Chase, lacking of staff, needing to owe $50,000 in property taxes, who, tries to sell all his grapes before harvest time, only to get Angela to buy them below their retail price. Chase chooses to sell them, after Gus told him that another buyer is interested in paying above their price for his grapes. When Angela learns about the business deal, she chooses to purchase the man's mortgage from the bank, so he can drop a deal with Chase, around the same time The Giobertis decide to sell their house in New York, to stay on board.

After Ed McKay, a member of the County Board of Supervisors, is assassinated, Chase is encouraged to run for the office. When Chase begins campaigning against Angela's virtual monopoly of the water rights in the valley, she does everything in her power to see Chase defeated. Despite this, Chase wins the election. After Emma is caught shoplifting in a jewelry store, Angela threatens the owner that she will destroy him if he decides to prosecute.

Chase begins to make inquiries into the circumstances surrounding his father's death. Angela, in an attempt to foil Chase, has Philip mislead Chase into believing he might inherit Falcon Crest. However, Chase doesn't fall for her trickery. Following a party at the Giobertis, Cole's friend is killed in an auto accident after Cole refuses to drive him home. Angela attempts to force Lance to marry Melissa, who instead has become deeply involved with Cole. However, when Melissa learns she is pregnant, she tells no one.