Christopher White returned to UC Davis after the review he had written on Aeschlon appeared in the October issue of Wine Review West.
“Hahaha! Come in. Good to see you, good to see you.”
“I’m a little hurt that you look happy to see what I’m holding, not my face.”
“Anyone would react that way at the sight of Insignia.”
The reason Christopher could bring Insignia so often was that, among the wines he distributed to Canada, Western Europe, and elsewhere, it was his representative bottle—high-end enough to present with confidence without being excessively burdensome.
After Christopher handed over the wine and sat down, Department Chair Thomas once again gazed at the Insignia with affectionate eyes and said,
“I thought you’d come next week at the earliest, but here you are already. You must have been quite curious.”
“…To be honest, I was.”
“Heh heh… I suppose Redwood Farm would make anyone curious. Even more so if they’d tasted Aeschlon. I read your review, too. Why lavish so much praise on a wine that’s only a year old?”
Christopher’s expression turned displeased.
“To be frank, I didn’t feel good when I went to Redwood Winery. Can you believe they turned half of those excellent grapes into vinegar?”
“Hahaha, that’s true. But did you know? That vinegar is so popular in California that people can’t buy it even if they want to. You couldn’t get your hands on it now.”
“…I still don’t like it.”
“Hahahaha! Spoken like a true lover of wine. What you don’t like is that someone with that kind of skill isn’t making more wine, isn’t it?”
“……”
Christopher wanted to say yes, but he knew the real reason he disliked it. The vinegar was an excuse. He simply hated the fact that a wine of that quality had been made by an Asian immigrant. But he couldn’t very well say that aloud.
“It’s all right. The reason you’re in your current position is because you have that level of passion.”
“Thank you for thinking so. But you said there was something you wanted to show me…?”
The reason he had come to the school today was that Department Chair Thomas had called him, saying there was something related to Redwood Winery he wanted to show him. Since Redwood had already released Aeschlon, Christopher wondered if perhaps Cerassia 2005 had already come out, but what Thomas carefully took from the bookshelf was a dark bottle characteristic of red wine.
“What is that?”
“Sylphid. A Pinot Noir Redwood released just yesterday.”
“Pardon? Pinot Noir?”
“Hm? What’s this? You went all the way to Redwood and didn’t hear about the Pinot Noir? Every famous restaurant owner around Napa has been waiting for this.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Last year, Redwood Winery held a tasting. When they released Cerassia, they also served a three-month-old Pinot Noir. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend. I only heard about it. They said the three-month-old Pinot Noir was so well balanced that they were stunned.”
“Then this is…?”
“That’s right, Sylphid. It may be another weapon of Redwood’s.”
Taking the bottle, Christopher gave a small exclamation of admiration at the goddess-like silhouette on an ivory background and the rose-gold typography. The elegance and delicacy suggested by the name Sylphid could be felt from the label itself.
“The label is good, at least.”
“I suppose it has a young sensibility. The wine industry does have its stodgy side.”
“May we taste it now?”
“That’s why I brought it. The atmosphere is far from ideal for just the two of us to drink it, but I was curious enough to overlook that. Ah, fortunately, I do have some cheese.”
Department Chair Thomas brought out a wine opener and cheese to serve with it. In the meantime, Christopher examined Sylphid’s label closely, his eyes gleaming.
Thomas chuckled softly and twisted the corkscrew. With a short pop, a subtle aroma spread through the air. Swallowing, Department Chair Thomas poured the red wine in a thin stream into crystal glasses.
Christopher slowly swirled the wine, letting it open naturally, then smiled and met Thomas’s eyes.
“Do you know this is the moment I enjoy most?”
“The moment of greatest anticipation. But if you don’t get what you expect, the disappointment is that much greater.”
“Then I have no choice but to give it a harsh review.”
“Hahaha! So that must be why you give harsh reviews so often.”
At last, Christopher raised the glass and brought it close to the tip of his nose. In that instant, his gaze wavered. Deep layers of raspberry and cherry, a delicate scent of violet. It was a Pinot Noir of a different texture, one that could only be found in a single vineyard from the Russian River Valley.
“It seems they did use top-quality grapes.”
“…I heard it was Russian River Valley, and I think so too.”
When he tilted the glass slightly and took a sip, Christopher’s lips trembled faintly.
A texture that flowed smoothly, fresh acidity, and a long, subtle finish. This was not simply a Pinot Noir from a new winery. Rather, it had a degree of completion that brought to mind the works of numerous well-established wineries.
For a long while, he could not put the glass down. Then, at last, he spoke quietly.
“I won’t publish this in a review.”
Thomas’s eyebrows shot up.
“What? Why not?”
Christopher hesitated briefly, bit his lip with a troubled expression, then opened his mouth.
“Because I want to distribute this. I need to sell it in New York. If I write the review and distribute it myself, it would be tantamount to manipulation. At the very least, it’s customary not to review wines I’m involved with. I’ll give up on Aeschlon since I already wrote about it, but I can’t give up Sylphid.”
“I see. But New York?”
“As you know, America is in the middle of a Pinot Noir craze. Aeschlon is excellent, but fundamentally, Cabernet isn’t as popular as Pinot Noir. Only those who can enjoy the weight of wine understand its value. But this is different. With the entire United States looking for Pinot Noir, Sylphid will… cause a sensation. New York, Boston, D.C.… I’ll mobilize my entire network and spread it from there. By the way, how much is this?”
Only then did he ask the price, and Department Chair Thomas burst into laughter.
“I don’t know. I received it for free.”
“My goodness… I imagine you don’t spend any money at all on wine, Professor. You got the Insignia for free today, too.”
“Do you know why I’m the department chair? That’s exactly why.”
Christopher immediately rose from his seat.
“I think I need to move right now. That Asian winemaker may have only made a few hundred cases again.”
He decided to forget his aversion toward Asians. Right now, he would think only about the wine.
“Hahaha, yes. Hurry along.”
“Is it my imagination that you look happy to see me go?”
“I’m sorry to say you’ve got it exactly right this time.”
Department Chair Thomas grinned and smoothly lifted his full glass of Sylphid.
---
After driving more than an hour to reach Redwood Farm in Napa Valley, Christopher practically ran up to the winery. He happened to meet the owner outside and raised his voice in greeting.
“Hello! I came by once before, though I’m not sure if you remember me.”
“Ah! That critic fellow?”
“Yes, that’s right. The reason I’m here is that you’ve released Sylphid, and I actually distribute wine. If you haven’t already contracted with anyone, I’d like to distribute Sylphid to the East Coast. Would that be possible?”
But Woody Choi, looking troubled, shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but when it comes to contracts, I always discuss them together with my son, so you’ll have to wait here.”
“Pardon? Ah… when would I be able to meet him?”
“It’ll probably take at least two hours. I’ll discuss it with my son later and contact you.”
In a situation like this, anyone who leisurely left their number and walked away had no sense for sales.
“No. I’ll wait.”
“Well… do as you like.”
In the end, Christopher returned to his car and waited blankly for about two hours. When he saw an old pickup truck enter the farm, he straightened up. Only after seeing the familiar young Asian man inside did his expression brighten.
“Hey!”
I was about to get out of the car and head up to the winery when I saw a man approaching while waving his hand, and for a moment I thought I was seeing things. But when he came closer and I confirmed he was Christopher, who had come before and left in quite a huff, I tilted my head.
“Hello… What brings you here…?”
“Ah, I have something to discuss. Let’s go up and talk.”
“Yes…”
When we went up to the winery, Dad saw Christopher coming with me and let out a faint laugh.
“This gentleman says he wants to distribute Sylphid.”
When I turned my head, Christopher looked embarrassed.
“That’s unexpected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were preparing a Pinot Noir?”
“You didn’t ask?”
“Then did you use the money from selling vinegar back then to custom crush Pinot Noir?”
“Of course. I’d originally intended to let you taste the Pinot Noir. There was a tasting barrel here in the aging room at the time.”
Remembering his rash behavior back then, Christopher wanted to punch himself.
“…I was too hasty. I’d like to apologize.”
Whether his straightforward apology was sincere or not didn’t matter. What mattered was simply that he wanted to distribute Sylphid.
“Come in first.”
When we entered the office, he sat in the chair in front of the table and brought up the main point with a serious face.
“I just came from drinking Sylphid in Department Chair Thomas’s office. And I thought to myself: this wine will explode on the East Coast.”
Dad and I silently looked at his face, and he continued explaining with enthusiasm.
“Do you know what the situation is like on the East Coast right now? I’m sure it’s the same everywhere, but because of Sideways, Pinot Noir is selling like hotcakes. Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, wine bars in Boston, political and business banquets in Washington, D.C.… all of them are looking only for ‘good Pinot.’ But the supply is nowhere near enough.”
He tapped the table with his fingers and continued.
“I already have a contracted distribution network. Four directly operated retail stores in Manhattan alone, two dealers in Boston and Philadelphia, and in Washington, D.C., I do business with a wine cellar frequented by federal lobbyists. This isn’t simply a matter of putting bottles on shop shelves, but of placing them directly on their tables. Politicians, lawyers, financiers… I expect each of them will end up with a bottle in hand, and they’ll fall in love when they see Sylphid’s goddess silhouette.”
Dad listened quietly, then asked,
“So you’re saying you won’t simply supply wine shops, but will handle brand positioning as well?”
Christopher nodded as if he had been waiting for that question.
“That’s right. This isn’t just about selling off bottles. I’ll make Redwood into a premium winery on the East Coast. New York chefs and sommeliers will remember it.”
I briefly met Dad’s eyes, then smiled and asked,
“Do you know how much it costs?”
“Yes, I heard the wholesale price is thirty-three dollars.”
In truth, the current price took into account the whirlwind caused by the movie Sideways; if not for that, it would have been a fairly high price for a Pinot Noir.
“Even for large-scale distribution, we have no intention of lowering the wholesale price.”
“That’s fine. How much volume do you have?”
Rather than the price, he was curious about how much stock we had. To him, that seemed to be the most important thing.
“If you’d come yesterday, we would’ve had about 2,500 cases available, but today, about 2,000 cases.”
“Five hundred cases went out in a single day?”
For other famous wineries, selling 500 cases in a day might not be anything special, but for a tiny little winery like Redwood, with only fifteen acres, selling 500 cases in a day was an enormous deal.
“It may be hard to believe, but there were quite a few shops waiting for Sylphid. And Pinot Noir is doing so well right now that I think they believe it’ll definitely sell as long as they bring it in.”
“…Good. Then I’ll buy the rest.”
This time, even I couldn’t help being surprised.
“All of it?”
“Yes, everything you have.”
He declared it with an intense gaze, like a gambler calling all-in at a betting table.