One of the most satisfying and sneaky ways to take out a target in Hitman 3 is to poison their food or drink. This allows you to sit back and watch your hard-earned work pay off almost instantly. One of the challenges in the Mendoza level lets you do just that. This is the Notes of Hemlock challenge and requires you to “serve Tamara Vidal a poisoned glass of Pinot Noir. You will need a little bit of preparation and searching for items, but follow this guide, and you should complete it easily enough.
First, if you have any lethal or emetic poisons, you can put in your inventory during the planning phase or start the level in the Tasting Room as a server; this will save you some time. Don’t worry if you can’t do either of those, as we will cover the in-map options.
Starting off, go down the path that is below where Diana starts off the level standing over. There will be two gauchos. Take them out, steal one of their disguises and go down one more level to find a poisonous flower next to a cactus.
If you want to try and get the Hold my Hair challenge done, you can just hold onto this flower as is. If you’re going for the Tasteless, Traceless challenge, you will need to take this flower to the shed in the vineyard and put it in the scientific equipment to convert it to lethal poison.
Next, you need to grab a screwdriver. Make your way to the wine factory entrance, and to the left will be a barrel with a screwdriver sticking out of it you can grab.
Now you need to go into the barrel room and drop down into the walkway on the right side of the room. Use your screwdriver to take one of the metal plates off so you can enter the wine fridge. In here will be two people who will run for help if they see you. Interact with the console near one of the glass doors to turn the dark frost on and take both out. On top of the three tables in the fridge are three different wine types. You can grab one of each to get the Estate Wines challenge, but all you need for this one is the Pinot Noir to the right.
Now that you have the Pinot Noir, you need a server’s disguise if you didn’t start the level with one. The easiest way to get one is to go to the Tasting Room. There is a side room where you can flip the fuses and get one of the servers on their own to subdue.
Now you are all set to serve Vidal and Diana. You can put the Pinot Noir down at the bar in the Tasting Room and wait for them. If you are waiting a long time and they are not coming, you may be able to find them and convince Diana to say she needs a drink by getting close in your server’s outfit. That worked for us, but we cannot definitively say if that was because we had the disguise on or if it was pure luck that she said that as we got close.
When they arrive, press the button on the screen to serve wine as a waiter to Vidal. Move your camera to show the empty glass, and you can put the poison. You are in a server disguise, so it is not suspicious to put something in the glass. Diana will have the other wine on the bar, so don’t worry about poisoning her. Press the button on Vidal to serve her, and she will drink, giving you the challenge. Make sure you put the poison in before serving her.
If you put lethal poison in her drink, Vidal will drop dead. If you put emetic poison in, she will walk across the reception room to the bathrooms. Follow her and drown her when she is vomiting in the toilet.
