’s Day nuptials.
Actors
I really like Rachael Leigh Cook. She has been in several Hallmark movies in recent years and I always enjoy seeing her on my screen. Her romantic interest in this series, Brendan Penny, has taken me a while to get behind, but in the right role and with the right co-star, he’s a good leading man for that network. Fortunately, in this movie he and RLC clearly fit together. RLC has TWO degrees of separation from Kris Polaha. She starred in 2007’s “Nancy Drew” with Cliff Bemis who starred in 2008’s “Billy the Early Years” with Kris Polaha.
And let me give a shoutout here to Marcus Rosner, who played the engaged brother. Even more than Brendan Penny, my like or dislike of Rosner is based purely on the role he plays and how he plays it. I really liked him in 2018’s “Poinsettias for Christmas” which aired on another network this past holiday season. On the other hand, I thought his portrayal as the bad boyfriend in 2017’s “The Birthday Wish” was forced and poorly written. However, as Marco DeLuca? He SHINES. He was so natural and easy-going, and played every scene he was in just perfectly. Hallmark needs to put him in more roles like that – he can play easy-going and natural so well, without going heavy-handed on trying to be a “romantic” leading man. He could easily give Kris Polaha a run for his money in those kinds of leading man roles. Less smolder, more guy-next-door, please!
I also want to add that I love seeing Teryl Rothery on my TV. I’m always glad when she pops up even in a brief but pivotal role in my Hallmark movies.
Chemistry
As I said, yes, both RLC and Brendan Penny have good chemistry together – which is a good thing since this is the third movie in the trilogy! It would be horrifying if we were all continuously subjected to bad chemistry year after year with the same actors.
Feelgoods
I appreciated that even if Frankie and Nate failed the compatibility test, they still clearly loved each other (as evidenced by their willingness to step out of their comfort zones when it came to ways they approached the vineyard (he learned organic farming, she learned bio-chem)). I also appreciated that when Frankie and Nate agreed to delay the wedding, they both assured each other that the delay was not because they didn’t love each other – and they meant it. There were a couple funny moments, with my favorite line being from Frankie when Nate mentions going mini-golfing with her brother and his fiancee. “So it’s a double date from junior high?” That made me laugh out loud.
Tropes
This movie scored low on the tropes meter, although it DID have Mittens the pet llama and a few unnamed dogs running around. It also had more than a few big scarves on the women. But not much else.
Did I Hear/See That Right?
Did Nate really propose with a drone? I’m sure some may think that’s romantic, but… No. I take that back. No one would think that’s romantic. Tying a bow around Mittens the Pet Llama with the ring on it would have been more romantic.
Also, can grapevines really be frozen one night and then thaw out and suddenly have green buds sprouting the next morning? Because according to this movie, grapevines grow like kudzu.
That’s just two of a few that I saw, but they were the main ones that had me scratching me head in confusion.
Re-watchability
Would I watch this again? Yeah, probably. Although I think I’d want to watch the first one more than this final chapter.
The Ranking
So where does it fit in the rankings? Sitting in the top three currently!
- Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 725 points – final weighted score: 117.8 points (77.2%)
- One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 635 points – final weighted score: 100.8 points (66.1%)
- Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 603 points – final weighted score: 94.5 points (61.9%)
- The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 605 points – final weighted score: 92.4 points (60.6%)
- Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 565 points – final weighted score: 91.3 points (59.8%)
- A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 540 points – final weighted score: 78.5 points (51.5%)
To see my entire ranking of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!
What are your thoughts on “Valentine in the Vineyard”?
