Holiday Estate

Butler Hunter's intentions were simple. The winery only cost around a hundred thousand pounds sterling annually, which was a drop in the bucket for Arthur, who was already worth over a hundred million.

Even though the wines produced by the estate in recent years couldn't dominate the European market, they could at least maintain their survival through the Australian market.

Especially with the current chaotic situation in Europe, if war broke out among European nations or some unexpected event occurred that reduced wine production in Europe, it would be an opportunity for Arthur's winery to seize the market.

At worst, by focusing on low-end red wine, they could capture the Australian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian markets and achieve profitability.

After all, Europe was currently the most dazzling pearl in the world, and Westernized things were very popular in other regions, let alone wine, which was highly sought after by European nobles.

This was the common person's mentality of comparison, believing that foreign goods were always better than domestic ones.

"Mm." Arthur nodded, agreeing with Butler Hunter's assessment.

"Your Highness, our winery includes a plaza, exhibition hall, winery, vineyard, storage area, and underground cellar. The estimated maximum production capacity is over 4,400 tons per year. Based on the capacity of a barrel, we can produce over 39,000 barrels of wine annually. If bottled, we can produce over six million bottles," Butler Hunter explained to Arthur with a smile.

A barrel was a relatively common type of wine cask packaging within Britain. In Britain, even lower-end wines could cost several pounds sterling per barrel, with slightly more expensive ones already exceeding ten pounds sterling.

Even if Arthur's winery sold its red wine for only five pounds sterling per barrel, it could basically break even.

If sold in bottles, the profit would be even greater. Most bottled wines were marketed as high-end, thus commanding a higher price than barrel-aged wines of the same volume.

Generally, a barrel of wine could sell for ten pounds sterling, but if broken down into hundreds of 750ml bottles, each bottle could sell for over three shillings. For the same volume of wine, the price more than doubled.

Currently, the winery's maximum production capacity was more than enough to meet Australia's demand. At least until the per capita annual income in Australia saw significant growth, Arthur's winery could stockpile large quantities of red wine each year.

"Uncle Hunter, when can we drink the wine?" Patricia asked impatiently.

Butler Hunter looked at Patricia and Marguerite's expectant faces and said with a smile, "The grapes won't be ripe until August, and with the winemaking time, I'm afraid the two little highnesses will have to wait until the end of September at the earliest to taste the red wine from our new winery."

Upon hearing Butler Hunter's words, Patricia and Marguerite couldn't help but feel disappointed, expressing their dissatisfaction with the waiting time.

"Alright, aren't there still plenty of red wines brought from Britain? Those wines should be enough for you to last until October," Princess Louise said, giving her two daughters a playful glare.

In reality, Patricia and Marguerite weren't really craving new wine; they were just curious about it.

The red wines Arthur brought back from Britain were all high-end wines previously produced at Duke Arthur's winery, totaling around a thousand bottles.

Furthermore, besides Arthur, the Royal Family only consisted of Princess Louise and her two younger daughters. Therefore, their wine consumption was quite low. After several months, they still had over nine hundred bottles left.

"Oh!" Seeing their mother start to scold them, Marguerite and Patricia quickly hid behind Arthur, responding reluctantly.

"Let's go, let's go tour the winery," Arthur said with a smile, rescuing his two younger sisters at the opportune moment.

Hearing Arthur's suggestion, Marguerite and Patricia quickly returned to their mother's side and began to admire the scenery of the entire estate.

It had to be said that the winery's geographical location was excellent, situated with a mountain behind and a body of water in front. The back of the winery faced a small mountain, receiving ample sunlight, which was ideal for the growth of grapevines.

In front of the winery flowed a clear river, passing through the plaza. The river was crystal clear, and occasionally, schools of fish could be seen swimming by.

With such a superior geographical environment, it was not only suitable for building a winery but also for constructing a resort estate.

Although it was already summer, the gentle breeze and the sound of the stream made Arthur feel somewhat reluctant to leave.

"Your Highness, I've specifically built a small manor within the winery, near our fruit tree planting area, with the stream in front. As summer is already here, the Government Building, though spacious, is quite hot. In my opinion, Your Highness could temporarily reside in the manor to escape the summer heat and also to prevent the two little highnesses from getting too bored," Butler Hunter suggested.

When selecting the site for the winery, Butler Hunter had already noticed this excellent geographical location.

Backed by a mountain and facing water, with a small basin behind it, surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one, it was a perfect location for a resort estate.

Therefore, Butler Hunter took the initiative to designate the best piece of land within the winery to build a small manor for Arthur and the Royal Family.

Although the manor was not large, its location and natural environment were undoubtedly excellent, making it a good place to escape the summer heat.

Seeing that his two younger sisters were somewhat interested, Arthur smiled and asked, "Has the manor been completed?"

"Of course, Your Highness," Butler Hunter nodded and replied, "The manor was built along with the winery. It is currently completed and only needs furniture to be moved in before it can be occupied."

"Let's go take a look," Arthur said with a smile, his interest piqued.

In the major monarchies of Europe, the Royal Family possessed their own private manors. Some more powerful royal families even owned multiple, even more than ten, private manors.

These manors served as temporary residences for the Royal Family when the royal palaces were not comfortable, for tourism, and for relaxation.

Taking the British Royal Family as an example, Queen Victoria owned countless manors, among which the more famous ones included Balmoral Castle, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Holyrood Palace, Clarence House, Kensington Palace, St James's Palace, Hampton Court Palace, and Sandringham Estate, luxurious estates where choosing a vacation destination each year was difficult.

However, the Australian Royal Family, up to this point, only had the national Government Building as their residence, which appeared rather shabby and simple. This was precisely why Butler Hunter, as the royal butler, had built a manor here.

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