You know how when you’re scrolling through selections to watch on TV, and you quickly scan the two-sentence descriptions of the shows and think “Nope…Yep…Maybe” and then move on? Well, I’ve been skipping over a series on Acorn-TV for a while now. It’s called Under the Vines, and whoever wrote the blurb didn’t do this delightful dramedy any favors so I’m really glad we decided to give it a try.

I mean, how would you react to a description like this? “This dramedy follows two unlikely city slickers who inherit a failing vineyard in rural New Zealand. Despite neither having ever done a hard day’s work in their lives and both despising the other, they must somehow make the vineyard successful so they can sell up, split up, and get out of there.”

Kind of a yawn, right? But this three-season, incredibly funny and touching show is anything but a yawn. Let’s just say that if you loved Northern Exposure or Brokenwood, you will totally fall in love with Under the Vines.

Yes, it does begin with two city slickers (Daisy and Louis) who inherit the rather shabby Oakley Vineyard on the South Island of New Zealand, and at first they just want to be rid of it and each other. But circumstances intervene, and along the way viewers learn to appreciate this unlikely pair, and are introduced to a quirky cast of folks that enchant, and keep on enchanting for three seasons.

At first, Daisy and Louis both seem like a waste of time–she’s a party girl from Sydney and he’s a recently disbarred lawyer from London. But much to their surprise, they are both having personal growth spurts, and eventually we find ourselves in the company of a couple of really good folks.

Their vineyard includes two employees, a Maori vintner named Tippy and a gorgeous handyman named Gus who has got to have the most innocent face I’ve seen in a long time. Tippy is the real talent of the place with a gift for coaxing the best from the grapes in her care, and using them to blend award-winning wines. Gus is something of a happy Yoda, dropping profound and funny aphorisms while he literally keeps Oakley running.

The townsfolk are quite the eclectic bunch. There’s the nudist next door, the anxious couple who invite Daisy and Louis to be the Heart (not god) Parents to their on-the-way twins, a banker who’s obsessed with his (live) prize-winning turkey, and a 15-year old hustler named Rowan who can sell you anything from marked cards to T-shirts emblazoned with a photo of a shirtless Gus with the legend “hot tractor guy.”

It’s a testament to the acting ability of the whole cast and the spot-on writing that Under the Vines never slides into silly. It’s absurd and genuinely funny, yes. But never trite.

And there’s a whole lot of terrific scenery to enjoy as well.

It’s a three-season, 18-episode treat available on Acorn if you subscribe (there’s a lot of great mysteries to be had on this streaming service) or you can do pay-per-view on Amazon or AppleTV.

So open that bottle of red, lay out some cheese and good crackers, put your feet up, and forget about the rest of the world for a while.

Kia pārekareka ki a koe.