Wine is the most valuable and opulent luxury available only to the wealthy. Some people devote their lives to learning about wine. Lola isn’t like that at all. When it comes to communicating with sommeliers, she is a natural. It transports her, and her character in this film comes to life. The Netflix original film “A Perfect Pairing” is a hot and bawdy journey through Australian culture, lush pastures, great wine, love, ambition, and a thriving lesson in work-life balance that everyone wants to savor.
Lola is a driven wine executive based in California who manages businesses across the country. She intends to join Mythos Wines as Director of Regional Sales only after landing a client like Vaughn Family Wines from Australia, but a colleague stabs her in the back and steals the pitch. Lola must determine whether or not it is worth it to stay with Calder, a demanding boss. When she decides to start her own business and take control of her fate, the adventure begins in earnest. Let’s look at how Lola’s life transforms in an instant and what that means for her new wine import company.
‘A Perfect Pairing’ Plot Summary: What Does Lola Do When She Quits Mythos Wines?
Lola Alvarez, currently a win executive at Mythos Wines, has a demanding supervisor named Frank Calder, who expects everyone to satisfy him. When Lola’s coworker Audra retrieves her from the entrance, she discovers that Lola may have a new client, but Lola is adamant about keeping her a secret. Before Lola enters the room the next day, Audra pitches the same brand. Lola is taken aback and feels thoroughly deceived when she learns about this. Audra’s boss, Frank Calder, awards Audra the victory and the post that Lola had been vying for.
Lola is enraged, and she responds by resigning from the company, effective immediately. Her hopes and objectives are unaffected by this setback. After creating a beautiful logo, she approaches her father for approval to launch her company, Salud Imports, and then decides to take advantage of an opportunity to visit Australia and acquire Vaughn Family Wines for herself. Her father is thrilled about her new ideas, but Lola has already bought her tickets and is on her way, despite his reservations.
When she arrives, she is dropped off at the Vaughn Estate, which has charming cottages for visitors. Despite this, she accidentally enters the main Vaughn house. She meets the sultry Australian Max Vaughn, or Max, while she searches for the reception in a room laden with antique décor. Lola sees Hazel Vaughn heading up the porch toward her as Max is escorting her to her cottage out of the main house, and this is Lola’s great moment to pitch her. She does it at full speed, taking both Max and Hazel off guard.
Lola is gradually chastised, but when one of their farm’s workers goes missing, Lola volunteers to join their farm and help them, regardless of the task at hand. Max hesitates to babysit, but Hazel keeps him accountable for bringing Lola up to speed, and Lola embarks on her new adventure with an Australian wine farm. Lola gradually gains a better understanding of the sheep shearing procedure. Max warns her not to make friends with a sheep named Baa-abra Streisand because that particular sheep could be food.
She makes good acquaintances and explores their talents and ideas as she eventually learns about the farm’s shearers and workers. Lola seeks to figure out what it takes to survive on a farm like theirs to acquire their trust and become a client for herself. But there’s something Max hasn’t told her about. A truth that could upend all she has worked so hard for.
Major Spoilers Ahead
‘A Perfect Pairing’ Ending Explained: Does Max Change His Mind To Tell Lola What He Wants?
Everything looks hard and too rural and bare for someone from the west coast of California as Lola starts to comprehend how the farm operates. Despite this, she goes about her business with love, respect, enthusiasm, and spirit. Max is the unseen force behind Hazel Vaughn’s vanity wine label, which most would dismiss. Lola sees the lack of international distributors as a chance to take the brand global. She spends every day at the farm ensuring that she is fully focused on their needs.
While Max is growing close to Lola and intently examining her ideas, he notices that her spark is distinct. She could be just what the brand requires. When Lola’s old and loyal client Hamish King hears that she is returning from Australia, he lets out that he would wait for her. Audra, who has taken Lola’s job, discovers that Lola may attempt to poach the client before Mythos Wines gets a chance. She informs her boss, and the two fly out to meet Hazel in person.
Max plans to take Lola camping for the night after taking her on a wine tasting tour of their winery. Lola is overjoyed when she samples the Vaughn Winery’s incredibly expensive bottle of wine from a well-known winemaker. She discovers that Max has a distinct palate and an astute approach to wine that she did not anticipate, but she also informs him that Hazel appears to be the brand’s sole representative. This irritates Max, and he feels compelled to tell the truth about the brand’s partners. He does not, however, tell her right away.
When it’s time to retire for the night, Max surprises Lola with the same $200 bottle. They share a kiss while she is surprised and feels special. Lola is giddy with joy, but Max feels terrible the next morning. When he eventually speaks out, Lola is astounded to learn that Max is Hazel’s brother and that he is the one who is her partner in the Family Wine Company after cleaning the internet of known relations to her. The firm has two partners and he is one of whom has superior taste and knowledge. Lola feels deceived, but Max assures her that he is still the same guy and believes in her, regardless of what others say.
They return to the mansion to find Calder and Audra seated with Hazel, much to Lola’s amazement. Frank Calder goes behind Lola’s back to make a bargain that Hazel enthusiastically accepts. Lola is taken aback by the obvious ambush and approaches Frank to confront him. Frank informs her that the company is not the same and that if she accepts the new job, she will be paid twice as much with significant bonuses. A bribe for greater torture, and Lola is well aware of his deception. Lola respectfully declines, but also hands Hazel an empty wine bottle on which she has drawn a portrait of Sybilla Vaughn (the Vaughn family’s ancestral founder of the estate) to serve as the new face of the bottle.
Lola has forgiven Audra after they both return home. Audra is now employed by Lola’s company, Salud Imports, where she manages their clientele. Hamish King approaches Lola at a stand where she is selling her merchandise and expresses his admiration. With Vaughn Wines, Hamish believes he gave her the perfect lead and she botched it. Max appears in a suit and tie, much to Lola’s astonishment, and responds in the negative to his question. Once they learned who Frank Calder was, Lola learned that Vaughn Wines and Mythos Wines had split. When Max forgives Lola, he chooses her to be the one to import his wines all over the world. But Max has also returned to confess his feelings to Lola and they both kiss to mutually say they want a future together. A very happy ending of Lola and us girls drooling from this side of the screen.
Final Words
The picture is a delicacy, with characters who blend nicely and make the colors pop on screen, allowing us to taste and savor each frame as one would wine. We watch an ambitious woman making her way through the vineyards and farm life to motivate us to never give up on our aspirations and to take each route and chance that comes our way gently. Life may be challenging at times, but there is always hope at the end of the tunnel, and the films elegantly bring everything full circle.
With a charming plot that everyone will enjoy, the wine and visuals are worth viewing, and Lola’s passion is contagious as a story character. She is the saving grace in any situation, good or bad, and no one can take their gaze away from her. If you’re looking for something to see over the weekend, the film comes together well. I’d raise a glass to the warmth of character and color of each frame.
“A Perfect Pairing” is a 2022 Drama Romance film directed by Stuart McDonald.
