How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 187: Clever Deception (2)

The banquet hall stirred again.

Henri IV broke into a cold sweat, and.

"...Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue? I was ignorant of your culture. I apologize."

He thought he saw the corner of Oitotan's mouth turn up ever so slightly. When he blinked, Oitotan's expression had returned to its original calm and solemn state.

"Here, as a sign of 'apology', Virginia-produced wine."

Oitotan suddenly rummaged through a box beside him and lifted something up.

It was a bottle. Containing a clear liquid that gave off a fruity aroma.

"Not intense and sweet like last time. It's ordinary wine. It's been aged about 4 years, but I'd like to share it with the people here."

"Wh-what are you saying, Chief Oitotan? If it's ordinary wine, there's no way it would remain intact after 4 years..."

"Taste it. Then you'll know."

Pour.

"Ohh... Ohhhh!"

Pour, pour.

"Wh-what is this taste? It's incredible! Chief, may I ask for another glass?"

One glass at a time, one glass at a time, cheers and shouts erupt every time Virginia-produced ordinary wine is delivered to people at the banquet.

Soon the meal ended, and it became time for the ball where people gathered to dance and converse.

Lords who each claimed to own a vineyard all gathered around Oitotan, buzzing with excitement.

"Ho-how were you able to keep the wine so perfectly intact while crossing the Atlantic?"

"Is there some superior Virginia technology applied to it as well?"

And before these buzzing people, Oitotan claps his hands to focus attention and speaks.

"You people didn't have 'this.'"

Clap.

As Oitotan claps his hands again, servants bring and open the box he had entrusted to them. Inside was a white powder.

"...What is this?"

"Don't you... know? This is something called 'sulfites.'"

"..."

Somehow Oitotan's tone of speech began to change unpleasantly, but for now, they listened quietly.

"If you add this, wine can be preserved for a long time."

"..."

"..."

"Th-then, if we just have that...!"

"Would you like to buy it?"

"Ye-yes, I'll buy it immediately!"

"Give us that powder! We too can make fresh wine!"

"I-if we just had that, we could also make such wine..."

"No."

"..."

"..."

"...What did you say?"

"That alone is not enough."

Clap.

Oitotan claps his hands again. The servant brings another box and opens it. This time it was full of glass bottles.

"These are our standardized wine bottles. They can preserve wine neatly."

"I'll buy them!"

"Now if we really just had those...!"

"It won't work."

"..."

"..."

"Something else is needed. Use cork as a stopper."

"Co...rk?"

"Yes. And while you're at it, I'd like you to supply us with cork produced in France. And."

Clap.

Oitotan claps his hands again, and.

"Buy this cork cutter. In Virginia, we cut cork with this."

"But if you seal the bottle tightly with cork, how do you open it?"

Clap.

"Buy this corkscrew. In Virginia, we open cork with this."

"Ohh... Ohhhh!"

Henri IV sees something, something... happening before his eyes. But his brain momentarily fails to interpret the situation and becomes paralyzed.

"By the way, I'd like to apologize to everyone for my earlier rudeness. Especially to His Majesty the King..."

And, he sees the corner of Oitotan's mouth twitch up for a brief moment again.

Others didn't seem to notice. Only then does Henri IV's brain start working again to grasp the situation.

...That bastard is enjoying this.

==

The most important thing in the long-term preservation of wine is blocking 'oxidation.'

It's commonly said that improperly stored old wine turns into vinegar. This is precisely the phenomenon that occurs when wine oxidizes excessively through contact with oxygen.

This problem became prominently highlighted after the pioneering of new sea routes and the dawn of the Age of Discovery, as Europeans began to spread all over the world.

Because transporting wine by ship became frequent.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Wine is essential for the Eucharist or Holy Communion, major rituals in Christianity.

This beverage, which goes beyond a simple necessity to carry religious significance, was something Europeans had to bring along even when traveling to America, Africa, or Asia.

Along with this, fortified wines like port or sherry, which don't spoil easily, emerged, and storage methods that block oxygen, like glass bottles and cork stoppers, became fashionable.

And in the modern era, to more thoroughly prevent oxidation from occurring, 'sulfites' began to be added...

Our family runs a grape farm.

In other words, we have sulfur fumigators for grape protection at home. Until now, we've been using them to prevent wood from rotting when building ships.

There's also sodium carbonate, or soda. This is something found in most households.

In other words, sulfites can be made without much difficulty.

Sulfites are substances commonly used as food preservatives. They're added to most sausages and hams.

And when added to wine, they remove oxygen from the wine, inhibit bacterial growth, prevent wine oxidation, and help with long-term wine preservation.

Even wineries that typically avoid adding substances that affect taste and aroma mostly use sulfites, indicating their usefulness.

That's why our wine could cross the Atlantic without necessarily being fortified wine.

That was the strength of our wine.

Swoosh!

"Add very little! One spoonful per barrel is enough!"

"Move all the oak barrels! We'll reuse them!"

This is the Chesapeake wine factory.

On one side, fortified wines are aging in oak barrels, and on the other side, sulfites are being added to regular wine, which is then slowly bottled into sterilized glass bottles.

For now, we're gradually reducing production. In the early 17th century, brandy already exists, and wine glass bottles are spreading bit by bit, so it won't be long before fortified wine emerges.

Instead, we plan to supply those sulfites, glass bottles, and cork-related tools everywhere. How successful that will be depends on Oitotan, and.

Last time, he inadvertently promoted(?) Virginia-produced chickens with somewhat radical speech and behavior, but...

This time there won't be any issues. He is a chief after all.

It'll probably be fine.