Chapter 1726

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Chapter 1726: The noble rotten grapes (2)

The vineyard of the Golden Oak winery was several times larger than that of the West Winery. It occupied two hills and a Valley. Rows of Semillon grape trees, which had been replanted last year, were neatly arranged and extended into the distance. It was a spectacular sight.

A worker was waiting at the entrance of the vineyard. When he saw Old West and his group, he immediately greeted them.

Xia ruofei also recognized this worker named Harrison. Harrison used to be an employee of the West Winery and was one of Old West’s more capable workers. He also had a lot of experience in growing grapes, so Old West had sent him here to be in charge of harvesting grapes.

“Harrison!” Old West came up and asked,”where are those grape trees?”

“Uncle Wester, you’ll be able to see it after crossing this Hill. That area was originally prepared to be harvested in the next two days.” Harrison said.

“Go! Take us to see it!” Old West said.

“Uncle Wester, is there a problem with the grapes?” Xia ruofei asked as they walked.

“It’s fine,” Old West said with a smile.”It shouldn’t be a bad thing. We’ll know when we go there.”

Under Harrison’s lead, the group followed the path over the hill and soon arrived at the area Harrison had mentioned.

Xia ruofei’s eyesight was very good. He immediately noticed that the grapes in this area were different from what he had seen in the past few days.

The grapes had become a little shriveled, and their color was no longer golden, but reddish – Brown. There seemed to be some ugly stripes on the skin of the grapes.

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Xia ruofei’s first reaction was that the grapes were rotten. He felt that it was a pity and at the same time, he felt a little guilty. He thought that Old West might have delayed the harvest time because he was waiting for him to come to Australia. Furthermore, the scale of the grape plantation at Golden Oak winery was huge, which led to the situation of not being able to harvest the grapes in time.

To Xia ruofei’s surprise, when Old West saw the ugly grapes, he quickened his pace and almost pounced on them.

Then he moved very close to observe it carefully. He picked a dry grape and looked at it repeatedly. In the end, he even put the grape into his mouth and chewed it, then swallowed it along with the skin, not caring if it was dirty or not.

Xia ruofei and Feng Jing felt a chill when they saw the grapes. After all, there was a layer of mold on the outside of the grapes! Isn’t this a little too hardcore?

Old West and Harrison looked at each other and said,””That’s right! It’s the noble fungus! I’m familiar with this smell!”

Harrison was also very excited, and said,””Uncle Wester, the grapes in this large area are all like this. Does this mean ... The winery is going to make a fortune this year?”

Old Wester laughed out loud.”I’m sure boss Xia will be very happy to hear this news!” He said.

Xia ruofei was confused and asked,””Uncle Wester, are these grapes rotten? Didn’t we lose a large sum of money? Why did Harrison say he was going to be rich?”

Feng Rao also found it hard to understand. The grapes in this large area had been reduced to such a state. It was obvious that they couldn’t be used anymore, so why was old West still so excited? it was as if he had just picked up money.

Old West laughed out loud and said,””Xia, these grapes are not rotten. To be precise, they are infected with mold!”

Xia ruofei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,”isn’t that the same thing?” We can’t use them anyway, so we can only let them rot on the trees!”

Old West quickly waved his hand and said,”no!” no! no! Xia, not only can these grapes be used to make wine, but they can also be used to make the most top – grade noble rot wine!”

Xia ruofei was an amateur in the wine – making industry. He did not have any special taste for wine, so he had no idea what expensive rotten wine was.

However, Feng Rao’s eyes lit up when she heard that. She asked,””Uncle, you’re saying ... The expensive rotten wine is made from these grapes?”

Old West laughed and gestured for Xia ruofei and Feng Jing to come closer to the grape Tree. He pointed at the grapes and said,””Look, the mold on the surface of these grapes is noble rot. Only white grapes infected with this kind of mold can be used to make noble rot wine!”

Old West was in a very good mood, so he introduced the noble rot wine to Xia ruofei and Feng Jing.””In addition to the high sweetness, the noble rot wine also produces Glycerin and special fragrances that make the taste smoother, such as the rich fragrance of dried fruit, honey, raisins, and Noble rot. The noble rot wine is known as ‘liquid gold’, and was once praised by the King of France, Louis XIV, as ‘the wine of the king, the king of wine’.”

“So powerful!” Xia ruofei couldn’t help but say in surprise,”it looks like these grapes can’t be used to make wine ...”

Old Wester laughed and said,””That’s why the expensive rotten wine is called the ‘surprise in the ashes’!”

Hearing this, Xia ruofei felt that it was quite appropriate to say that the originally juicy grapes had long lost their moisture and were shriveled. The color was also very ugly, like ashes.

Old West then explained the origin of the expensive rotten wine to Xia ruofei and Feng Jing, who couldn’t help but be amazed.

Many beautiful things often originated from accidents, and the noble rotten wine was a typical example.

It was said that in the grape harvest season of 1650 A. D., The grape farmers of Tokai were delayed by the war to pick the grapes in November. The late – picked grapes became dry and even covered with a layer of mold, but the winemakers who did not have fresh grapes to use moldy grapes to make wine. What was unexpected was that the wine that year was fragrant. The sweetness of honey, flowers, and preserved apricot was refreshing. The body was full, with high acidity, sweet but not greasy, and it was very tempting.

The occasional delay in picking brought a new fate to the tokkai noble rot wine, and from then on, it headed towards glory.

The color of the noble rot wine was like gold, and the price was also like gold. In 1811, the noble rot wine of the chate ‘Yquem winery was auctioned for a high price of 117000 US dollars per bottle, and in 1787, the noble rot wine was auctioned for 100000 US dollars. Even the most common noble rot wine would cost hundreds or even thousands of Yuan.

Such an expensive price was due to the harsh conditions for the formation of noble rotten grapes.

For example, there should be a moist fog in the morning, which was conducive to the growth and spread of the noble rotten fungi, which would drill small holes in the grape skin; In the afternoon, there would be dry and dry weather, which could inhibit the excessive growth of the noble rotten fungus and prevent it from developing into a malignant gray mold. At the same time, the dry and dry environment would make the water in the fruit evaporate from the small holes, and the sweetness, flavor concentration, and sourness of the grapes would naturally be improved.

At the same time, this situation must happen to mature grapes, otherwise, the decay would also develop into gray mold.

In addition, the production cost of noble decay wine was also very high. It had to be picked purely by hand, and the fermentation time was very long. In addition, the output was rare, and it was easy to attract birds to steal it, so the high price was reasonable.

After listening to the introduction, Xia ruofei realized that the climate in Hunter Valley was not suitable for the formation of noble rotten grapes. To Old West, it was a surprise from God that such a large area of noble rotten grapes could be formed.

Old Wester laughed out loud.”Originally, these grapes were supposed to be harvested as soon as they ripened. But because summer was delayed in Saipan for two days, the whole harvesting plan was pushed back a little. I didn’t expect to have such a surprise after the delay!”

Xia ruofei smiled and said,”I was feeling quite guilty at first!” Now it seems that it’s a good thing!”

“It seems like miracles happen wherever there’s flight. We’ve already gotten used to it!” Feng Rao chuckled.

Old Wester laughed out loud, and then immediately asked Harrison to organize people to pick these noble rotten grapes.

The noble rotten grapes had to be harvested by hand because not the whole bunch of grapes would be infected, so they had to be picked one by one. This was a very delicate job and had to be completed by experienced workers. Old West also had to check on the spot.

Xia ruofei’s heart skipped a beat and he said,””Uncle Wester, didn’t I ask for two barrels of clear grape juice? Help me change one of the barrels to these expensive rotten grapes!”