Principal photography is currently underway in Southern California on “A Wine Country Christmas,” the seventh movie from Ali Afshar’s ESX Productions, following Netflix hits “A California Christmas,” “A California Christmas: City Lights” and “I Believe in Santa,” and the popular HBO Max films “A Hollywood Christmas,” “A Christmas Mystery,” and “Holiday Harmony.” The film’s cast includes soap stars Eileen Davidson (“The Young and the Restless”), Annika Noelle (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Josh Swickard (“General Hospital”), among others.
In “A Wine Country Christmas,” Sol Rodriguez (“Grachi”) plays Valentina, a young widow who struggles to keep the local vineyard from falling into the wrong hands while raising her two young boys. Still, she may be in store for a Christmas miracle when she falls for the world’s worst “carpenter.” For his part, Carter (Swickard), a big city playboy, is sent to wine country to get intel on a prospective vineyard for sale after his mother finally tires of him running away from any responsibility. He didn’t count on finding himself in Valentina’s rental apartment for the holidays, trading a place to stay for handiwork.
“Consistent demand requires consistent supply and when it comes to Christmas movies, we have a formula that works extremely well and delivers stories that audiences love,” said Afshar in a statement. “Making holiday movies is fun, and we have a dependable group of collaborators who understand our process and creative thinking. We’re so excited to have such an amazing cast for ‘A Wine Country Christmas’ bringing this uplifting story to life. For audiences, it’ll be another warm holiday with a wine country feel.”
“A Wine Country Christmas” is expected to be released during the upcoming holiday season, with Warner Bros. handling film distribution via the studio’s licensing department.
In addition to Davidson, Noelle, Swickard and Rodriguez, the movie’s cast also includes Omar Gooding (“Deadwood, Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac”), Carly Jibson (“The Guest Book,” “Atypical”), Julian Rangal (“The Good Doctor”), and newcomer Carlos Solòrzano.
Alex Ranarivelo is directing from a script by Cecília Franco and David Zanardi. Afshar, Christina Moore and Daniel Aspromonte are producing, with Charley DeBenedetti as the executive producer.
Check out sneak peek photos from the film below.
