The episode starts in San Francisco before the action moves to Sonoma Valley, where Jessica is attending a funeral at the Garimaldi Winery. When a dead body turns up at the winery, Jessica begins to make connections between that murder and the death of the Garimaldi family member she was there to attend the funeral of.
Just the facts:
The episode opens with the murder of Paul Garimaldi, who was shot outside the Nob Hill Jewelry store in San Francisco. But a second crime takes place later on in the episode…
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
It was Lars Anderson, the owner of a winery that rivals the Garibaldis!Click to reveal the killer
It was Edgar Warner, the Garibaldi family’s lawyer!Click to reveal the weapon
It was two blows (one from the front) by a walking stick belonging to Felipe Paez!Click to reveal the location
It happened at night in the vat building at the Garimaldi winery!Click to reveal the motive
The killer had been embezzling funds from the winery, but he was also in love with Anna and killed to make sure that she didn’t end up losing the winery due to the financial problems he caused!Click to reveal the major clue
It was the fact that the killer had been keeping his right hand in his pocket to hide the fact that he got bit by Felipe’s dog at the time of the murder!Cast of characters (in order of appearance):
- Joseph Cali as Paul Grimaldi, a man who is killed while buying jewellery for his fiancee. This is Cali’s third and final appearance on MSW; he previuosly appeared in “The Sicilian Encounter“.
- Elizabeth Gracen as Michelle Scarlotti, Paul Grimaldi’s fiancee. This is Gracen’s first of two appearances on MSW.
- Lainie Kazan as Anna Grimaldi, a friend of Jessica’s who met her in Cabot Cove and the head of the Grimaldi Winery family following the death of her husband Sylvio.
- Robert Pine as Edgar Warner, the Grimaldi family’s lawyer. This is Pine’s fourth of five appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “For Whom the Ball Tolls“.
- Diane DiLascio as Alicia Grimaldi, the Grimaldis’ daughter.
- David Newsom as Henry Wilson, an employee of winery. This is Newsom’s second and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Family Secrets“.
- Eddie Velez as Pete Grimaldi, the Grimaldis’ adopted son.
- Ismael ‘East’ Carlo as Sheriff Serafio Zuniga, local law enforcement. This is Carlo’s third and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Day of the Dead” and “Double Jeopardy“.
- Gregg Henry as Lars Anderson, owner of a rival winery who is trying to buy out the Grimaldis. This is Henry’s five of six appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “The Big Kill“.
- Leon Singer as Felipe Paez, a local who sleeps on the Grimaldi land along with his dog, Bolivar, and sets rabbit traps for food.
Final thoughts and other trivia:
Scenes for this episode were filmed in Piru, California (which, unlike the fictional setting for this episode, is not located in Sonoma Valley). The fictional Grimaldi Winery house and grounds are actually Newhall Mansion (a.k.a. Piru Mansion or Cook Mansion) at 829 Park Street in Piru. Other outdoor scenes that take place on a bridge appear to have been filmed on a now-closed-off bridge that crosses Piru Creek near Center Street.
Murder, She Watched 