London Conrad St. James Hotel.
Beneath a gray sky, rain was falling beyond the windows. Inside the grand ballroom, dozens of round tables had been arranged at regular intervals, and on the white tablecloths lay pristine sets of wineglasses, ice buckets, and scoring sheets side by side.
At each table, a Chair, an aide, and an assistant to serve the wine stood by.
Christopher White sat quietly in the waiting room, watching the live feed on a monitor, an entry confirmation sheet with participant numbers written on it in his hand.
Echelon 2005.
Sylphide 2005.
Both bottles went into the cooler with only barcodes attached. No labels, no names, no indication of origin... Only the aroma and lingering finish when poured into a glass would prove the identity of these wines. He was fairly tense, but none of it showed on his face.
Thomas asked in a low voice beside him.
“Are you excited?”
“We’re here to promote, not to win awards.”
It was exactly what he had said before, but Thomas did not look discouraged. His eyes shone as he said,
“Still, there’s no harm in getting a good result.”
“Haha, that’s true. Even so, don’t forget that promoting Redwood and building connections for our company are the most important parts of entering this competition.”
It would be good if the wines they had submitted performed well, but forming good relationships with the various distributors and wineries participating in the competition, then sourcing and distributing good wines in the future, was what mattered for the company’s future.
Suddenly, Christopher’s gaze turned toward the monitor. In the footage, the judges were taking their seats at the judging table one by one. Britain, France, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia... judging by their nationalities alone, the Old World and the New World of wine had gathered in one place.
The glasses were lined up in three rows, and the lights were lowered slightly.
The competition had begun.
Exactly nine o’clock in the morning.
The first session, New World Cabernet Blend – Vintage 2005. Echelon 2005 was there.
Chair Peter Dawson lifted a glass and brought it to the tip of his nose. After quietly taking in the aroma, he gave a brief nod.
“It has good balance. The boundary between black cherry and spice is distinct.”
The French judge beside him swirled his glass and said,
“The minerality is impressive. The oak isn’t overpowering. There’s a refined structure to it.”
The female judge from New Zealand smiled faintly.
“And yet the texture is firm. It feels more European than tropical, wouldn’t you say?”
The scores were written on each of their sheets.
Between 91 and 94.
That was top-tier. But the judges soon shifted their attention to the next wine and continued the judging.
Lunchtime, at the hotel’s first-floor restaurant. People from wineries, distributors, and other related companies participating in the competition had gathered in small groups to eat.
“American wines are particularly strong this year.”
“I heard there are rumors that the DWWA favors California?”
“Haha, I suppose the Judgment of Paris still isn’t over.”
Christopher, who had been eating quietly, tried hard to suppress the smile that was forming on its own. As a wine critic, he knew very well just how good Echelon and Sylphide were. That was why he kept telling himself that there was no need to be overly pleased by other people’s evaluations, trying to calm the excitement rising within him.
“Excuse me... are you Mr. Christopher White?”
A woman approached him as he ate. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and wore a black off-shoulder dress. Her strong British accent left no doubt that she was British.
“Yes, that’s right, but...”
“It’s a pleasure. I’m Eliza Wadsworth. I’m the representative of Wadsworth & Co. Wine Merchants in London.”
After shaking her hand, Christopher gestured to the seat across from him. She did not decline. She sat down opposite him and smiled.
“I heard you brought Sylphide and Echelon, wines said to be quite hot in the States these days, so I hope you don’t mind my being a little forward.”
“Of course not. I’ve heard a great deal about the reputation of Wadsworth & Co. for a long time, so the honor is mine.”
Wadsworth & Co., a traditional wine distribution company in London with seventy years of history, was not a name Christopher, who was both a wine critic and a distributor, could possibly not know.
Even though it was a company with quite a long history, the fact that she, who did not look particularly old, was its representative made it obvious that her parents must have passed it down to her when they were still young.
“As far as I know, you work as both a wine critic and a distributor. Is that correct?”
“Yes. I love wine so much that my life has been with wine.”
“Hoho, my life has been with wine since my grandparents’ generation, so that doesn’t feel unfamiliar to me. The truth is, I’ve been interested in American wines for quite some time. Even now, a considerable number of American wines are being sold in Britain, and among them, the most impressive would have to be the wines from Napa.”
“Mondavi must be the one selling the most, I imagine?”
Eliza let out a light laugh.
“That’s right. And when the results of the thirtieth-anniversary Judgment of Paris re-tasting came out this time, interest in American wine surged rapidly in Britain. To be honest, there were quite a few British people who felt secretly gratified by the results of that event.”
“I understand. Emotions from a long history must still remain.”
“... In any case, last year’s event left a deep impression on us, so interest in American wines has grown, and we’re looking for more varied and newer wines. Among them, the Echelon you brought, Mr. Christopher, makes me feel that I simply must experience it at least once.”
“Was Sylphide not to your taste?”
She waved her hand.
“I’ve already had it in New York. It felt like a wine in which the strengths of Pinot Noir had been condensed to the extreme.”
“Ah—”
“I expect its results in this competition will be more than good enough as well. It’s just that I haven’t experienced Echelon, so I’m even more curious about it.”
“Unfortunately, the winery is not large, so three thousand cases were all there was.”
“Exactly.”
“Even knowing that, you’re interested in the distribution rights for Echelon and Sylphide?”
She composed her expression and spoke in a serious tone.
“First of all, there’s almost no information about the winery, so I’d like to hear a little. I can’t import something unless I know something about it.”
As the one holding the distribution rights, it was by no means wise for Christopher to tell her everything. He did not hold something like a ten-year exclusive agreement, so trusting the woman in front of him and chattering on about every last detail would certainly not be good for the company.
But if he kept his mouth firmly shut, no deal would ever happen. So he had to find the perfect balance.
“Redwood Winery is a new winery without much history, but its technical capabilities are outstanding. Of course, being in Napa Valley, it has excellent terroir, but it isn’t a place that makes wine relying on that alone.”
“I know they contract-vinified Sylphide. Since they’re a Napa Valley winery making wine from Russian River Valley grapes, that would be the only way.”
“That’s right. However, the vineyard they own itself isn’t large. Even adding everything together, would it reach sixty acres? Since it’s such a small operation, I don’t think production will increase beyond three thousand cases for the time being.”
Eliza frowned at the bad news.
“Oh dear... I see.”
Even if the wines received good results this time, it meant there would be almost no quantity she could import, so she could not help but feel disappointed.
“If you’re looking for other wines instead, I may be able to introduce some to you.”
Perhaps she was a coldheaded businesswoman, because she immediately waved her hand.
“No. Wines with a different feel aren’t difficult to find. If there are any wines you’d like to import from Europe, I can connect you. If you ever need anything later, please feel free to contact me at our company email address. If it’s a proposal from you, Mr. Christopher, I’ll consider it first.”
It was truly formal, and it placed no burden whatsoever on her.
“The same goes for me. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
After Eliza Wadsworth left the table, Thomas, who had kept his mouth firmly shut beside Christopher the entire time while only watching the situation, spoke.
“She just said what she wanted to say and left in a flash. It feels like she’s openly looking down on us. ‘Please contact me by email’...”
“She has a tremendous number of connections in the wine industry, and it’s a place with a lot of capacity. If she hadn’t experienced Sylphide herself, she probably wouldn’t have been interested at all. It’s only because of that that she came to ask about Echelon in person.”
“Then you deliberately told her three thousand cases was the limit?”
“That’s also the truth.”
He picked up his fork again and muttered with an unreadable look in his eyes.
“For now...”
---
A few days later, I stood in the middle of the Silver Oak farm I had acquired and looked at the grapevines that had already grown as high as my chest, or even higher. It was a sight that made me smile on its own.
“Wow—how did you do this so well? It really is different.”
Chloe exclaimed in admiration as she looked around the farm. The cherry farm’s variety had also been changed, and the pear farm had been completely plowed over from a tomato farm before trees were planted, so I had brought her along to show her, thinking it would be helpful to her.
“It’s all my blood and sweat. Money too, of course.”
“It’s hard to believe there was a wildfire here. And the grapevines are in such good condition, too. They’re young vines, so you can almost feel their vitality. But they haven’t been planted that long, so how did they grow this tall?”
“When you plant Cabernet Sauvignon seedlings, if you cultivate them well for more than a year, they climb the stakes up to about 1.5 meters. The thickness of the stems also becomes about as thick as a thumb. Right now, they’re at just the right level.”
When I tapped the lower part of a stem with my finger, it gave off a solid, hollow thunk.
“Because their nutrition is good, they do feel like they’re growing a little faster than elsewhere.”
“That one over there even has grapes on it. Grapes are already coming out?”
“Those aren’t proper grapes. They’re more for checking the condition of the farm than for any commercial value. Next year, some grapes can set fruit, but it’ll only be a test harvest, and starting the year after that, we should be able to produce just under one ton per acre.”
“Did you do the soil exactly the way you told us?”
“It’s a little different from that. Biochar compound fertilizer... you remember when we made a ridiculous amount of charcoal back then, right?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“That, and in Napa Valley, the To Kalon area around Oakville is famous, right? So I also laid gravel in the soil here to improve drainage, like in that area.”
Chloe was startled and opened her eyes wide.
“The whole place?”
“Not the whole place. See how the grapevines are lined up in straight rows? I created the soil along these lines. It isn’t perfect, but I’ve made it reasonably similar. I also spread biochar along the grapevine rows.”
“Ah... that’s amazing. So you’ve basically set this up completely.”
“When it comes to farming, the land is incredibly important. To Kalon is famous partly because it’s gravelly loam with excellent drainage, so I imitated that and laid down as many microorganisms as possible. I think I’ll only know how this turns out after a few years pass.”
At my explanation, Chloe crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil, and let it run through her fingers as she felt its texture.
“Looking at it from the outside, it doesn’t seem hugely different, but it’s fascinating.”
“With soil like this, people usually think it must be extremely fertile, but surprisingly, that isn’t the case.”
“Huh? Really?”
“If it’s too fertile, the grapes don’t come out with the feel you want. Grapes are really fascinating. Water is like that too—being a little lacking is what makes them high quality.”
Chloe tilted her head, then soon smiled softly.
“It’s just like people. Rather than someone who has everything, it feels like someone who was lacking a little in some way, and worked hard to achieve something, ends up becoming a good person.”
“That’s right. That’s what makes it fascinating.”
Just then, my phone vibrated noisily. When I answered, the voice was extremely familiar.
“Brian! The results are out!”
At Christopher’s somewhat excited voice, I found myself looking at Chloe.