Who could possibly resist a 'Who-Dunnit' - especially when the call to sleuth came on an otherwise dreary Saturday evening in February, way out West on the very edge of the moody Pacific ocean at Sonoma County's secluded Dillon Beach?
Everyone was a suspect when murder was on the menu as SoCo Central Casting pulled off a perfect pairing of colorful characters with a criminal stash of top-notch county vino.
Suspects in "A Taste of Wine and Murder" were one Otto Von Schnapps, German wine merchant here in Northern California wine country to take part in the Valley Wine festival and to purchase vast quantities of wine from Underwood Estates; Academy Award nominated Actor for her unforgettable role in Fatal Flaw and wine country native, the marvelous Marilyn Merlot; rascally manager of Underwood Estates, Ralph Rottingrape; his wife - Tiny Bubbles; rival vineyard proprietress Hedy Shablee; Vito Santini, aka Papa Vito - 81-year-old Italian vineyard worker.
To set the stage, this tour of the otherwise peaceful North coast wine country with its rolling, cool-climate vineyards and picturesque wineries centered on a small, ocean front cabin overlooking Dillon Beach. As the apparent annual wine tasting festival was in full-swing elsewhere, the body of local vineyard owner Barry Underwood was found hidden beneath his wine cellar. Barry had been missing for six long years, but with this grizzly discovery came a host of fresh clues with which to solve the mystery.
It was a vintage murder, no doubt about it. And, naturally, being the inquisitive kind, I just had to know 'who did it'!
Not me, of course, you know I'd never partake in such dastardly pursuits and besides, conveniently casting myself as non-suspect Bonny Lass called for the ravishing revival of one terrific, long, tartan thrift-store skirt that had made its first official Sonoma County appearance last month on Burns Night. My reason for being there at the time of Barry's body being discovered was as mere vacationing novelist from Scotland. The fact that I'd had just a wee too many tipples in the vino department earlier had subsequently led to an innocent and impromptu nap in the midst of all the action. Little had I known that the razor-sharp (fellow non-suspect) FBI agent Bud Wizer would haul me in for questioning. Things like this just never happened back home. I put it down to those crazy Californians!
This particular Murder Mystery party game was a golden oldie from the 'to-do' section on the bookcase, having never quite found the appropriate time and place to produce. On-line versions appear to be the way to go in today's convenient click and download era.
Must not tell you who, in fact, 'did it', except to say that in retrospect, the script was a little confusing at times (although, given the convergence of a wine and murder theme figuring out 'who did it' might have been somewhat less of a predicament prior to the first corkage).
As a murder-mystery dinner party newbie, I'm tempted to concoct my own script. Based on real-life characters from the hood. Though who to kill off would be a bit of a predicament - better stick with fiction, I suppose.
Should the concept of a murder-mystery dinner party tickle your fancy, I'd recommend that you take a thorough look at the complexity of the rules of the game prior to selecting a package. Find yourself a group of fun friends that you can depend on to dress the part and fully participate and you might uncover much more than fictitious dead bodies, but a whole lot of laughs and a novel way to unwind.
Thanks and kudos due to the intrepid Anja for indisputable weekend travel spot expertise and her new-found negotiation skills in scoring sweet home-swap stays in some of the world's most scenic locations.
Hah! Loved reading this. A great way to start the week. Do you think it may be made into a BBC series? Perhaps "The Next To The Last Detective"?
Posted by: Frank Simpson | Monday, February 22, 2026 at 10:36 AM