Feingold - Winzer, Weine und Intrigen

Made for cable television, this work is filmed in Spain featuring Ted Wass as Andre, son of a Spanish grandee (Lloyd Bochner) who disowns him after Andre is (wrongfully) accused of stealing money from the safe of his employer and neighbour (Stewart Granger) with the two families concerned being prominent vintners, and the plot relates of the attempt by Andre to reclaim his honour as well as his lover Julia (Jane Badler) who, upon learning of his disgrace, severs their relationship. Andre restores his good reputation through canny and aggressive real estate transactions involving vineyards and becomes inordinately wealthy whereupon he returns to his home, scene of his humiliation, and ventures to regain his family status and true love, while during the course of the picture we are treated to splendid vistas within the wine growing districts of Jerez, Burgos, and Rioja as Andre endeavours to capture the essence of Oro Fino, fine gold, the impeccable sherry. Unfortunately, most of what we experience is not the captivating Spanish countryside, but a tasteless mishmash of subplots wherein none of the principal players is even vaguely Iberian, although Granger and Bochner give their all as feuding patriarchs, offsetting to an inadequate extent weak performances by Andrew Stevens and Ray Walston and wretched ones by Badler and Tia Carrere, although it should be recognized that the script and direction lack fuel for inspiration.