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‘Interesting,’ he said, stifling a smile.
‘I know. You’ll have to bear with me while I work it all out.’
‘I’ve got something that will work very well with it,’ he said, rifling around in his CamelBak. He pulled out a green hat with froggy eyes on the front. ‘Shall we swap hats?’
I mean. I didn’t want to be made a mockery of, but equally, in for a penny, in for a pound. I nodded and accepted the frog hat gracefully, handing over my pink beanie in return, which worked nicely with Xavier’s metallic navy outfit. I wondered if I was in any way giving off an ironic vibe. I suppose I could always pretend I was in fancy dress, but dressing as a frog in a French-speaking resort was asking for trouble.
‘Holly, are you down there?’ Luca called through to the ski room, at the exact moment I put my earmuffs on, ready to head out and face my fears.
‘Yes, I’m here – is everything OK?’ I asked, hoping he might save me from the mountain.
‘Are you on your way out?’ Luca came into the ski room and saw the three of us suited and booted and ready to go. ‘I want to show you around the wine cellar,’ he said. ‘Can I give you a quick tour now, before you go? It’ll only take half an hour.’
I looked over at Liv and Xavier, who smiled patiently and nodded.
‘Of course!’ I said, excited, giving Liv my helmet and goggles and stuffing my hat in my pocket, slightly sweaty as I’d been about to step outside.
Luca marched off upstairs to open the cellar door and I followed close behind, feeling stressed and excited all at once.
‘First things first, there are only two sets of keys,’ he said, holding a bunch in each hand. ‘Mine are the red set – which I have on my person at all times – and yours are the yellow, which you will keep for the season.’ He handed me my keys like he was handing over an ancient chalice, and I received them without breaking eye contact, then zipped them into my pocket.
Luca swept back the heavy green curtain that covered the cellar door and unlocked it with his red-fobbed keys. Large and carved from oak with a small glass window in the top, he pushed it open, reaching into the darkness to switch on the light. A reverent silence hung in the air as the two of us made our way down the steps and Luca surveyed his kingdom: his wine-people. And what a sight it was to behold, with hundreds and hundreds of bottles of wine stacked high on every side. The age of the bottles immediately obvious, with the youngest at the top, getting older and dustier as the bottles went down the rack. How would I ever work out what was where?
‘Some of these wines have been in my family for decades, with me adding my own private collection this past sixteen years,’ Luca said. ‘As you can imagine, the wine is worth a fortune, so you should look at this cellar in the same way you would look at a family vault.’
I nodded, wide-eyed as I gazed around in awe. This would be part of my little world for the next few months, these wines my personal stash. A liquid library, each bottle an encyclopaedia. Everything I needed to learn to get me from wine drinker and dabbler to professional sommelier. The wine whispered to me as I followed Luca through the dank rooms.Drink me, drink me.
‘The wines are organised by temperature, then colour, continent, country and grape. It’s a very simple system to navigate once you get your head around it,’ Luca said. I found that very hard to believe. There was a small brass plaque near the first batch of reds withSouth Americawritten on it and then another that readArgentina. It was SO organised.
A light flashed from the climate control system showing twelve degrees for the bottles of Beaujolais and Pinot Noir, sixteen for the Malbecs and Merlots and eighteen for the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties. The white wines were at the far side and went from Albarino to Zinfandel. And finally… the Champagnes. Both white and pink of varying quality and cru from all the big houses in Epernay and Reims. Moët & Chandon, Pommery, Mumm, Bollinger – I was staring at an absolute fortune.
‘Xavier will work with you to pair the wine with each course for our evening meals and then serve them to the table, along with the food.’
I was both delighted and terrified at the thought of picking through these beautiful bottles of wine, popping them open and cocking them up. I hadn’t touched any of them and didn’t intend to until I had some white gloves and a very reliable corkscrew. I had visions of snapping corks into rare bottles of wine worth thousands. What had I got myself into?
‘Got it. And do I trial the wine myself, to er… check it?’
Luca gave me a look. ‘Studying what we have and extending your personal repertoire and taste will go hand in hand, but I’d say you are looking at 2 per cent taste versus 98 per cent study and selection.’
‘Got it,’ I repeated, slightly less enthusiastically.
‘The wine temperatures are carefully managed through a climate control system as you can see; the reds are always ready to serve but the whites need overnight refrigeration, once selected, for optimum taste,’ Luca said, picking up a bottle of Bodega Chacra Chardonnay and wiping the dust from the label.
I surveyed the Italian whites and the Spanish reds like a kid in a sweetshop. ‘Do I spy a Vega Sicilia Único?’ I asked, taking a closer look at the bottom row.
‘You certainly do. Their flagship. Impressive knowledge,’ Luca said. ‘My father bought a case in Seville a couple of years back. What gave it away?’
‘My ex and I shared a bottle with our anniversary dinner last year – it has a very distinctive etching on the neck,’ I said, as Luca nodded his approval. My heart gave a sad little ping at the memory. ‘Are there certain sections I should avoid? Presumably, you don’t drink Dom Perignon every night?’ I smiled.
‘Stick to the top two layers; they are the newest wines, but all should be excellent. I’m happy to give you some pointers while you are with us. Margot said you were keen to develop your nose.’
‘That would be amazing Luca, thank you.’
*
‘Sorry for the delay guys,’ I said as I re-joined Liv and Xavier.
‘No worries. What the boss says, goes,’ Liv replied.
