Cause and Effect (1)
Inside the car heading toward Lodi, Warren sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed, staring blankly at the passing scenery before suddenly speaking up.
"Master, have you thought of a name for the wine we're releasing?"
"Which wine are you referring to?"
"Hm? Ah, right, it's not just one. I meant the blended wine."
There were two wines to be released this year. One was a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend, and the other was a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the Grendel Hill farm in the Russian River Valley. Since the single-vineyard wine had already reached the fermentation profile I wanted and was currently aging in oak, there was nothing for Warren to touch. I hadn't even tasted it yet, as he insisted on waiting to experience the emotional climax of the final product.
I kept my eyes on the road, gripping the steering wheel, and shook my head.
"Not yet. There’s no special reason; I just haven't had a name pop into my head that felt like 'the one.' I was planning to think about it when applying for the label before bottling..."
Warren’s eyes widened immediately.
"Goodness, goodness... Half of a wine's identity is its name. Especially for a Cult Wine; you have to build anticipation before they even take a sip. You know this, don't you? A single name can boost the price by 20%."
Of course, I knew that. But I didn't believe that agonizing over a name for a long time would yield a better result; I was hoping a good name would just come to me naturally.
"I know, but... did you have something in mind?"
Since he’d brought it up, I figured he obviously had something he wanted to say. Sure enough, he leaned forward with a meaningful smile and began to write in the air with his finger.
"So, I’ve thought of a few. Looking at your style, a name that’s too classical wouldn't suit you... but something too flashy wouldn't fit either..."
"So, what are they?"
I chuckled at his teasing. Seeing him try so hard to build suspense, it almost seemed like he just needed someone to talk to.
"The first is Astra Vale, which means 'Valley where stars fall.' It combines the Latin astrum for star and vale for valley. I included the sentiment that you are creating a new world, starting from the soil itself."
"That’s incredibly poetic. It’s cool."
"Heh, you think so? Another one I came up with is Prime Meridian. It carries the meaning of a 'new standard.' A Cult Wine needs that kind of guts, don't you think?"
"That’s not bad either."
"Right? I was convinced after seeing Astra Vale. Your pride in your wine is so immense that you wouldn't hesitate to use a somewhat bold name. And I thought of one more: how about Nocturne Cellars? Night, stillness, condensation... Your wines have delicately layered structures, so this image seems to fit quite well."
I had been wondering what he was thinking about the whole time we were driving; it turns out he had been obsessed with naming the wine.
"They’re all great names. Did you name all your wines yourself, sir?"
"Some I named, some I didn't. When I was young, they were all my ideas, but after young people started joining the winery, I often used their suggestions. If I did everything myself, the staff's morale would drop, so I had to consider that."
"Ah... I see. Because the staff needs to feel affection for the winery and work harder on the wines they helped blend and name."
"That’s the headache that comes with a growing winery. Honestly, I’m hopeless at that sort of thing."
I looked at him, puzzled.
"Really? You talk a lot... I wouldn't have thought you’d find it difficult to mingle with people."
He scoffed.
"Hmph! Do you think I’m like that with just anyone?"
"Oh, was I wrong?"
Warren, looking as if he found the question absurd, waved his hand and spoke calmly.
"I am not the kind of person who entertains just anyone."
"Haha, I understand."
"Do you know how many people come looking for me just to get a word in? If I treat them a little kindly, they act like we’re best friends and try to snatch something from me. It’s not that I’m stingy with the knowledge I have. I don't intend to keep it hidden away. If they can understand it, what’s the problem? But even among my staff, there were very few who truly understood what I was saying. It was so frustrating... Do you know what’s funny about it?"
"What is it?"
"When I teach them, the ones who nod and pretend to understand don't actually change anything when you watch how they work."
"Ah..."
I understood what Warren was saying. Farming requires a lot of knowledge, but the most important thing is the diligence to apply that knowledge. Farming is fundamentally about raising something, so it’s extremely sensitive and requires a lot of hands-on work, but it doesn't show dramatic results in a short period.
"I can scold my staff, but among the others, some even got angry at me later."
"What? Why?"
"They claimed I taught them wrong. When I heard people say their wine didn't turn out well because I didn't tell them the 'real' secrets and only taught them the unimportant stuff, I made a decision. I decided I wouldn't teach wine technology to anyone anymore."
"Haha... I can picture the situation."
"Some people, you see, always look for someone else to blame for their own failures. The only reason I speak to you without hesitation is for one reason."
"What is that?"
"You have your center properly established. You don't get swayed by my authority and you have your own standards. It’s not easy to have that at your age... Usually, people around me just leave every choice to me and rely on me, but you don't do that at all, so I can speak freely. Honestly, you don't seem to be coveting my knowledge, either."
He meant that no matter what he said, I would make my own decisions, so he didn't feel any pressure in talking to me.
"I appreciate you seeing me that way. And it’s not so much that I don't covet the knowledge, but rather that I have my own philosophy..."
"That’s exactly what I mean. No matter how much I have, others would glare at me, wondering what they could get out of me... Well, that was a useless story. Anyway, is there anything among those three names that you like?"
"They’re all good, so let’s pick one from them."
He wore a deep smile, seemingly pleased that I was willing to choose one of the three.
"Is that so? Alright, then let’s think about it slowly. Oh, and what about that Pinot Noir? You haven't named that one yet, have you?"
"I’ve thought of two for that one..."
"Oh, really?"
"One is G·HILL PL-1, which I thought of simply. I tried to make it a bit more modern."
Warren nodded.
"That’s not bad either. It’s simple and sensible. Is that the only one?"
"Hmm... I thought of another one: Quiet Hill..."
"Hm? Quiet Hill? Oho, did you express the delicacy and stillness? It also seems to express the calm layers unique to Pinot Noir."
"That’s part of it, and it’s also a name that came to me when I thought about the story behind that place."
Warren, who had been wondering what I meant, soon realized it referred to the Grendel Hill farm and let out a small exclamation.
"Ah... did you express the feelings of the Grendel Hill farm owner?"
"That’s correct."
"Amazing. It was a situation where he could have been rightfully resentful, yet he chose silence and focused only on the grapes? It has meaning. It has meaning."
Warren, nodding repeatedly, continued to talk about wine for a long time afterward. It was only after another 30 minutes of driving that we arrived at the Lodi plains.
Warren looked around with curiosity, as if the sight of the young branches of the two-year-old pear trees was unfamiliar to him. At that moment, a voice filled with joy rang out from afar.
"Brian! You're here?"
Chloe, with a scarf wrapped around her head and wearing rubber boots, came running over. Then, she spotted Warren standing behind me and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Oh? Hello."
Chloe, who had visited the farm before and seen Warren a few times, greeted him. Seeing her look that asked, 'Why are you here?', Warren accepted her greeting and said,
"Haha, this friend said he was going to a pear farm, so I tagged along. I’ve become interested in farming methods other than viticulture."
"Ah, I see. Welcome."
After saying that, Chloe grabbed my arm and said,
"Actually, I wanted to tell you yesterday, but there are some problems in a few places. I’ll tell you on the way."
"Alright."
Warren gave a strange smile as he watched Chloe clinging to me, but when he caught my eye, he quietly looked away. Shaking my head, I walked into the farm first.
"Did you check the flower bud differentiation?"
"I tried to do it as you told me over the phone, but... I don't really know just from hearing it over the phone."
"When a sapling reaches its second year, it enters a truly critical period. If you don't get it right now, the third-year yield could be zero, so you have to check it very carefully."
I walked up to a tree and ran my palm up the trunk. Then, I picked up the tip of a new shoot and said,
"Hmm... this is good. New shoots growing about 8 to 12cm like this is a normal signal for differentiation. But the internode spacing has started to get a bit shorter, hasn't it?"
Chloe came closer and flipped the shoot to examine it.
"Oh? You're right. At first, I just thought it was withered."
"This is a signal that the flower buds are preparing. And... here."
I pointed with my finger to a flower bud that had started to plump up.
"This will soon be next year's flower bud. If the differentiation goes well over the next two months, next year's fruit-setting rate will stabilize at over 70%."
Warren, who had been listening from behind, chimed in.
"Wait, do you look at pear trees this precisely? It’s more complicated than grapes...?"
I replied calmly without looking back.
"The principles are similar, even if the crops are different. You’re reading the signal that transitions into reproductive growth."
"Oho, I see."
However, as I looked around the farm, I furrowed my brow.
"But it looks like you haven't pruned all the water sprouts (unnecessarily extended new branches)?"
"Hm? Is this not enough? Should I prune more? Lately, so many new branches have been coming up that I cleared quite a lot with the workers."
Chloe stiffened slightly, thinking she had made a mistake. It was natural for her not to know the standard for 'just enough' since this was her first pear harvest. So, I traced the middle-lower part of the tree with my hand and said,
"Yes. You need to clear from here to about here. If there’s too much nitrogen or irrigation, they shoot up like this, but if you don't clear them properly, you’ll only get leaf buds instead of flower buds. You need to clear more here."
"I understand."
"Still, looking at this, it seems irrigation wasn't lacking."
"I was worried because I heard that if irrigation is lacking, flower buds decrease, so I paid attention to it, but I guess I overdid it."
"That’s why farming isn't easy. You have to have a sense for it to a certain extent..."
Even if I were Chloe, I’m sure I would have struggled when deciding the initial irrigation amount. That’s because you have to try it yourself and adjust it while watching the state of the trees.
"I think I know to some extent now."
Seeing Chloe say that with confidence, I found myself stroking her hair. As I passed Chloe, who was beaming, I met Warren’s strangely odd gaze, turned my body back, and said,
"For branches with too much vigor, adjust the angle well... Hm? What’s this? The leaves here are yellow."
As I approached a tree and spoke, Chloe said with a dejected face,
"Actually, this is what I wanted to tell you. Since a few days ago, I’ve been seeing leaves like this here and there. I wondered if I gave it less water because only one was like that, but I saw it in other places too..."
"You should have told me sooner."
"I wanted to tell you yesterday..."
Seeing Chloe’s face turn red, I cleared my throat.
"Ahem... that can happen. It’s not too late yet."
At this moment, Warren, who had been watching with an 'eyesore' expression from behind, quietly intervened.
"Why is that happening? It looks quite serious."
Noticing that his expression was dark even though I was speaking nonchalantly, Warren pointed it out directly. As Chloe’s face stiffened immediately, I spoke up urgently.
"It’s not very serious. Um... if we act quickly, it’s possible to fix."
"Why is that happening?"
I touched the yellow leaf and gave a bitter smile.
"It seems the muddy water from that farm back then has caused problems all the way here."