of any old port in a storm. How does throwing out bad wine incriminate "my brother?" so there was no air conditioning in the wine cellar, that alone would not cause a man to suffocate and kick the bucket. And if Rick died of the strike on the head, what good is it to turn off the air in the first place.

Well...Rick (you.. ) did not die from the clunk on the head. You can hear him moaning a little after Adrian ties him up....so he wasn't dead yet.
The throwing out of the wine just proved to Columbo that Adrian must have shut off the air conditioner/air supply to the wine cellar.
Yes...that is a looonnnnng stretch...and this episode took a lot of liberties in the crediblity area...but I still like it a lot..even with all it's flaws.

Cassa is correct.

Technically the "ventilation system is off.

The implied meaning however muddled is that the oxygen ran out. Hence when he was SCUBA diving it looked like an accidaental suffocation.

I've often wondered in this episode how "sealed" and small that wine vault really was, and how much oxygen would be used at what rate?

At any rate was dead from lack of air for the story's sake.

Yes, I agree with Bob. The suffocation thing ties in with the lack of air in the wine cellar, and the scuba diving.

What is really ridiculous is that turning the air conditioning would NOT make the "temperature go way up, to over 150 degrees" and oxidize the wine.
Wine cellars were invented millenia before air conditioners and they were designed to remain relatively cool. If it really was 109 degrees outside (two days after it was in the 40's with rain),
the temperature in the cellar might get to 90.
This episode has more ridiculous things in it than any other. Imagine getting a wet suit onto a body with rigormortis.

Imagine spending the rest of your life with that shrewish secretary!!!!

Shrewish, yes, but she could look hot if she tried...

Only when watching old movies !!!

yes, i think she looked very hot in that scene with her hair down waiting to watch 'this gun for hire'

Back to the original question:
When Carsini threw out the bad wine, it was a de facto admission after the restaurant scene that he knew his wines overheated. I can see Columbo saying, I just don't know how your'e gonna explain it sir. How did you know the ventilation was off unless you sir turned it off before your trip? You had the only access to all those expensive wines....etc, etc.

The wine the day of the wine tasting was not spoiled. Adrian or one of the other 3 men would have said so. The wine brought back by Adrian was still good. The wine had to be spoiled, the AC off in between those two times.

Joe

It's been a few years since I watched this episode, but I always thought the evidence was weak against Adrian; however, the prospect of his life with his secretary (Julie Harris?) made him confess to his crime.

Yea it's one of the least credible episodes but that's never been my criteria for an enjoyable Columbo. To me, it's all about the interaction between the villian and Columbo. In this regard, i've never understood the sympathy Adrian Carsini draws, from both viewers and Columbo. The man was a selfish indulgent ****** who squandered the family fortune, half of which was rightfully his brothers, and murdered him in order to continue to do so. His cold relationship with his secretary is another clue to his lack of any real emotion towards anyone but himself. I just don't see much likable about the guy. I do like the episode a lot though, because in spite of the incongruous treatment he recieves from Columbo at the end, it's an interesting character study of this type of person.

Sounds horrible but wouldn't the body start to decompose? Especially in that heat

...but Steve, the guy loved wine...he can't be all that bad...