Christmas on the Vine Review: Wine & Cookie Pairings and The Other Tyler Lockwood!

Wine and cookies are a pair made in heaven, and so are Brooke and Tyler.

Christmas on the Vine had some romance, lots of Christmas, but more importantly, a world where small-business owners can pull off a win.

It also had wine. Lots and lots of wine.

It's always a pleasure to see some of those familiar faces, and The Resident's Julianna Guill was back on Lifetime with another sweet Christmas romance.

Brooke was in marketing and advertising, which seems to be a staple for these types of films. She returned to her small hometown to indulge in her nostalgia, visit her sister and nephew, and save the last Mom & Pop family-owned winery before they went into foreclosure.

Lockwood Crest was a beauty and a family legacy. Sometimes we don't appreciate the importance of that enough.

The best thing that could have happened to it was Brooke breezing into town, exuberant and filled with Christmas spirit. Her devotion to saving this winery was as if she had a personal stake in it, and that was her attitude from the very beginning.

It's no wonder she was fantastic at her job. It's also why Evelyn trusted her implicitly with pulling off a miracle for their family business.

Tyler was a bit more hesitant and resistant, but thankfully, by the end, he learned how to keep the faith and trust in the woman he grew to love.

Was anyone else laughing hysterically at Tyler Lockwood? If you happen to be a The Vampires Diaries fan and watching this film, it elicited a giggle every time you heard the name.

This Tyler Lockwood is nothing like TVD's Tyler Lockwood. For one, he and his family weren't well off.

Their name was that winery, and it's all they had. And the biggest threat to this Tyler wasn't vampires or other supernatural beings.

It was the ethereal Meredith Baxter's Carla Kilgore.

The name alone conjures up ruthless, take no prisoners businesswoman, no?

They called her Kilgore because she was a straight killer, buying out all the small-business owners in that tiny town and building her empire.

Why must one person have a monopoly on everything?

Carla loved coming across as if she was benefitting the little people she stomped all over, but her methods suggested otherwise.

If you present someone with an offer to buy them out, and you claim their choice is accepting your offer or taking over anyway after foreclosure, is it really a choice?

Carla seems to worm her way into the small town board and take it over, but you could tell she had no real knowledge of the charm, traditions, and communal feel of the town.

She was a vulture circling around Tyler and his mother, and she gave them a deadline of Christmas Eve to accept her offer.

Even if they didn't have a vested interest in their business, or it didn't hold such sentimental value or was their family legacy, I would have avoided making that deal out of spite, too.

It felt like so many forces were working against them in their endeavors. The Ice Storm is probably the biggest obstacle that contributed to the fate of Lockwood Crest being a nail- biter.

Because of that, Lila's distributor friend couldn't make it, and without a wine distribution deal, Lockwood Crest couldn't last.

It's amazing how so many little changes that seem simple could have such promising results.

Evelyn was open to so much, but Tyler was too caught up in tradition and didn't want to change the vibe of their business.

The Christmas commercial was a nice tough, and memorable. It's essential to have things like advertisements online and on TV to bring people in and appeal to those who may not have heard of the winery.

Everything they did incorporating the children was a great touch. Becoming a family-friendly establishment was a game-changer.

It meant that more consumers would flock there, and while the kids were off on train and hayrides, drinking cider, the adults could indulge in the wine and browse.

Brooke's wine and cookie pairing night was brilliant. When you think of wine, more pretentious things come to mind, like which fancy pasta or fish dish goes with what.

But a bottle of wine and some homemade Christmas cookies? It coincided with that hometown down-to-earth feel that the entire town had.

Brooke was great because of how she learned so many things along the way and then found new ways to incorporate what she learned.

She wasn't much of a wine person before, and Tyler had to teach her to participate in a proper wine-tasting. She also read his book on the topic, and it opened her world to wine.

Once Brooke could appreciate the product, she figured out creative ways to market it and make it work.

Her best move was finding the old Lockwood journal and making that wine blend that Tyler's grandfather created.

Tyler was so adamant about the Lockwood legacy and tradition; he couldn't even comprehend that everything Brooke did was protecting that legacy.

His reaction to the wine blend was awful, and he deservedly felt like an idiot when he realized its origins.

And the wine label was a necessary, personal, colorful touch. Brooke was right about packaging and labels. Eine drinkers will purchase something because of the appearance of the bottle.

The best choice Brooke and Tyler both made was saving the Christmas Fair and hosting it at the winery. It was the ultimate power move, and it was satisfying to see Carla sulk over it.

Brooke was able to carry on the magic of her childhood hometown holiday celebrations, and they served their Christmas blend of wine.

But the best part was Lila's distributor friend made it there, and he offered the Lockwoods a deal in the nick of time.

It was a big deal, too. Lockwood Crest's wine would go national, and they had a deal for more of the Christmas blend for the next year.

The small- business winning and preserving their legacy is what made this movie a delight. However, it was lovely to see Brooke fall in love with the industry.

She got into marketing because of how good she was at it, but it wasn't her passion.

Brooke was passionate about saving Lockwood Crest. She was full of life, snow tubing, and decorating the place.

She fell in love with the winery, and she had memories of the time she spent as a teen smashing the grapes to make it. She fit into the place like a puzzle piece, and she becomes part of their family. She became part of their business and legacy.

Somehow, that was even more endearing than the love that blossomed between Brooke and Tyler.

And their love story was cute. Tyler was head over heels for her in no time at all, and he didn't waste time letting her know that everything she processed to look for was right there, including him.

He put it all on the line, and by the end, it was no question that Brooke found a life, passion, family, and love in her hometown.

We never found out if she would take that promotion in Seattle, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Brooke was returning to Lockwood Crest for good.

I'm craving wine and cookies, so I'm off. But by all means, click that big blue SHOW COMMENTS button below and let me know what you think of this film.

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.