The Brokenwood Mysteries (NZ)

Howdy, neighbor. How's the vines?

Good... I think.

No help from me.

Oaks, blackberries...

grasses, hint of citrus, toasted coconut...

Ah, should be a long finish.

You can tell all that from a sniff?

- Didn't know you were a... - A wine snob?

And it's not a sniff. Better to say "the nose."

Learned from the best.

Ned James... grumpiest bastard you'll ever meet,

but also the best winemaker you'll ever meet.

I used to work for him.

- Hey, Ned. - Jared.

Ned James, Detective Mike Shepherd.

He just bought Gary McLeod's place.

Coppersfield. Yeah, nice to meet you, Ned.

Fancy yourself as a winemaker, do you?

I like a good Merlot.

Any idiot can grow Merlot.

Another city bloke growing grapes, eh?

Just what this town needs.

You're lucky. You caught him on a good day.

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

It is with pleasure that I introduce to you Paul Winterson,

head judge for this year's Brokenwood Wine Awards.

Paul.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, folks, another great vintage,

particularly the whites.

Some knockouts, some disappointments,

but one clear winner.

The gold medal goes to...

Bright Valley's Reserve Chardonnay.

Yes!

You beauty!

He didn't say my name.

Yeah, well, things don't always go as you expect.

- Mine was the best. - I know.

- It always is the best. - I know.

Bloody joke! Brokenwood annual sham show.

Whoo-hoo.

What do you think? Good decision?

I always thought Bright Valley wines were kind of average.

Looking forward to trying it.

Maybe Amanda James has dominated for too long.

Good excuse to keep sampling.

The deceased is a Paul Winterson,

a wine judge, ironically.

Oh, him.

You know him?

Saw him at the awards yesterday.

Made some people very happy.

No doubt shattered some dreams, too.

Hey, Paul.

Looking a little on the pink side.

Embarrassed by all the fuss, huh?

He was found dead in this big wine-vat thing here.

It's called a, uh... an open fermenter.

Holds 2,000 liters of raw wine.

Party in a tub.

How did he get here?

Car outside is rented under his name.

He was found at 6:30 a.m. by the winery manager

when he opened up.

This is Chris Chambers. He found the body and called it in.

I've taken a statement.

Mr. Chambers, this is Detectives Mike Shepherd and Kristin Sims.

Chris.

Hell of a way to start the day.

Yeah.

The place was locked up, as per usual?

Yeah.

Any other way he could have got in

other than through the side door?

No. Security's pretty tight.

His face... It was...

Distressing. We know.

We'll have someone talk to you about that.

- You're the winemaker, Chris? - Operations manager.

Amanda James is the winemaker.

Amanda.

This is Detective Mike Shepherd and, uh, Kristin...

Sims. Thanks, Chris.

It's such a waste.

Uh, death is like that, I'm afraid.

Oh. Yes.

No, I meant the wine. It will all have to go.

Well, yes. Yes, it would.

But you never know. Uh, Merlot, is it?

Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir with a hint of dead wine judge.

Could make for an interesting vintage.

Too soon?

That was a joke, wasn't it?

A poor-taste one.

Oh, no. I get it. That's funny.

Amanda, last night, you were...

Here.

With Paul.

So, uh, Paul Winterson was here with you last night.

- Why was that? - I invited him here.

- Because... - I didn't win.

Not even a bronze. What the hell?

Amanda, better luck next year.

Well?

Let's just say... your wine wasn't up to its usual standard.

But it was. It always is.

Wasn't. You had a bad year. Accept it.

Let it go, eh?

"Let it go." What does that even mean?

To let go, to... move on?

Oh. Well, I did. I went to Paul's motel.

You got it wrong.

Amanda, please.

What's going on?

Your wine was spoiled.

Erin, tell her.

It's true, Amanda. It was blatantly off.

Salty, putrid.

I didn't want to say it in front of everyone else.

Putrid?! Impossible.

You know my facilities are state-of-the-art.

I want you to come now, and I want you to see for yourself.

So, they came for an inspection.

What time was this?

8:42 p.m.

The pneumatic membrane presses.

50,000-liter automatic fermenters

with temperature control

as well as the open fermenters for the reds.

This is the same vintage as I entered into competition.

Pick a bottle, any one you like.

The Chardonnays are, of course, all close fermented.

It's all tested.

Nothing goes into the bottle that isn't perfect.

Wow.

Okay. This is... very good.

It is.

So you admit you made a mistake.

Amanda, the only mistake was that you got unlucky.

You delivered a bad bottle. End of story.

So, they tasted the wine, and then...

They left.

- In their car? - Yes.

- Which is parked outside. - Yes.

Which would suggest that they came back.

Did they?

I don't know.

What did you do after they left?

I went to bed. Alone.

Couldn't sleep

because Paul said that my wine was "putrid, salty,"

and I-I couldn't think of how that could have happened.

And I won't sleep again tonight till I figure it out.

Coupled with the fact that someone just died

in your winery.

Yes.

It's a shame, isn't it?

There's something you should see.

This records the security footage.

Not very well, obviously.

- Oh. - I take it you didn't know.

Uh, Amanda, no. Please, don't touch it.

Um, I can fix it. I have a soldering iron.

- Don't. You don't need to. - I'll take it. Thanks.

Oh, but it's broken.

I'm sure it'll still be of some use as it is.

To us, at least.

Okay. Mm.

Spicy notes.

Boysenberry, grapefruit.

And a hint of carpet.

She doesn't seem very cut up

about someone dying on her premises.

Shock will do that to you.

I've seen plenty of shock. That's not shock.

That's a complete lack of empathy,

like she doesn't understand what just happened.

That doesn't mean she did it.

Mm, would take the concept of sore loser to a whole new level.

Speaking of which, you get onto a list of all the other losers.

I'll take a look at the town hall.

See if I can get onto any more of that putrid wine.

You just want to try the winning stuff.

Well, nothing wrong with knowing what all the fuss is about.

Ah.

What?

The remainder wines go on sale for charity today.

It's a bit of a highlight on the Brokenwood calendar.

Oh.

Right, then. Time to be a killjoy.

We're not open yet.

- Oh. - Thanks.

For charity.

But I need it.

The rules are the rules.

Hi. Uh, Detective Mike Shepherd.

Oh, hello.