Ep 9. Sour Grapes

In the ninth episode of season two of Mystery Diners, titled "Sour Grapes," the host Charles Stiles helps a winery owner in Los Angeles named Bret solve a mystery of missing wine bottles and unsatisfied customers. Bret has noticed over the past few weeks that some of his most expensive wines are disappearing from his inventory, and he suspects that one of his employees might be stealing them. He also received multiple complaints from his customers about the bad quality of his wines. To save his business from financial ruin, Bret calls Charles and his team to investigate the matter.

Charles and the Mystery Diners team set up hidden cameras around the winery to see if they can catch the culprit in the act. They also send in a trio of Mystery Diners disguised as wealthy wine buyers to sample Bret's wines and report back on their experience. The team discovers that Bret's assistant manager, Lisa, has been stealing wine bottles and reselling them to a local liquor store for profit. They also uncover that Lisa has been sabotaging the quality of Bret's wines by adding water to them to stretch his inventory.

Charles confronts Lisa and Bret about the theft and sabotage, and Bret is devastated to learn that his trusted employee has been stealing from him and jeopardizing his business's reputation. Charles offers Bret some suggestions on how to improve his winery's security and management practices, and Bret fires Lisa on the spot. The Mystery Diners team also helps Bret to improve the quality of his wines by recommending some changes in his fermentation process and grape selection.

In the end, Bret thanks Charles and his team for helping him to solve the mystery of the missing wines and bad quality, and for preventing further financial losses. He also promises to implement the changes suggested by the Mystery Diners in order to provide his customers with the best wine experience possible. Charles reminds Bret that he should always keep an eye on his employees and their actions, and that he can always count on the Mystery Diners to help him with his business problems.