Kisses Sweeter Than Wine is the 5th episode of Season 3 of Frasier.
Synopsis
WHAT WHINE GOES WITH ANGER – Frasier may have to scratch his dream of becoming the head of the wine club after Niles accidentally gouges Frasier's floor on the eve of an important wine tasting. When Niles has his contractor, Joe, promptly make repairs, Frasier is floored by the ensuing mess and chaos. Also, Niles must contend with the fact that Joe and Daphne have taken a shine to each other.
Plot

Niles trying to speed up the process
Frasier is hosting a wine tasting at his house in hopes of becoming one of the wine club's new officers. Frasier and Niles decide to move Martin's chair to the other room, and Niles drops it on Frasier's hardwood floor, causing a scratch. Frasier, worried that his guests will notice and deride the scratch, hires a contractor to swiftly remove it. The contractor, Joe DeCarlo, comes to help Frasier but he discovers faulty wiring. The contractors continue discover serious problems with Frasier's apartment and more work is being done, and Frasier needs to rush them out before his party.
Starring
- Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane
- Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon
- David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane
- Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle
- and John Mahoney as Martin Crane
Guest starring
- Tony Carreiro as Joe DeCarlo[1]
Co-Starring
- Peter Siragusa as Bruce
- Kev O'Neil as Electrician
- Kevin Weisman as Painter
Guest caller
- Brooke Adams as Marilyn
Trivia
- This is the first time in the series that Daphne's abilities as a cook have been called into question. Until now, she has been presented as being quite capable in the kitchen. Several years later, her lack of culinary skills would become a great source of humour.
- The title is based on the song "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" written by The Weavers in 1950 and was a hit for Jimmie Rodgers and Frankie Vaughan.
- The celebrity caller in this episode is Brooke Adams who, as Marilyn, called to say she was homesick for her little hometown in Wisconsin. While Adams is herself not from Wisconsin, her husband Tony Shalhoub is.
BEHIND THE SCENES
- The line where Roz brings up Frasier's hitherto derision of the wine club was a continuity correction by Kelsey Grammer, who found it incongruous that Frasier would suddenly join up.[2]
- Also corrected by Grammer:
- A line in another scene puts a pained look on Grammer’s face. Frasier says to Niles, whose nose bleeds whenever he tells a lie, For God’s sake, stop bleeding or I’ll give you something to bleed about. “It’s so un-Frasier,” Grammer protests, “it’s extraordinary.” He had the same response when the director suggested that Frasier put down his grocery bags on his expensive sofa: No way. So the groceries go on the floor, and the writers come up with a new retort: The truth, Niles. Only the truth shall make you clot[2]
Notes and references
- ↑ First appearance of Joe DeCarlo, Daphne's boyfriend.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Beyond Therapy (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY • November 1995)