Chapter 29 Duke Arthur's Winery
July 1st, 1900, outskirts of Sydney.
Yesterday's meeting made Arthur fully aware of the comprehensive backwardness of Australia. Although detailed plans had been drawn up with ministers from every department and a massive thirty million pounds in funding had been committed, it would still take at least a year before any results could be seen.
The good news, however, was that following the cabinet meeting, Arthur would enjoy a period of relative leisure. Not that there was absolutely nothing to do, but compared to his previous hectic days, there was certainly more free time.
What Arthur hadn't expected was that on the very first day, Butler Hunter summoned him to the outskirts of Sydney with the news that his private winery was about to be completed.
Since Roger Joseph Ebert, who previously helped Butler Hunter manage Arthur's assets, had become Australia's Minister of Finance, the full responsibility for managing Arthur's private wealth had fallen to Hunter.
And it was no small task. Arthur's private property included two steel factories, one munitions plant, a shipyard, 132 million pounds in cash, and 150 million pounds in loans to the government.
After handing over the management of all this to Hunter, Arthur largely stopped interfering.
European aristocrats have a special affection for red wine. To the nobility, wine is as essential at banquets as formal dress.
In Europe, not having a castle doesn't necessarily mean one is a lower noble, but lacking a private winery almost certainly marks one as impoverished or minor aristocracy.
Wine has taken on a special cultural significance in Europe, believed to carry divine favor, and it is adored by the entire European aristocracy.
Duke Arthur once had his own private winery in Britain, but it had already been sold off.
After arriving in Australia, Butler Hunter began scouting for a suitable location for a new winery. While Arthur was occupied with national affairs, Hunter had already completed most of the winery's construction. Now they were simply waiting for Arthur to visit, bestow it with a noble name, and begin production.
Upon learning Arthur would be going to the outskirts of Sydney, Marguerite and Patricia cried and insisted on coming along.
Left with no choice, Arthur agreed, but on the condition that Lady Louise would accompany them.
Given Marguerite and Patricia's mischievous personalities, if Louise didn't keep an eye on them, who knew what trouble they might cause.
Thus, what was supposed to be a solo visit by Arthur turned into a full royal convoy.
Many servants and guards also accompanied them, bringing the total number of people in the entourage to several hundred.
By the time the grand procession arrived at the winery's location, it was already noon.
Butler Hunter had been waiting outside for some time, ready to welcome Arthur and the royal family.
"Butler Hunter, how is everything?" Arthur asked with a smile as he stepped down from the carriage.
"Everything is going smoothly, Your Highness. We've been waiting only for you, Lady Louise, and the two young ladies," Hunter replied with a courteous bow.
Once Lady Louise and the two sisters had stepped down from the carriage, Arthur smiled and said, "Let's go have a look at the winery."
Though called a winery, it was actually a combination vineyard and wine production estate.
Given Australia's vast and sparsely populated land, the estate covered a staggering three square kilometers—300 hectares, or about 4,500 acres.
Just how large was this estate? To walk around its perimeter on foot would require at least six kilometers, and even at a brisk pace, it would take over an hour.
Fortunately, Arthur never entertained the idea of walking around the entire estate—otherwise, whether he could make it back after an hour would be questionable.
"Butler Hunter, for such a large wine estate, where did we get our grapevines from?" Arthur asked curiously.
Typically, under a trellis system, about 140 grapevines can be planted per acre. This is a reasonable spacing that ensures each vine receives adequate sunlight without wasting land.
Although part of the estate was reserved for wine production and fermentation, meaning the vineyard area wasn't that large, it would still require at least 600,000 vines.
Even searching the entire country of Australia might not yield that many vines.
"Your Highness, even before you sold off your winery in Britain, I had already begun stockpiling grape seeds. At present, our winery has cultivated nearly 500,000 grape seeds, and we've purchased 10,000 mature vines, 50,000 young vines, and tens of thousands of fruit trees from within Australia. Before the seeds mature into grapevines, our winery can produce approximately 130,000 liters of wine annually," Hunter explained with a smile.
While mature vines are hard to come by, high-quality grape seeds are easy to obtain.
Though most of the vineyard is planted with seeds, within two to three years it will yield a significant number of mature grapevines.
Arthur was a bit surprised—he hadn't realized Hunter had started planning the Australian winery back when they were still in Britain.
"Butler Hunter, isn't our current production enough? If the output is too high, we won't be able to sell it. At least for the next few years, our wine won't be able to compete with French wines," Arthur asked with mild surprise.
Currently, the most famous wines in Europe come from France, thanks to geographic and climatic advantages.
Without access to the European market, no matter how much wine the estate produces, it won't sell—it would only lead to unnecessary losses.
"Your Highness, the winery's annual expenses are less than 100,000 pounds, which is entirely within acceptable limits. While we may not be able to compete with European wines in the short term, we can fully capture the Australian market. As immigration increases, the domestic demand for wine will grow as well. It won't be difficult for the winery to break even. When the European wine market experiences fluctuations, we can enter it then. If not, aged wine is more mellow than freshly produced wine anyway. We can establish two brands—one premium brand for the European market and one affordable brand for the Australian market," Hunter explained.
Wine isn't something that tastes better the fresher it is. On the contrary, aged wine is more mellow and deeply favored by European aristocrats.
The same winery's wine from this year could sell for several times less than a bottle from ten years ago.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997