Yunding Ranch

Chapter 263

Lu Li was not in a hurry to leave Romanee-Conti Winery. They drove here by themselves, and the three of them were all drunk, so naturally they couldn't drive, especially Brandon, who had already fallen asleep in a daze.

The three stayed at the winery, and Nick warmly entertained them for lunch at the winery, and visited the wine-making workshop in the afternoon.The whole day passed like this.

Before leaving Romanée-Conti Winery, Lu Li decided to buy a few cases of red wine. After all, not everyone usually has the opportunity to enter this top winery.After Nick's recommendation, Lu Li bought one box of Lataxi, two boxes of Li Qibao and two boxes of Montrachet Garden.

Originally, Lu Li planned to buy a few more cases of La Tahi, but there were not many in stock at the winery; and Nick said that another batch of La Tahi would have to wait at least seven to ten years to reach its peak. Recommended for real wine lovers Those who buy it, but like Lu Li, who plan to taste it after returning home, it is not suitable.In the end, Lu Li had no choice but to give up.

Just these five cases of wine, each with twelve bottles, cost Lu Li 20 US dollars, converted into RMB, that is nearly 20.The price is really staggering, even more expensive than many ranch machinery and tools.It is hard to imagine that one day he will spend [-] RMB to buy a batch of wine.

However, Lu Li didn't feel bad at all, and the payment was extremely straightforward.The pleasure/feeling of squandering, as well as the delicacy of wine, the real ultimate enjoyment, obviously, there are still many places in life worth digging slowly.

Of course, the five boxes of wine could not be taken away. They had no way to transport them on the plane, but left an address, and the Romanee-Conti Winery was responsible for the transportation and sent them directly to Yunding Ranch.

When he learned that Lu Li actually had a ranch in Texas, and also planted Pinot Noir, Nick's eyes lit up, and he repeatedly said that when he went to New York to participate in the auction next month, he would definitely pay a visit if he had the opportunity.

Seeing Nick's magnanimity, Lu Li felt a little embarrassed. Although it is true that the column on craftsmanship is true, he will seriously write it as a serial. Today's harvest is indeed quite fruitful, but he first set his sights on Romanee-Conti winery. At that time, he had bad motives, "In fact, when I first contacted you, I hoped to learn from it. After all, my vineyard is also planted with Pinot Noir. When it comes to Pinot Noir, who can ignore Roman And Niko-Conti, isn't it?"

Lu Li's frankness made Nick laugh heartily, "It's not surprising. Your assistant, Tony, has a very deep understanding of Pinot Noir. He doesn't look like a journalist, but rather an apprentice winemaker." Lu Li was embarrassed by Nick's words. The other party had already seen through his own flaws, "Don't feel guilty, you are not the only ones doing this."

Lu Li couldn't help laughing at Nick's teasing. Obviously, the Romanee-Conti winery has experienced so many ups and downs, and has experienced all kinds of weird scenes.

"I'm waiting for your column now. You'd better be careful. If you're not satisfied, I'll replace your five cases of wine with a low-quality batch for you." Nick joked with a serious face .

"Haha." Lu Li nodded repeatedly, "It's fair."

In the evening, Lu Li and his party finally left the famous Romanée-Conti Winery. Brandon leaned on the window with a contented face, looking at the rolling vineyards outside the window, "Fourteen, tell me, our grapes will grow in the future." Is it possible to grow such top grapes and then make top wines?"

"This is our goal, but the decision is not in my hands. You should ask Tony." Lu Li sat in the driver's seat, and he recovered the fastest among the three.Tony tasted several other types that were not yet fully ripe in the afternoon, and Brandon was still a little dazed after sleeping for a few hours.

After being called, Tony turned his head and laughed. He has a good capacity for alcohol, so he is not drunk, but today he has been in a happy and excited state all day, and his words are a little more vague than usual, "Top Wine? I also want to make wine, which is my lifelong dream, to be precise, every winemaker’s dream. But, it’s not that easy.”

"Three points depend on craftsmanship, and seven points depend on raw materials." Tony opened the car window and looked at the sunset outside the window. The orange-red glow covered the entire grape hill, and the rich green showed an indescribable bright color. On the country road, they were the only car running, and there was a sense of magnificence towards the end of the world.

Looking away, Tony said with a smile, "This is how wine is made. We rely on the face of God to eat. As a craftsman, what we can do is very limited. In the brewing process, even if we achieve [-]% perfect It's still possible to make bad wine."

There are countless wineries in Burgundy, but there is only one Romanee-Conti. Is it because they have the most superb and top craftsmen?No, because they own the only piece of land that can produce Romanee-Conti.

"The variety of grapes, the land where it is planted, the rain and sunshine every year, this is the most important thing." Tony always had a smile on his face, "Actually, I just thought about whether to steal a Romanee-Conti But when the vines left the land, they couldn’t make Romanée-Conti. I’m sure there were a lot of people who stole their vines over the centuries.”

"I thought about it too."

"Me too."

The honesty of Lu Li and Brandon filled the car with laughter. After finally laughing, Tony went on to say, "A truly top-notch wine can't go wrong in every link. The environment of Yunding Ranch is too special, and we don't Know what kind of wine can be grown in that piece of land.”

Lu Li fell into deep thought.

The vines in Yunding Ranch are not high-end varieties; obviously, the land is not a sacred place. Although the wine brewed from the beech pasture is not bad, the sales volume is also good, and it has become one of the main sources of income for the ranch; I will forget that what really makes Beech Ranch famous is the horse farm, and the wine can only take a backseat.

So, what are his strengths?
The vines have been improved by the space spring water, but what is the effect? ​​Can it produce essential changes?Or just make some improvements on the basis?Or is there no change in quality at all, just an increase in production?Judging from the current harvest of the organic farm, Lu Li felt that the quality might improve slightly, and the amount of spring water irrigated was quite considerable, so the effect is worth looking forward to.

The same is true for the land. Before Tony started planting vines, Lu Li watered it every day. If he persisted for a long time, the improvement of the vineyard soil is worth looking forward to.This is even more worth looking forward to than the organic farm, because Lu Li knows the importance of the soil to the vineyard, and the frequency of watering has never dropped.

As for the weather, it was beyond Lu Li's control.What is the essential difference between the weather in Texas and the weather in Burgundy; whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for wine brewing; whether it has a positive or negative impact on the quality of wine... everything is unknown of.

However, the wines brewed from beech pastures were famous. Does this mean that the weather in the pastures is also suitable for the survival of delicate Pinot Noir?

"So, today we came to Romanee-Conti and didn't learn anything?" Lu Li twitched his lips and asked curiously.

"No, of course not." Tony shook his head repeatedly, "Grand wineries are still different, their management methods are not applicable to us, but throughout the production process, their control of details, especially Some parts of excellence are very important. I need to sort out the next step, there is too much information today."

"And you drank too much." Brandon's complaint made Tony unable to refute, dumbfounded and depressed, "Then you are going to lose your job? You don't seem to be helping at all, and you won't be able to help in the future." Looks like you're busy." Brandon said vaguely, but the meaning was very clear, Tony looked astonished, while Lu Li burst out laughing.

Tony stammered, "I... I am very useful, I can re-plan the vineyard, I know how to protect the grapes, and I am also the best craftsman in the garden during the picking and brewing process..." Tony became a little excited, his words stumbled, his face was flushed, he even turned around, twisted his seat belt, and said to Brandon behind him, "Three points depend on craftsmanship, three points! Maybe I can't reach 100%, but take a Two points is still no problem!"

Brandon pursed his lips, "You are two points, but I am three points in my major. So, you'd better start working hard now. Otherwise, the ranch can't afford too much squandering."

"Yes, I think so too." Lu Li said solemnly, and made up the knife by the way, "I spent twenty-five thousand dollars today, and I think the ranch is going to go bankrupt."

Tony opened his mouth wide and cast his gaze with aggrieved expression, but he didn't know what to say, and finally he could only choke out, "Fourteen..." The mournful cry made both Lu Li and Brandon break out. Laugh out loud.

Beautiful evening in Burgundy.

For the next ten days, Lu Li and the others stayed in Burgundy and went to a winery every day, especially those small wineries that were similar in size to Yunding Ranch.Every winery seems to be similar, but they all have their own habits. Considering that Pinot Noir in Burgundy is as delicate as the Princess and the Pea, the crises they face every year are different, and they need to go all out .This is a valuable experience for Yunding Ranch, which cannot be bought with money.

This kind of work is undoubtedly happy. Stepping on the morning sun, wandering in the green shade, enjoying fine wine, comfortable and lazy, casual and leisurely, every day is full of unrestrained and exhilarating.On this land, even the breeze blowing on the face makes people intoxicated, and they don't want to leave at all.

This also reminded Lu Li of Yunding Ranch, and he became more and more sure that he wanted to seriously manage the vineyard.

(End of this chapter)