Of Link's several wineries, the first to make wine each year is always Hanova Farms. This year is no exception.

The exception this year was Link's hand at it.

Link flew in from Las Vegas and saw a juicer available, and he was idle, so he asked for some freshly picked grapes to make wine.

Each of his wineries produces slightly different grapes.

This is not to say that the quality of the grapes is very different, but because of the climate, the tannic content will be different.

The grapes of Ozette are prone to tannic ripening due to moderate temperatures. Hanse's farm, on the other hand, has a slightly lower moisture content and a higher tannin content due to the strong sunshine. The high temperatures at Hanova Farm have made it difficult for tannins to accumulate, and this year's rain has been "abundant" and there is plenty of irrigation. This year's grapes have the lowest tannin content of any of his three vineyards.

The right amount of tannins in a wine determines the taste and how long it can be sold. Of course, that was the wine from before.

However, the tannin content does not have as much of an effect on the shelf life of some wines as it once was. In the past, most of the wines were sealed with cork, but now they are sealed with screw caps. Regardless of the tannin content of the wine, it will last much longer than in the past, with cork, and will retain its freshness for a longer period of time.

Most of the wines from Hanova Farms are sealed with screw caps. Therefore, there is no need to consider the question of the tannin content on the shelf life of the wine. However, the winemaking techniques of different grapes should also be fine-tuned. He had made wine twice before, both in Ozette. It was the first time at Hanova Farm.

The climate in Ozette is not very severe, and the quality of the grapes produced is stable from year to year. Only Hanova's grapes change a lot due to climate change. And Link needs to learn from Albert how to make grapes here.

Albert is also in Hanova. He was preparing to make a batch of white wine. Last year, he made a batch of white wines from the Blue Lagoon grapes at the Hans farm, which were all pink, but still won a gold medal at this year's Wine World Competition.

So he plans to create more white wines.

The raw material of this batch of white wine is the same grapes grafted by Robert Baggio last year. Several different varieties were grafted. Although it did not produce white-skinned grapes, it also produced a grape with only pink flesh. And Albert was experimenting with this grape.

The essence of the Blue Lagoon grape is Cabernet Sauvignon with purple flesh, and no one knows what kind of wine can be made when grafted with other white grapes. This needs to be judged experimentally.

Link, on the other hand, uses Blue Lagoon grapes. He's still going to make a dry red.

He only intends to stay here until noon tomorrow. He estimated the amount of work he could accomplish, and when he had enough grapes, he pressed it.

However, he mainly continued to do the same as he had done in Ozette, adding some grapes that were not fully ripe. There is only a slight change in the amount – the number of unripe grapes added to his wines is different at a time. However, the two brewed for his two newborn children last year seem to be fermenting quite well.

Today Albert has less work, he only needs to press a little grape and then instruct the workers on how to ferment.

He watched as Link's last batch of green grapes was poured into the press. He said, "Did you know that the grapes from Bell Farms are also starting to be made?"

Link glanced at him and said with a smile, "They brag about it in the media every day, and I don't think I can even do it." ”

Luke Truss announced in mid-October that his "Truss grapes" will start winemaking this year, and he has already secured a major customer with a super contract worth more than $10 billion: "We signed an exclusive sales contract with a Chinese customer for up to 10 years, with a minimum contract value of $1 billion per year. ”

The grapes on Ekobe Farm are only one year old, and of course it is impossible to produce enough grapes, so Luke Truss had to find Bell Farms to cooperate. Together, they will supply Chinese customers.

"Aren't you worried at all? As far as I know, China is one of the main markets for Blue Lagoon wines outside of the United States. ”

Albert was worried about the sudden appearance of a competitor. The so-called "Truss grapes" are cultivated from Blue Lagoon grape cuttings. The Blue Lagoon grapes perform very well in different climates and soils. Bell Farms invited Paul Hobbes, who was ranked above him in the wine advisory world, to serve as a winemaking consultant. He feared that the wine produced from the "Truss grape" would have an impact on the Blue Lagoon wines.

Link smiled and said, "As you know, China has its own famous wines, and the production of ordinary wines is also very large. So we mainly take the mid-to-high-end route there. No matter how good their wine is, it will not be so easy to occupy our market until they have gained the corresponding reputation. ”

Albert was not so optimistic. "But they have well-known winemaking consultants, and they have grapes of good quality," he said. I don't think it's going to be hard to get fame. They may soon become serious competitors for us. ”

He is more worried than Link because Blue Lagoon wines have more than $8 to $1 billion in sales in China. If this market is hit, there will certainly be a similar situation in other markets. And for every bottle of wine he sells, Link gets a certain amount of dividends. And the wines he makes are all mid-to-high-end wines in Link's mouth. In other words, a market like China's is very important for his personal income.

Link's confidence was even greater than ever.

If he had been a little worried, he wasn't worried when he learned that gold had been found in the wasteland of Las Vega. The Vice-Decrepit was still protecting him.

The vice-god of decay said that grapes suitable for wine can only be grown on all the land he owns, and that would never be wrong. And it will also make Truss regret it. Maybe it's this time.

He could not say these things, but could only say to Albert, "Don't worry, Albert! I promise there will be no problems." Surely their wines will not be on the market?"

Albert was stunned for a moment when he heard this, lowered his voice and said, "You arranged that Chinese businessman?"

Link was also stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "Of course I can't do that? A billion contract requires at least a deposit of $100 million." Why should I pay him to make wine?"

Albert thought about it too. Could it be that Link arranged for such a merchant to eat all of the other party's wine and prevent it from going on the market? No matter how much money Link has, he can't do that.

Although he was still worried in his heart, since Link was not in a hurry, he also put his mind at ease for the time being.

At this time, the Bell Farm they were talking about was indeed making wine as well. Bell Farm is slightly higher than Hanova Farm, but the two are at the same latitude, and the grapes at Hanova Farm are ripe, and the grapes here are of course ripe.

Their harvesting is more efficient than that of Hanova farms. Hanova Farm uses a large number of temporary workers to pick the fruit by hand, and even the fruit stalks are put into the press when pressing. Over there, mechanized harvesting is used. The machine passes over the neatly arranged grape "trees" and plucks 98% of the grapes by beating.

Paul Hobbs is in his fifties, but this is the absolute golden age for a career as a winemaking consultant.

He is more traditional in winemaking, and he pays great attention to the aging of the wine from the barrels. At the same time, he wants to make perfect wines.

In the past four consecutive editions of the World Wine & Spirit Competition, there have been 12 wines with a score of 100, all of which were Blue Lagoon wines. Albert Anthony alone obtained nine times, and the first three realms were all queens and fire clouds. In this year's competition, in addition to those two, Albert Anthony launched a 100-point wine "Purple Moon Magic Dry Red". The creators of the other two are all young people, one is the "dream" of winning gold medals three times before, and the other is the new "world at your fingertips".

The appearance of two perfect wines by young winemakers not only made the two young winemakers famous, but also made other wine consultants lament: "There is no other ingredient to make perfect wines except for the Blue Lagoon grapes!"

Paul Hobbs never got a perfect score in the World Series. He would love to make his mark on this accolade. Although he refuses to fully admit that only Blue Lagoon wines can make perfect wines. But when John Malone invited him to be a winemaking consultant at Bell Farms, he agreed after only a little consideration.

He knew that the Truss grapes were grown from the Blue Lagoon grapes, and he had tasted them and felt that they were perfect for winemaking. He hopes to make a sake that will get a perfect score in the World Championship this time. So he specifically asked that some of the grapes be picked by hand.

Because only the right tannin content can make the wine truly balanced and mature.

Luke Truss has a very small stake in the vineyards at Bell Farms. However, he even valued Bell Farms for brewing this time more than Ekobe, in which he had a half-owned stake. Because this is a crucial battle to open the market for his grapes.

He has indeed signed a supply contract with Sheng from China. However, Sheng requires that his wines must have a certain degree of popularity, and the specific requirements are that they must have won a silver medal or more in the world competition, and the other party will purchase them.

That's a prerequisite.

This batch of wines, at least a billion dollars worth of wines, must be more than Silver Award. It would be better if there were better results. A billion dollars is just the minimum order quantity, and if it is a Gold Medal wine, the unit price is higher.

Paul Hobbes's demand for excellence did not conflict with his pursuit of low cost and high efficiency. Because he also wants to make wines that will perform even better in the World Championships. Any wine that wins an award will raise the reputation of other, less serious wines.

Paul Hobbs not only demanded that the grapes be harvested by hand, but also personally supervised by the presence of the grapes, requiring that only fully ripe grapes be picked. Or remove the unripe grapes before harvesting.

Luke Truss will also be there, and he and Paul Hobbs will be standing in the grape concentration area. From time to time, stare at the grapes that the pickers pour into large boxes to see if there are any grapes that are not fully ripe.

Luke watched as each grape had a completely purple-black skin, with an almost perfect white layer on the skin. He laughed Paul Hobbes and said, "It's a near-perfect grape." Isn't it?" In his eyes, these purple-black fruits were not grapes, but money.

Although the money from the sale of the wines made here is mainly John Malone's, he signed the contract, so he gets an additional 5% cut. And when the reputation of Truss grapes spread, he can make a lot of money by buying grape seedlings. And his Ekobe farm is also able to brew. Sheng is contracted with both Ekobe Farms and Bell Farms. In his agreement with John Malone, Sheng's contract for the future has a clear supply ratio for his Ekobe Farm and Bell Farm.

So, if a good enough wine is made this time, it will be a good thing for everyone except Link Hans.

Paul Hobbes was also very pleased with these grapes. He nodded, "Very good grapes indeed!" and if the grapes make good wine, he will get at least $30 million in commissions.