Get ready for a whole new vintage of true crime.
I'm Chris Walker, host of the new podcast Blood Vines.
Available exclusively on Wondery.
Blood Vines is a full bodied podcast that uncorks the never before told story of the Licciardi family, one of the most powerful wine dynasties in California history, who almost brought down the entire industry over a bloody battle for succession.
Grab a glass of your favorite wine and join me as we dive into a story that has notes of fraud.
And betrayal capped off with a big murder.
I'm about to play you a clip from the first episode of Blood Vines.
You can listen to all episodes right now on wondery.
Cheers.
June 11, 2021 It's a stifling hot day in California's Central Valley.
The air feels thick and heat shimmers above the ground, but the area I've just walked into is cold, clinical, bureaucratic.
I pull out my phone to record a voice memo.
Okay, so I just got to the San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse to view the case exhibits.
We're going to go through them in the order that they were presented at trial and we'll see what comes up here.
I'm in a private room off the courthouse's second floor lobby and spread out before me on tables are envelopes, bags and boxes.
A legal clerk named Margarita stands among them, wearing gloves.
She doesn't want me to record her while she gives instructions, but they are as follows.
I'm not to touch anything.
I'm not to take photos.
She will handle each piece of evidence so I can observe it.