Duke Arthur's Winery

July 1, 1900, outside Sydney.

Yesterday's meeting made it clear to Arthur how far behind Australia was in all aspects. Although he had worked with department ministers to formulate detailed plans and allocated a staggering thirty million Pounds Sterling, any results would likely take at least a year to materialize.

On a positive note, after the cabinet meeting, Arthur would have a period of free time.

It wasn't that he would have absolutely nothing to do, but compared to his previous busy schedule, there would be a considerable amount of leisure.

However, Arthur hadn't expected that on the very first day, Butler Hunter would summon him to the outskirts of Sydney, citing the impending completion of Arthur's private winery.

Since Roger Joseph Ebert, who had previously managed Arthur's assets alongside Butler Hunter, had become Australia's Minister of the Treasury Department, the responsibility of managing Arthur's private assets had fallen entirely on Butler Hunter.

This was no easy task. Arthur's current private assets included two Steel Mills, a Munitions Factory, and a Shipyard, along with one hundred and thirty-two million in cash and another one hundred and fifty million Pounds Sterling lent to the Government.

After entrusting all these assets to Butler Hunter's management, Arthur had essentially stopped inquiring about them.

European nobles had a peculiar sentiment towards red wine. For them, red wine was as crucial as formal attire at a banquet.

In Europe, while one might not be a high-ranking noble without a castle, anyone without their own private winery was almost certainly either fallen on hard times or of low noble standing.

Wine had acquired a special significance in Europe, considered a blessing from God, and was highly sought after and cherished by all European nobles.

Duke Arthur also owned a private winery in Britain, but he had since sold it.

After arriving in Australia, Butler Hunter had already begun selecting a site for Arthur's winery. While Arthur was busy with state affairs, the winery's construction was more than halfway complete. All that remained was for Arthur to visit in person, bestow a noble name upon it, and it could officially commence production.

Upon hearing that Arthur was going to the outskirts of Sydney, Marguerite and Patricia tearfully insisted on accompanying him.

Arthur, with no other choice, agreed to let them come along, but only on the condition that Princess Louise would accompany them.

Given Marguerite and Patricia's boisterous personalities, if Princess Louise wasn't there to keep an eye on them, who knew what mischief they might get up to.

And so, what was supposed to be a solo trip for Arthur transformed into a convoy for the entire Australian Royal Family.

Numerous servants and guards were also part of the entourage, bringing the total scale of the convoy to hundreds of people.

By the time the grand convoy arrived at the winery's location, it was already midday.

Butler Hunter had been waiting outside for a long time, anticipating the arrival of Arthur and the Royal Family.

"Butler Hunter, how is everything?" Arthur asked with a smile as he slowly alighted from the carriage.

"Everything is proceeding smoothly, Your Highness. We are simply awaiting your arrival, along with that of the Princess and the two young Princesses," Butler Hunter replied, executing a gentlemanly noble bow.

After Princess Louise and her two younger sisters disembarked, Arthur smiled and said, "Let's go and see how the winery is coming along."

What was referred to as a winery was actually a combination of a vineyard and a winery.

Furthermore, given Australia's current sparse population and vast land, this winery spanned an astonishing three square kilometers, or three hundred hectares, which amounted to a massive four thousand five hundred acres.

The sheer scale of this winery was immense. A pedestrian walk around the perimeter would cover at least six kilometers, taking well over an hour even at a brisk pace.

Fortunately, Arthur hadn't entertained the idea of walking the entire circumference of the estate, or he might have found himself unable to return to the entrance within the hour.

"Butler Hunter, for such a large red wine estate, where will our grapevines come from?" Arthur inquired curiously.

For standard trellised grapevines, an acre could accommodate approximately 140 plants. This spacing allowed each vine ample sunlight without wasting too much land.

While a portion of the winery was dedicated to wine production and fermentation, meaning the vineyard area wasn't quite that large, it would still require at least six hundred thousand grapevines.

Finding such a quantity of grapevines across all of Australia would likely be impossible.

"Your Highness, even before you sold your British winery, I had already begun stockpiling grapevine seeds. Our winery currently has nearly five hundred thousand grapevine seeds cultivated, along with ten thousand purchased grapevines from Australia, fifty thousand grapevine saplings, and tens of thousands of fruit trees. Until the seeds mature into grapevines, our winery can produce approximately one hundred and thirty thousand liters of wine annually," Butler Hunter explained with a smile.

While mature grapevines were difficult to acquire, excellent grapevine seeds were readily available.

Although the winery primarily planted grapevine seeds, in two to three years, a substantial number of mature grapevines would be ready for harvest.

Arthur was somewhat surprised, not having realized Butler Hunter had already begun planning for the Australian winery while still in Britain.

"Butler Hunter, is our current production capacity sufficient? If we produce too much, we won't be able to sell it all. For at least several years, our wine cannot possibly compete with French red wine," Arthur asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Currently, the most renowned red wines in Europe were predominantly from France, a result of geographical location and climate.

Without a major European market, no matter how much wine the winery could produce, it would remain unsold, leading to unnecessary losses.

"Your Highness, the annual expenditure for the winery is less than one hundred thousand Pounds Sterling, which is entirely within our acceptable range. Although we cannot compete with European red wine in the short term, we can firmly establish ourselves in the Australian market. As immigration increases, the Australian red wine market will gradually expand, making it not difficult for the winery to maintain a balance of income and expenditure. When the European red wine market experiences fluctuations, it will be opportune for us to enter. At the very least, aged red wines are more mellow than freshly produced ones. We can create two brands: one focusing on the high-end market and operating in Europe, and another on the low-end market, serving Australia," Butler Hunter elaborated.

The quality of red wine wasn't necessarily better the fresher it was. In fact, aged red wines possessed a more profound flavor and were more highly prized by European nobles.

For wine produced by the same winery, the price of wine made this year could be several times higher than that produced a decade ago.

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