On an afternoon when the winter rain had briefly stopped, the door to Department Chair Thomas’s office slowly opened. The man who entered wore a well-pressed gray suit, and in one hand he carried a familiar bottle of wine.
“Professor, it’s been a long time.”
The moment Thomas lifted his head, what caught his eye was not the man, but the label on the bottle. Joseph Phelps Insignia 2001. A wine that was practically a symbol of Napa Valley, and the very wine that had become a hot topic among critics in recent years.
Insignia, a Cabernet Sauvignon–centered red blend, boasted a high level of quality with an average critic score above 95, and in terms of taste alone, it was said to be no less impressive than a Bordeaux First Growth. Even better was the fact that despite being such a fine wine, even highly rated vintages could be found for under five hundred dollars.
Judged by price alone, France’s Burgundy DRC (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, and the like) was staggeringly expensive. But Insignia, which produced thousands of cases every year, and DRC, which produced only a few hundred cases at most, differed from the start in supply, as well as in the tradition of centuries of history. It would be difficult, then, to weigh the quality of wine by price alone.
“Oh, Insignia, is it? What’s gotten into you today?”
“I thought I’d offer my New Year’s greetings a little early. I brought it because I know it’s a wine you like, Professor.”
The man who set the bottle down was Christopher White. Though he had made a name for himself in the financial world, he was also famous as a sharp-tongued critic when it came to wine, known for always delivering cool-headed assessments. Thomas welcomed him with a pleased look and gestured for him to sit.
“Well, I’m glad to have a student like you come visit me. What brings you here?”
Having happily secured the wine Christopher had brought, Department Chair Thomas asked with a generous smile.
“There’s something I’m curious about. Professor, have you ever heard of a place in Napa Valley called ‘Redwood Winery’? It’s somewhere I’ve never heard of, so I thought you might know.”
Thomas’s eyes immediately gleamed, and with a faint smile on his lips, he asked in return,
“Why there?”
Realizing at once that Thomas knew the answer, Christopher spoke with a slightly relieved expression.
“A little while ago, I went to a restaurant and came across a cherry wine made there. The name was...”
“Do you mean this?”
When Thomas suddenly took a bottle of wine out of the display cabinet and held it up, Christopher was startled.
“Oh? You have it? Cerasia.”
“Haha... This one is hard to find these days, isn’t it?”
“You can’t get it at wine shops. It only seems to be in restaurants and wine bars.”
“I saw the piece you wrote about Cerasia in the magazine. But as far as I know, it had already vanished before the magazine even went to print. There were only eight thousand bottles from the start.”
“You know quite a lot.”
“The son from that place is a student at our school. A freshman, but quite a striking fellow.”
Christopher reacted as though it were no great matter.
“If he’s a freshman, then... the winery owner is what matters.”
But Department Chair Thomas wore a peculiar expression.
“Well... normally I’d probably think the same, but he’s a little different.”
“What? In what way?”
“It’s hard to explain in words... Why don’t you go meet him yourself?”
Looking at Department Chair Thomas, who wore an unreadable smile, Christopher’s curiosity rose even higher. He knew there were almost no students Thomas remembered and evaluated in such detail, least of all mere freshmen.
---
Christmas passed without incident. In America, it was generally customary to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family, so my family and I also spent it at home, holding a modest little party.
As soon as Christmas passed, Chloe’s father, Frederick, contacted a company, got an estimate, and began installing drip irrigation—pipes, laterals, drippers, and all. I had thought he would agonize over it for quite a while, so even I was surprised by his drive.
Just because I had spent Christmas with my family didn’t mean I could spend the rest of the year that way. I gathered with my friends at Chloe’s house. The reason was that her house was spacious and good for a party, but the place she invited us to was not Deer Ridge Country Club, but a villa in Crockett.
Strings of small bulbs hung along the walls of her house, and the Christmas decorations that had yet to be put away shimmered and glowed quietly. A few candles had been lit here and there throughout the house, their gentle flickering making the cold winter air feel a little warmer.
“Having a party at your place is seriously amazing.”
Armando was the first to shout excitedly. He set the Behringer speakers he had brought from home in one corner of the living room and connected them to the CD player he had brought. Soon, Usher’s lively music rang out.
“Did you really need to bring speakers all the way to our house?”
“Your house might not have speakers on this level. Killer, right? Right?”
Armando swayed his body to the rhythm. Jacob nodded along, keeping the beat.
“Good song choice.”
“I’m a man who knows music. Brian! You brought wine for an occasion like this, right?”
I shook my head, then took a bottle filled with purplish wine out of my bag.
“Just one glass each for us.”
“Ooooh! I knew it... I knew you’d bring some!”
Jacob and Armando both went crazy and lunged forward. Chloe, meanwhile, ran to the woman who was cooking for us that day and brought back glasses.
“One bottle of wine for four people is a little harsh, isn’t it?”
Armando pointed this out to Chloe as she ran back with the glasses.
“Well, if it were you, you probably could have polished off two bottles by yourself even in high school.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Even back then, I barely drank. Though when Dad drank, I had a little beside him...”
It was illegal since we weren’t twenty-one yet, but it was something everyone tacitly accepted that college freshmen drank at parties. Sometimes, if you were caught by campus police or an RA, you could face restrictions, but it wasn’t something that led to any major punishment.
“But it’s not Cerasia, is it? What is it?”
“It’s something I’ve never let anyone taste before. It’s a wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon harvested on our farm.”
“What? Something that precious...”
“It’s still young. The balance is only just starting to settle, and Cabernet Sauvignon is supposed to be aged for a long time. This is just to liven up today’s party a bit, so don’t expect too much. One glass each, that’s it. Got it?”
“I know. One glass each... and you’re not even going to fill it all the way, are you? I know. So hurry up and pour it. How am I supposed to not get my hopes up?”
Excited, Armando stared as though bewitched at the decanter I was holding. Since this guy worked at a winery, he had been studying wine from time to time, and perhaps because of that, he said he had already tried quite a lot of wines despite not yet being twenty-one.
Of course, he couldn’t drink outside and always drank at home, but he was building up a fair amount of knowledge.
“Could this be as amazing as the Pinot Noir too?”
Naturally, Chloe was curious about the taste as well and cut in.
“It won’t be the same. The varietal is different, so the way it’s made is a little different too.”
“Either way, you made it, right? It’s wine made by Redwood Winery, which is getting famous enough to be featured in Wine Review West. How could I not look forward to it? Me first.”
When Chloe held out her glass first, Armando and Jacob yielded without a word.
Chloe took a sip from the glass I poured for her, then opened her already large eyes even wider and looked at me.
“What is this? You’re saying this isn’t finished?”
“If it feels that good to you, it’s because you’re still a wine beginner. Anyway, if you like it, I’m satisfied.”
“Me too, me too!”
“Hurry and give me some too.”
After I poured wine into everyone’s glass, the woman cooking for us brought out lasagna in a large pot.
“Eat this with it too~ I’ll bring steak as well, so wait just a little. And you know about the alcohol, right? Mrs. Amelia only said to enjoy it in moderation.”
“Yes~”
We hadn’t intended to drink more than one glass anyway.
“Mm... Ooh! This is good.”
Jacob had already picked up some lasagna with tongs and tasted it, then exclaimed in admiration. After that, everyone served some lasagna onto their own plates, tasted it little by little, and took a sip of wine.
“Kyaa~”
“Killer, isn’t it?”
“Perfect...”
The food kept coming, and the steak was so excellent it made me wonder if a chef had prepared it. After wiping out the food in no time, we sat in our chairs with pleasantly heavy bodies and listened to the music Armando had brought.
“We all worked hard this year. Let’s celebrate ourselves.”
At my words, Jacob was the first to bump fists with me and speak.
“I was the most grateful. Thanks to you, this year’s harvest came out well, and I think we can look forward to next year too. It still weighs on me that my father is sick, but he says he feels reassured because I’m doing well.”
“He’ll get better soon.”
“Thanks. What about you? Is working at Redwood all right?”
Jacob’s gaze turned to Armando. Grinning, Armando shrugged.
“I’m spending the best days of my life. I’m learning farm work, I can study, and I’m making money. It’s the best. Even Brian’s mother is a great cook. Her sandwiches are incredible.”
“And those sandwiches are just my mom roughly imitating a dish.”
When I added that bit of information, Armando nodded in acknowledgment.
“She’s an amazing person. Anyway, I’m going to earn money like this and buy my own farm, just like Brian bought his. I can definitely do it.”
“You’ll do well.”
As a sign of encouragement, I exchanged a handshake with him. Then everyone’s gaze turned toward Chloe. Sitting cross-legged on her chair, she spoke calmly.
“I think this year may be the year I changed the most. I feel like I matured a lot.”
“Because you met Brian.”
Armando cut in again, and surprisingly, Chloe accepted it without resistance.
“That’s right. It was. Even now, I’m studying a lot about farm work, and I don’t find studying at school annoying or boring anymore. Even physics and chemistry.”
“Oh-ho—hard to believe Chloe is doing physics.”
“Armando, you must not know, but I was always better at studying than you.”
“... Was that so?”
“Anyway, Brian, thank you. Thanks to you, I learned so much about farming. I thought I was just being forced to do it because Dad told me to, but after seeing and learning it firsthand, my thoughts changed. Next year, I want to become someone who can truly help.”
I nodded lightly.
“Redwood and the Harris family are in a strategic partnership, aren’t they? We’re all in the same boat. Let’s do well.”
At that moment, Jacob, who had been listening, cut in.
“Huh? What’s this strategic partnership? Is there something between you two?”
“Ah, that’s...”
When I was about to explain, Chloe cut in.
“It means the two families are becoming very close.”
“... That isn’t just what you think, is it?”
Jacob did not let it slide easily, and I explained in place of Chloe, whose face had twisted.
“I took on consulting for Chloe’s cherry farm. So we signed a contract for me to receive a portion of the profits that grow compared to their existing revenue.”
“Ah...”
“Because of that, Chloe has been frantically learning farm work these days. The farm is changing a lot too.”
At that, Jacob slammed the table and said,
“Me too! Do it with my family too!”
“Huh? You guys too?”
“Yeah. It’s possible with rice farming too, isn’t it? Right?”
“Well... there’s no reason it wouldn’t be...”
“Then let’s do it. How about it? Let’s make the contract terms similar too.”
“Sure, well... let’s do that.”
After finishing that discussion with Jacob as well, the four of us spent time on trivial little conversations. It felt as though the effort and achievements of the year had bound us a little more firmly together.
As midnight drew near, Armando looked at his wristwatch and shouted,
“55... 56... 57...”
“58! 59! 60!”
“Happy New Year!”
We clinked our glasses with the small amount of wine left and shouted. A clear sound rang out, and everyone smiled brightly.
In that moment, we could forget all the hardships and worries. The simple fact that I was ending the year together with good people filled my heart with warmth.