Under The Vines – Divabetic

Season 3 of one of my favorite Acorn TV shoes, Under The Vines, tackles the challenges of adult-onset blindness. The blindness of the owner of the neighboring vineyard, Hilary (Catherine Wilkin), is worsening. What Hillary is experiencing isn’t just a great storyline in a TV drama; it’s more common than you think.

One of the leading causes of blindness in U. S. adults is mismanaged diabetes. Diabetes Retinopathy is a condition caused by diabetes, which disrupts the body’s ability to convert food into energy and can damage the eyes.

Many people with diabetes don’t realize they have it until organ damage has occurred, so regular health and vision check-ups are essential.

Hilary struggles to accept her condition and ask for help. She is stubborn, willful, and narrow-minded, much like many people struggling with worsening health conditions. She flatly refuses her rival, Miranda’s offers to take her to the doctor, clean her house, and help run her vineyards. Of course, Miranda has ulterior motives for helping Hilary, but that’s another story.

If you’re concerned about your vision, follow the advice of healthcare collaborators on how often you should go for exams. Always contact an eye care provider when you have a change in vision or something wrong with your eyes. Wear your prescription glasses and contact lenses when necessary.
If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar levels tightly managed, and manage your blood pressure if you have high blood pressure.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. They cause the eye’s lens to harden and turn yellow. In the US, nearly 20.5 million people over 40 have cataracts.

The type of treatment available depends on your condition. Providers can treat some forms of blindness with medications or glasses but can’t treat others, such as those where your eyes are missing or completely damaged. In these cases, your provider may recommend visual rehabilitation. Vision rehabilitation aims to enhance visual functioning to meet your goals and improve your quality of life.

Actors Rebecca Gibney and Charles Edwards star in Under The Vines as two city slickers who inherit a failing vineyard, Oakley Vineyards, in rural New Zealand. The only problems are that neither of them has ever done a hard day’s work—and they despise one another.

Under The Vines is a fun, easygoing watch.

My mom and I are watching Acorn TV’s Under The Vines series. It’s an excellent drama-comedy about two city slickers, Daisy Monroe, portrayed by actress Rebecca Gibney and Louis Oakley, portrayed by actor Charles Edwards, who both inherit a failing vineyard in rural New Zealand. The only problems are that neither of them has ever done a hard day’s work- and they initially despise one another.

Both of them are experiencing financial, social, and existential crises. They become interested in the winery’s future but frequently don’t see eye-to-eye. Furthermore, a neighboring vineyard wants to buy their vineyard, Oakley Wines, and isn’t happy that the inexperienced newcomers might stay.

What I like about the show is that the storylines tackle the complexities of modern life with humor. For example, Daisy’s best friend, Griffin ‘Griff’ Galway, is a closeted gay Australian famous international actor who chooses to hide his identity but then has to deal with the consequences.. Griff confronts Daisy about how selfishness has stopped her from finding long-lasting love. We rarely see the depth of friendship between a heterosexual woman and a gay man on screen, and if it is, it’s usually for laughs. This show digs deeper and shows how two chosen family members offer tough love. Daisy and Griff aren’t afraid of being honest with each other about the other’s shortcomings, and they love each other for it. They sleep in the same bed and are comfortable with each other’s awkwardness, inconsistencies, and imperfections.

Struggling with coming to terms with your sexual identity can be challenging for your health. Research shows that LGBTQAI+ people have unique health disparities and worse health outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts regarding diabetes care and education. We spotlight LGBTQAI+ people living with, affected by, and at risk of diabetes on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast with music from Indigo Girls. Podcast guests include The Flood Girls & The Small Crimes of Tiffany Templeton, Author Richard Fifield, Mutha Chucka, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Throughout the podcast, we will feature music from their Indigo Girls album courtesy of SONY Music.

Watching Under the Vines also piqued my curiosity about winemaking. How couldn’t it? There are so many beautiful panoramic shots of the vineyard and countryside.

How do growers and winemakers know when grapes are ready for harvesting?

Many growers and winemakers still rely on sugar readings to decide when the grapes are ripe.

My friend, who works for a winemaker, said every winemaker is different. Most rely on the grapes’ sugar and acid levels and by taste. The winemaker she works for wants to make high-acid wines, so we pick early. Acid and sugar levels are inverse so the riper and more sugar in the grapes means less acid. Winemakers can fix it by adding acid back into the juice after they have been picked. You can also add sugar in some places (in others, it’s illegal). The winemaker my friend works for makes natural wine, so they don’t add anything, which makes the picking decision even more important!

Additionally, I’ve read that winemakers rely on technology to know when to harvest the grapes. They’ll take a portable refractometer into the vineyard and measure sugar levels. The higher the sugar, the riper the grapes. They’ll look for pH and titratable acid (TA) levels in the lab.

We’re talking about living well with type 1 diabetes, alcohol’s effects on blood sugar levels, and our love for ‘all things Italian’ on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast with musical inspiration from Dean Martin.

Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti and was later nicknamed “The King of Cool.” His big break while performing as a duo with comedian Jerry Lewis, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes later in life at 71.

Podcast guests: Fran Carpentier, Mama Rose Marie, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. This podcast will feature music from The Essential Dean Martin album courtesy of SONY Music.

Tag: Under The Vines

Under The Vines: Adult-Onset Blindness

Acorn’s TV Show, Under The Vines Sparks Alcohol & Diabetes Discussion