Whether Mark came to the winery or not was of no concern to me; I focused all my attention on bottling.
The bottling line had already been thoroughly cleaned. Once the stainless-steel pipes were connected to the tank and the automatic filler, ruby-colored liquid began flowing through the silver tubes. The machine whirred as it lined up the bottles in a row, filling them at a steady pace with precisely measured wine.
“Wow...”
Chloe, watching from beside me, drew in a breath. The cherry wine inside the clear 750ml glass bottles glittered like jewels, and the air inside the winery filled with a rich fruity aroma.
For today, instead of a 0.65μm filter that would remove bacteria and yeast to a sterile level, I’d set it up with a polishing filter. The intent was to remove only turbidity while preserving as much aroma as possible.
“Good.”
The bottled wine slowly moved along the conveyor belt. The moment the long 45mm natural cork was driven into the neck of the bottle with a thump, I found myself smiling. A capsule was placed over it and smoothly sealed by the heat tunnel.
“Now the label.”
Armando carefully operated the labeler with white-gloved hands. On paper with the texture of white linen, the red brushstroke and elegant signature caught the eye.
CERASIA
Beneath it were the wine’s identity and production year—[CHERRY WINE ‧ 2004]—and, as a subtle bit of terroir information, the phrase [Redwood Winery Napa Valley, California]. And of course, the required government warning: [Contains Sulfites (meaning the wine contains sulfites (sulfur dioxide, SO₂))].
On the back label, I also wrote that the cherries came from the Harris Farm in Brentwood, fulfilling Frederick’s wish.
“Cerasia... isn’t it really nice? It feels like it’d pair perfectly with Greek food. Even the name is totally romantic.”
“I think so too.”
At Armando’s soulless agreement, she furrowed her brow slightly, but soon gazed lovingly at the finished bottle.
“You know what? Those ten tons of cherries were harvested from the exact area I managed. So that means it’s made from my cherries. Isn’t the color so pretty?”
“I think so too.”
“......”
I stared quietly at the two of them, lost in their chatter, and said,
“We have to stack all 8,000 bottles by tomorrow. Right after bottling, the wine has been shaken up and stressed, so normally it needs to stabilize in storage for at least about two weeks. These have to go out after fifteen days. We don’t have time.”
At my warning, Armando spoke while packing the finished bottles into cases, as if asking what I was talking about.
“Can you see my hands? You can’t, can you? And I’d appreciate it if you realized the one who’s been talking nonstop is Chloe, who’s standing next to you doing absolutely nothing.”
“Chloe?”
“... If we sell it individually too, should I try doing some sales on the side?”
“No need. Just sit there.”
The automatic bottling machine kept running without pause, and I handed off the work I’d been doing to the workers, watching for a while to make sure they didn’t make mistakes. Doing all of this by myself would be extremely inefficient.
Just then, Chloe, who had been watching from behind, poked me in the side and jerked her chin, gesturing that she wanted to talk for a moment. So when we stepped outside the winery, Chloe put both hands in her pants pockets and said,
“You said you were getting an investment from my dad?”
“Ah... I was planning to expand the facilities, but before I could even bring it up, your father suggested signing a long-term contract. I’d already been thinking I needed to secure raw materials stably through a long-term contract with a suitable cherry farm, so I figured it worked out well. But then your father brought up one hundred tons?”
“From our perspective, a hundred tons isn’t that big a portion. If he could, he probably would’ve wanted to give you over two hundred tons. Our annual harvest is a thousand tons, so...”
“I know. But I’d already been thinking our facilities were too small. I was planning to make money later and expand them, but since your father happened to say that, I asked if he’d be willing to invest if we tied it to a ten-year long-term contract.”
That was true. I had already been thinking about expanding the facilities for a long time.
Redwood Farm, built up not only by the previous owner, Mr. John Anderson, but by his father before him, was only about fifteen acres in size to begin with, so the winery itself couldn’t help but be small. In Korea, fifteen acres would be considered a fairly large farm, but in America, calling it tiny would be just about right.
I didn’t know when it would happen, but in the end, to make big profits from a vineyard, you had to make wine, and it was only natural that the larger the winery, the greater the profit.
The problem was that expanding winery facilities cost an enormous amount of money. Even receiving seven hundred thousand dollars would be far from enough.
For example, there was a record from around the mid-1990s of a Napa Valley farm digging underground caves and building large-scale facilities, including a production building, at a construction cost of over twenty-five million dollars.
Some might ask why anyone would invest that much money into something like that, but put another way, it was an example that showed just how tremendous the profits from Napa Valley wine were—and why Napa Valley vineyards were, on average, more than four times as expensive as those in other regions.
“Then we’ll keep doing business with our farm for the next ten years?”
“That’s right. Why?”
Chloe suddenly wriggled her body, gauged my reaction, then blurted out,
“Then I was thinking... maybe you could give our farm a lot of help.”
“Hmm?”
“Think about it. If the quality of our cherries improves and production goes up, that’s good for you too.”
“I’ll admit that if the quality improves, the quality of the wine goes up, so that’s good for us. But is there anything good for us if production increases?”
If the other party had been Frederick, I wouldn’t have asked that question, but because it was Chloe, I threw it out playfully. Chloe’s eyes widened, and she raised her voice.
“Of course it’s good. If production goes up, we can lower the supply price.”
“Oh? Is that so? But won’t the supply price be fixed in the contract? With the unit price rising by a certain percentage every year?”
Apparently she hadn’t thought of that, because she paused for a moment, then planted both hands on her hips.
“Then we can add it to the contract. If you help increase our farm’s production, we’ll lower the supply price. How about it?”
Honestly, that was a little tempting. We’d have to buy one hundred tons of cherries every year for $110,000, which was a huge sum, easily over a hundred million won in Korean money.
However, my feelings would likely change depending on whether they would simply reduce the supply price or offset the supply price itself with the increased production. If it was only a slight reduction in the supply price, I naturally had no intention of helping.
“I think I’d have to discuss that with your father.”
“Really? Then it’s not completely impossible?”
“Well... nothing in this world is impossible.”
“Great! Come over to my house later.”
“Sure, why not.”
I remembered that, if nothing else, Chloe’s mother was a pretty good cook.
After talking with Chloe like that, and spending a couple of hours checking on the workers, I saw a luxury SUV come in through the farm entrance down below.
“He’s here.”
Mark Harrington of Harrington Farm in Sonoma County had arrived. Wearing a stylish pair of sunglasses, he leisurely made his way up the farm.
“We met yesterday, didn’t we? Good to see you.”
“Welcome.”
I naturally shook hands with him.
“Where is your father?”
“Inside. Come in.”
I guided him in. Dressed in a white shirt and neatly pressed pants, he shook hands with Dad and sat down at the small table in the office.
“It’s good to see you again like this. But... may I ask what brings you here today?”
When Dad asked, Mark was just about to answer, but when he saw me sitting quietly with my hip against the table behind Dad, he pointed at me and said,
“We’re about to discuss business between adults.”
Before I could answer, Dad stepped in.
“Ah, my son is practically the one actually responsible for running the winery. We always discuss things together. So there’s nothing strange about him listening to today’s conversation as well. Especially if it’s a business matter.”
“Ah.”
He nodded with a subtle expression. Then Dad added one more thing.
“And as a matter of etiquette among Asians, we do not wear sunglasses during business meetings. If we can’t see someone’s eyes, we can’t trust them.”
Mark looked startled for a moment, but immediately took off his sunglasses and said,
“I’m sorry. The sunlight was so strong that I must have kept them on without realizing it.”
In truth, even in America, wearing sunglasses during a business meeting was often considered rude because the other person couldn’t see your eyes. Dad had specifically mentioned Asia out of consideration for his face.
Whether he had been wearing sunglasses indoors because it was truly a mistake, or because he’d intended to hide his gaze and gain an advantage in the negotiation, I couldn’t know.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Mm... The truth is, the reason I came back to Redwood Winery today is because I have a business proposal to make.”
“What kind of proposal...?”
“I’ll be direct. We’d like to buy Redwood Winery.”
“Pardon? You want to buy this place?”
“Yes. Ah, but I don’t mean that we intend to buy all rights outright. We would like to buy half the shares of Redwood Winery. And as investment capital, we’re offering five million dollars. In addition, if the farm has any loans, we would take on about half of that debt.”
Five million dollars, at the 2004 exchange rate, was a little over five billion won. It was money most ordinary people would never touch even if they saved their whole lives, and even here in America, it was a considerable sum.
“Let me say again: it’s half the shares. You would receive five million dollars in a lump sum, clear out half of your farm’s debt, and still take half of the farm’s profits every year. For life.”
For most immigrants, it was an indescribably sweet offer, enough to make their hearts flutter the moment they heard it. Of course, our Redwood was not included in that “most.”
Dad had already talked things over with me, and because of the excitement he’d felt at the tasting, selling shares in the winery was something he couldn’t even imagine. So he waved his hand with a very relaxed smile.
“I’m sorry, but we have no intention of doing that. None at all.”
“From what I know, you’ve only been here a year since acquiring it, and farming is never easy. As you saw with the recent wildfire, it involves considerable risk. The same goes for wine. You’re aware that the price of wine per gallon has been falling for three straight years, aren’t you? No one knows how far it will drop. But with our enormous capital, we can withstand those risks and pursue long-term growth—”
“No. We’re not interested.”
At Dad’s firm answer, Mark straightened his back.
“I know you’re confident in your wine, but the facilities here are small, and there’s a limit to your growth. If you want to gradually earn money, expand the facilities, and get real capital in your hands, it will take at least ten years. We’re offering to move those ten years forward for you.”
“...”
“Don’t forget that wine prices have been falling for three years. Cherry wine may put cash in your hand right away, but the Pinot Noir will have to be entrusted to a custom crush facility for at least a year and a half. Probably around two years. After paying that rental fee, how much money do you think you’ll actually have left?”
That must have sounded fairly threatening. The estimated rental fee for more than twenty thousand liters of Pinot Noir over roughly two years was over three hundred thousand dollars, and I could feel Dad’s shoulders tremble slightly. So I lightly cut in.
“Really? I don’t think so.”
Mark’s brow furrowed. He was displeased that a kid who knew nothing was interrupting while adults were discussing business. But at my next words, his merely furrowed face gradually stiffened.
“You know the movie Sideways was released a month ago, right? It’s a movie about wine, and I heard Pinot Noir sales have already started to rise little by little because of it. Then it seems like the price per gallon will go up soon too...”
“Uh, well? That’s just... temporary curiosity...”
As he floundered, clearly caught off guard by an unexpected topic, I shrugged.
“Let’s wait and see. Whether it’s just a slight increase from passing curiosity, or... whether it rises enough to influence the market.”
“......”
“I’m curious too. I wonder how much the price of Pinot Noir that kept falling will be...? It’s not like it’ll go up a huge amount or anything, right? Hahaha!”
“......”