Chapter 253: Chapter 253
The executives that had followed Ian’s group had bright eyes and the nodded in satisfaction as Ian gave then a rundown of the things. The company had its ups and downs, however, for an influential family business like what the Thornstons controlled, the effect of the downs was minimal unless the causative factor was major.
They did appreciate the fact that Ian would go to such lengths to try and restore their trust in the company’s processes.
"Thank you, Chairman Ian for taking us through this." A man inputted,
"I am from the wine-making department, and I’ll take you through how this processing plant works." The man, in a white coat over overalls, stepped up beside Ian. He gave a small, respectful bow to Ian and then to the rest.
"Chairman Ian has basically taken us through all the pr-processes. Si’ I’ll take you through what happens after the grapes are transported into these tanks."
Then gesturing towards a long narrow staircase that led to a makeshift platform that ran all over the and near the top of the tanks, he said,
"You can come up these stairs to have a look. I am sure that most of you are already familiar with this process, though."
They went up a long narrow steps to take a peek at the grapes that were flowing into the large tanks.
"Just so you know, our unique climate in the planting seasons, which is about 10 Celsius, actually gives us that unique grape variety with its almost perfect sugar contents. As the Chairman rightly said, all harvests are done by hand so that we are reassured that we pick the best.
Our soils have the best structure for especially the grapes, i.e. clay and chalky. I think the first Thornston settlers had a great vision. They took all these into consideration and then decided on the wine businesses. They really knew what they were doing.
"Yes, the Thornstons are vision-oriented!" One stakeholder proudly said, causing a majority of them to agree with that with their nods and smiles.
The winemaker guide continued, "This is where the first fermentation processes happen. After this, we go through a smoked oak fermentation process when we place them in lightly smoked oak barrels, and then the wines further ferment when they are bottled. That is why they say that the older the wine, the better it is!"
"Hahahhaahhaahaaaa!" Some giddy men around laughed with an interesting carefree manner.
"So, back to these tanks and what we do with them...."
He looked around as the last man climbed up. Chairman Ian had remained on the ground floor, and he looked listless and very gloomy. The man swallowed dryly, wondering if he had done something wrong. He quickly turned to the eager men and continued,
"If you look at these tanks that we filled with grapes several days back, we go through our standard mixing process many times per day. What I mean is that the grapes are crushed in a similar process to how our ancestors did when they used their feet to crush them. It’s similar, but had the same desired effects.
After this sits for a while, the juice settles at the bottom and the skin at the top. So, we basically take the juice at the bottom and pour it over the grape skins at the top. What this does is that it naturally cools the tank, and also mixes those skins back to get a lot of tannins into concentration as well as keep a lot of that beautiful colour that we have come to associate our wines with.
This is possible because the juice is cooler than where the yeast is reacting with those grape skins, which usually settle at the top. Let me get that going so that you can see this."
As the man moved, Ian could sense the restlessness within him overflow. He started sweating, and his heartbeat soared. I was beating so hard that he could barely concentrate on his surroundings. He knew in his gut that something was wrong, but Ian could not pinpoint what the issue was.
Ian watched the men and women up on the platform and wished that he could leave them there and go away.
’Where is Avril?’ He asked himself. Avril’s work ethic was exceptional, and this entire demonstration took place in the department that she co-managed. She was the best person to do what that man was doing up there, and Ian could not think of why she would leave such an important occasion just because she felt ashamed.
’If that was how she was going to work, then I do not want to work with her going forward.’ Ian concluded as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Is it because my Elfin is not here? Is that why I am feeling this way?" Ian questioned himself. His voice came out as a slow murmur, so none of them could see him talking to himself.
Ian tried mind-linking Shelby again, and all he heard was nothing!
Running his hands through his long hair that had been left flowing over his back, Ian expertly tied it in a loose knot at the base of his neck.
"Phone! Yes! I have been so used to this new mind link communication that I have forgotten that there is a good old phone...."
Ian took out his cell phone and then dialled Shelby’s phone number. At first, all he got was that the line was busy, but on the second try, he noticed that the phone was off.
Ian squeezed his eyes shut briefly, almost mimicking the squeeze in his heart.
"Calm down, Ian, it is not the end of the world that your wife went to the ladies’ room!" He snapped at himself, willing himself to calm down.
’Ava?’ Ian tried to mind link with Ava, but then he realized that that link was not so potent. With Shelby, he could mind link her anywhere, but with all others, the most he could get was a few meters or more around him.
Knowing this, Ian still tried a few more times before he gave up. He knew that Ava had gone in search of Shelby, so Ian reassured himself that everything was okay. Ian had also given Currey another sub-task, so Currey could not be deployed either.
"I wish that I had not let Murray stay back. Maybe that’s why I’m being so apprehensive? Maybe there is no one by her?" Ian nodded when his mind came to a consensus after this thought.
Ian brought his attention back to the processing plant as the man went down and connected a pipe, and soon a small sprinkler-like system. Ian had already seen that process a few times, so he knew exactly what they were seeing. This had started sprinkling the red juice all over the top just as the man had said.
"We micro-oxygenate the tank as well as the yeast needs the oxygen to get the yeast to boost the process of getting to be alcohol. This process occurs approximately two to four times a day for 20 days or more. It depends on when we feel like it’s been fermented enough. We have people who make sure that we get exactly what we set our mind to do."
"This is interesting." One man volunteered.
"Yes, it is..." Although this was not necessarily a secret process, the stakeholders gathered felt honoured that the Thornston group would share such details with them.
"It’s a little hot here, though." Another suddenly said,
"Well, that’s a good observation. Please take a look at how well-ventilated this place is."
Upon this, the small team started going back down the stairs, taking in the wide windows that were left open, as well as the extra-wide door, which also stood ajar. Some did wonder why there was so much heat despite the ventilation provided, but they may be people who were more accustomed to their air-conditioned office.
"So," the man continued,
"All these processes generate a lot of Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is heavier than oxygen. It may be the cause of the heat, and if we close the air vents, the room will be filled with lots of Co2s in no time. I have heard of such accidents even resulting in death in some of the other wine processing places, unfortunately."
"Will we be okay here?" A woman whined, but others were more okay with those words.
"Oh, that’s useful to know."
"Yes, so it is a rule of thumb to keep all places like these well-ventilated and never ever close the doors, especially if the tanks are filled and the processes have begun. Of course, we are not totally dependent on the windows and doors, and we also have an electronic system that controls the temperature and the fermentation as well."
An ominous feeling settled on Ian as he zoned out of it. Ian knew this process like the back of his hand, but he was unsure why his stomach sank at the mention of it, as his hand started to tremble too.
Something was seriously wrong, and Ian had no idea what that was. His senses were super heightened, and he sensed that he was entering predator mode, but Ian still held on for some reason. He was not entirely sure that the issue was with Shelby because he sensed no dire issue in their bond, even though he could not sense her.
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