Xiao Yifei was not idle, although he did not participate in the negotiations, he was still busy dealing with the Osiris space. For the less than 1 acre of land in the Osiris space, it is certainly impossible to use it as the main force of cultivation. The area is too small to be used as an experimental and breeding base, and now that Xiao Yifei has chosen the wine industry, it is natural that the wine grapes must be strengthened first.

There are many varieties of wine grapes, and there are dozens of them that are famous, but in Napa Valley, there are only six varieties that are most famous: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc.

Cabernet Sauvignon is now considered the king of Napa Valley red grape varieties, accounting for 40% of production and more than 55% of Napa Valley's total crop value, and many growers are now choosing Cabernet Sauvignon when replanting vineyards.

The name of Cabernet Sauvignon is cabernet

Sauvignon, known as "Cabernet" in early China. It is the transliteration name given to this variety by the Changyu company that introduced the grape to China, and takes the meaning of "sea and all rivers" for this variety. Wine began to take off in the 90s, and since then, it has been used as a generic term. Later, after a lawsuit, it was determined that Cabernet could only be used by Changyu Company. In the early years, domestic wines, any manufacturer's wines, almost never appeared Cabernet Sauvignon, some also wrote "Cabernet", but now all of them are marked with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet Franc, intense grassy flavor mixed with delicious blackcurrant and mulberry fruitiness. It has a very funny nickname, "Cabernet Sauvignon's poor country relative", and it is true that it is related to Cabernet Sauvignon, and the latest DNA evidence shows that Cabernet Sauvignon was a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. As for the "poor relatives in the country", it means that it is basically not a separate wine, and everyone just uses it to reconcile Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. However, there are exceptions, and Château Cheval Cheval, a classified cru in the Saint-École region of Bordeaux, France, uses it as the protagonist to make red wines.

Chardonnay is the largest and second largest white grape variety planted in Napa Valley, and it is mainly used to make white wines or champagnes. The main growing areas of Chardonnay in Napa Valley are in several sub-regions near the mouth of the valley, and even all of the Chardonnay vineyards at Château Monterey are located next to Napa City.

Zinfandel can be said to be the favorite grape variety of Americans, known as the most American wine, Zinfandel wine is fruity, deep, intense, and has a long aftertaste. Xiao Yifei still didn't understand why there was such a statement, he inquired privately, guessing that it was because Zinfandel was like a tough guy in an action movie, not a twittering woman in a romantic comedy, which fits the characteristics of the United States: domineering, noisy, and powerful.

Merlot is also a staple of red wine, second only to Cabernet Sauvignon in the world, and is also grown in abundance in Napa Valley. But in recent years, Merlot has begun to decline.

Also significantly different is Pinot Noir, a red wine variety that can also be juiced to make champagne or rosé champagne. Originally, Pinot Noir was a niche wine, but in recent years it has become very popular, and the number of searches on the Internet has reached four times that of Merlot, which is reflected in the reality that some growers even directly shoveled Merlot in the peak fruit period and planted Pinot Noir saplings.

The reason for all this is because of a movie, which is "A Cup of Life" released in September 04. When Xiao Yifei decided to buy a Monterena winery in France, he looked for this movie.

In Xiao Yifei's view, the whole film is the story of two middle-aged and old men who are not handsome at all and go to drink to find an affair, and the female pig's feet who met during the encounter are not beautiful at all. He found it rather boring, and even felt so dull that he wanted to fall asleep. This is mainly because he is too young to understand the feelings of the protagonist in the movie at all, so he does not resonate. Moreover, it happened in the Santa Barbara production area, which made him even less immersed in it.

In Xiao Yifei's opinion, it was a very boring movie, but it caused a big sensation in the United States, and this low-budget film won many awards or nominations in major film awards such as the "Oscar", "Golden Globe Award", "Writers Guild Award" and "Screen Actors Guild Award".

To put it mildly, it could even be said that this film is a commercial for Pinot Noir, in which Myers, a heavy drinker, complains about how vulgar Merlot, a grape variety that is now loved by the international market, and how elegant and charming Pinot Noir, which is rarely mentioned but popular with intellectuals. At the same time, he repeatedly told his friends that it is exciting to make a successful wine with Pinot Noir, which is elegant, light and fruity, but it is also considered to be the most difficult grape variety to serve, with thin skin, fragile skin, perishable personality and a personality like a big boy with a sensitive heart.

Of course, these arguments about Pinot Noir must be very subjective. However, it also points out the advantages and disadvantages of Pinot Noir.

First of all, the cold-loving habit requires that Pinot Noir be planted in colder areas, but the early budding is extremely sensitive to frost, so people start to be busy around it in early spring. Due to its thin skin, it is poorly tolerant to bright light, but it needs enough sunlight to reach maturity. For the same reason, it is also less resistant to germs and moisture, and if you are not careful, it will rot and ruin the harvest throughout the year.

However, few people know that the biggest contradiction in this movie is in red wine.

No matter how much the protagonist complains about Merlot and praises Pinot Noir, his cherished bottle of 1961 Champ Cheval wine, which he always wanted to taste when he got back together with his ex-wife, is made by Cabernet Franc, the "poor country relative of Cabernet Sauvignon", and Merlot, whom the protagonist has always despised, and Merlot still accounts for one-third of the portion. This is also the greatest irony or irony.

However, the space was limited, and other varieties of experimental crops had to be planted, so he chose three grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the largest variety planted in Monterena Winery, not only the estate vineyard has 85 acres of planting area, but also other "Vella" and "Barberis" are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, and even the more than 50 acres of Vera's family, which Xiao Yifei just asked Concubine Yue to inquire, are also Cabernet Sauvignon. Among the wineries produced, the $150 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and the $50 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon are sustained by these Cabernet Sauvignons. It can be said that Xiao Yifei's annual net profit of 10 million depends on it.

Chardonnay, on the other hand, is the second largest variety planted on the estate, and it is the one that won the Paris Judges' White Wine Category and earned the winery back its reputation, and the $50 price is already considered the top quality among white wines, and if they don't have to deduct a certain share every year, the dealers are eager to empty the wine cellar. Therefore, even if the Osiris space provides little flavor improvement, as long as the cultivation scale is expanded, it is guaranteed to sell as much as it produces.

In the end, choosing Merlot over the recently popular Pinot Noir, Xiao Yifei had his own considerations.

First of all, Merlot is the third most planted grape variety in the Monterena vineyard. Secondly, Merlot has a deep history and a large group of lovers. Third, Merlot is more solid than Pinot Noir, which is suitable for novices like Xiao Yifei. In the end, Pinot Noir is now famous, but in Xiao Yifei's view, Pinot Noir is now like an Internet celebrity, just getting more attention for a while, but it will eventually be eliminated by time.

Therefore, when others shovel Merlot and plant Pinot Noir, plant Merlot, and when the trend passes, in a few years, your Merlot will be able to produce fruit, and you will be able to make more profits at this time.