In the vineyard, clusters of dark grapes are waiting to be harvested.
I see.
Now it was clear why the two of them were so surprised.
The grapes this time are sparkling. It’s the same as the grass in the pasture. This is what happens when the grapes are of particularly good quality.
“Cedie-sama, what is going on with these grapes?”
“Hmm…maybe it is vintage year?”
On Gandalcia, we can harvest in three days, so I guess it should be called vintage week?
No, it’s not that often that special crops are harvested….
In that case, should it be vintage month?
It will be interesting to see how much of a difference there is. I couldn’t taste the grass, but I’m grateful to be able to try the grapes directly.
“Let’s taste it.”
The moment I picked one grain, the juice in it burst out.
Hoh~, this looks promising….
I put the grape in my mouth, careful not to let any more juice drip out.
Delicious!
The sweetness and aroma are much better than the previous grapes.
“The juice is thicker than usual……”
Even the taciturn Pino has a smile on her lips.
“If we make wine with these grapes, I’m sure that it will be much more delicious! Let’s do it today!”
All of us nodded in agreement.
✲✲✲
After nine days, the aging of the wine prepared with sparkling grapes was completed. I did not taste it this time, so I don’t know how it turned out yet. This batch was stored in the large hole, so it matured perfectly.
I decided to take it out of the barrel today.
I don’t know where they heard it from, but the islanders are all here. What’s more, each one had their own wine glass in one hand. Nowald-sensei and Lulu also came with them.
“Guys, what’s going on? Why are you all holding a wine glass?”
I pretended not to understand, so Upa spoke on behalf of the others.
“Cedie, don’t be so mean. We all heard you’ve made some amazing wine this time. We are not asking for a glass full, just let us have a taste, well, just half a sip. That’s it!”
I stopped teasing them.
“I’m kidding. Of course we’re all going to taste it. I think this one is going to be amazing.”
I used a long dropper to pour wine into everyone’s glasses.
“Well then, let’s toast to the prosperity of the island and everyone’s health with some vintage wine!”
The wine turned out just as expected, no, it’s even better than I expected.
“Oi oi oi, how can we put a price on this!”
Upa covers his forehead with his left hand and shakes his head.
It looked like he is very tangled.
Lynn is super excited too.
“This is an exquisite delicacy that you might not even find in a high-end restaurant in the Capital!!”
“Really? Then, how about 10,000 crown coins for one bottle?”
When I suggested that, it was denied by everyone in the room except for Char.
“Eh~, what should be the appropriate price then?”
“Hmm, how about asking a wealthy person for advice? Someone who knows a lot about wine could give you a fair price.”
I see. What Lynn said is reasonable.
But who is this rich man?
Alexei-oniisan is rich, but I think if I showed him something like this, it would be taken from me for sure. He’s such an unreasonable Earl, who says what’s mine is mine and what’s my brother’s is mine as well.
Wait…. Speaking of an Earl, there’s also Earl Simpson, Eugenie’s father!
Earl Simpson is a fair man, and I’m sure he’ll give me a fair price for it. I’ve also heard from Eugenie that he knows a lot about wine. Conveniently, this afternoon, Eugenie will be here to attend Nowald-sensei’s lecture.
When she goes home, I will ask Gian to take me with them.
After Nowald-sensei’s lecture, Eugenie and I went to Earl Simpson’s house.
“Father is picky about wine but I’m sure he’ll appreciate Cedie’s wine. He complimented your wine when he had it last time.”
“This one is better than the one before.”
I am confident, but I am still nervous in front of the Earl.
When I was ushered into the waiting room, I honestly confessed to Earl Simpson that I was worried about the price of the wine so I am here to ask his opinion.
“You priced the wine we had last time at 5,000 crown coins? I think that’s too cheap.”
“Well…. then I suggested that we price this one at 10,000 crown coins this time, but the manager and the head chef at the auberge objected to it. They said that 10,000 crowns was too cheap.”
“Hoh~, so this one is more than that huh.”
“I have come here to ask the Earl, who is a wine connoisseur, to make a decision, so please help me.”
Earl Simpson gave a wry smile.
“It’s still bright outside, but with you asking me this way, I can’t say no then. Alright, let me have a sip.”
The Earl asked for a wine glass. As the Doritos, the head butler, opened the cork with graceful dexterity, the Earl said to him,
“Just a little. I still have some afternoon work to do.”
Earl Simpson is a modest man, so he doesn’t go to work while drunk. I’m sure he turned a blind eye to his principles for me.
A small mouthful of wine was placed in front of the Earl.
“Hmm, it got a nice color, reminiscent of a beautiful garnet.”
After saying that, the Earl brings the wine glass closer to his nose and enjoys the aroma coming from the wine.
“This is……”
Surprised, the Earl shook the glass wine, swirled the wine around and then he brought the wine glass closer to his nose again.
“Excellent!”
So far, the review looks good.
I nervously watched the Earl’s movements. Earl Simpson also looks nervous, but was I imagining it?
Oh, the Earl is trembling as he puts the glass of wine into his mouth.
Sure enough, this one is indeed a fine wine huh.
“Doritos, pour me some more. More than before is fine.”
After taking another sip of the wine that Butler Doritos had poured, the Earl turned to me.
“I get why the manager and the head chef at your place rejected your price. There’s no way this wine is worth 10,000 crown coins. I can’t even imagine how much it would actually cost.”
“Is it really that good?”
“It tastes better than even the vintages of Chateau Priabec, which is said to be the best in the world. If word gets out, any wine lover will definitely want this.”
Earl Simpson drank the last drop regretfully.
“Cedie, you brought me two bottles of wine today, right?”
“Yes, I brought it with me with the intention of giving them to the Earl.”
“Thank you. However, I’m thinking of taking one of these to the Capital.”
“Ah? Taking it to the Capital…. uhm, what are you planning to do with it?”
“I’m going to have my acquaintances try it and get their opinions as well. Everyone will be happy to drink it for sure. We can hold a private auction there. I’ll raise the price as much as I can, so you can look forward to it.”
Earl Simpson winked playfully.
“By the way, how much of this wine do you have in stock?”
“It’s about a hundred and sixty bottles, but I’d like to keep some of them. I want to give some to my second brother, Paul-oniisan as well. I can only sell a little over 100 bottles.”
“Hahaha, Cedie-kun is indeed not a greedy one. Oh, let me tell you, vintages from Chateau Priavec can go a million a bottle.”
“That much!?”
“Yes. So, are you sure you’re only going to sell 100 bottles?”
“That’s right. I’ll only sell 100 bottles.”
Money is important, but the happy faces of Upa and the others and my brother are even more important.
“Understood. Then I’ll leave the packing of the wine to you. I swear on my pride that I won’t disappoint you.”
I think it’s better to leave this to the Earl. But I do feel bad asking him to go to that length for my wine.
“….But, I think you don’t need to go all the way to the Capital for me after all.”
“No, I have an errand to run anyway. You must have heard it, haven’t you? The wedding of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, is coming up. There’s a lot of things to do to prepare for that.”
Come to think of it, I think I read it in the newspaper.
Oh-, then since it’s just a side trip, there’s no need to be shy, I guess.
I decided to leave the matter of selling the wine to Earl Simpson and then I went back to Gandalcia.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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