Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The Wine Show has always leaned into fantasy. Sure, it’s a docuseries bent on teaching viewers about the wide world of wine, but The Wine Show‘s main allure is escapism. The show lingers on handsome British actors, all of whom have played dreamboats in various period dramas, eating and drinking their way through gorgeous vistas and exotic locales. The Wine Show Season 3 triples down on the show’s core fantasy. There’s now a fourth rakish British actor drinking his way through Europe and the globe-trotting adventures of all involved seem more aspirational than ever before. The Wine Show is back, folks! And will still transport you to a place of sheer zen.
The Wine Show first premiered on Britain’s ITV and on Hulu in the USA in 2016. The first season followed Welsh actor Matthew Rhys (aka Mr. Darcy in Death Comes to Pemberley) and British actor Matthew Goode (aka the hot race car driver Lady Mary marries in Downton Abbey) as they embarked on a road trip across Italy in pursuit of the nation’s greatest vintages. Guiding them with his expert wine knowledge was sommelier Joe Fattorini. The show also featured field pieces with Fattorini and fellow wine expert Amelia Singer that took viewers to unique vineyards and wineries all over the globe.
If, like me, you love wine, British men, and Europe, The Wine Show was utterly seductive. And even if that wasn’t your bag, the show was ideal background viewing for parties and social gatherings. (The cinematography alone on The Wine Show has always been drool-worthy.) Clearly The Wine Show’s producers understood the show’s key draws, because in Season 2, The Wine Show upped the ante on its charm by traveling to France and adding James Purefoy (aka Marc Anthony on HBO’s Rome) to the mix. In Season 3, yet another tall, dark, and handsome British actor joined the crew: Dominic West.
Now not much has changed with The Wine Show itself in Season 3. There are still multiple sequences of handsome men sipping fine wines in breathtakingly beautiful villas, international cityscapes, and little-known treasures. However, Americans will now have to switch streaming services to watch The Wine Show. (No longer a Hulu original, it’s now exclusive to Acorn TV, Sundance Now, and AMC+.) The Wine Show’s consistency is part of its charm, though. There’s something so comforting knowing that despite all the changes that have happened in the last five years, The Wine Show remains committed to showing its fans hot men drinking great wine in lust-worthy places.
The Wine Show might be one of the cleverest shows ever made because it gets what its core audience wants: to be whisked away to Europe by a handsome man with a case full of wine. Sure, there’s a lot of nerdy stuff here for oenophiles — I have literally met wine vendors who have binged this show just for the wine facts! — but the true draw of The Wine Show is the same as a bubbly bath in a clawfoot tub. It offers a dreamy escape from the stress of everyday life and a piece of serenity that we all deserve.
The Wine Show Season 3 is now streaming on Acorn TV, Sundance Now, and AMC+.
