I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 207



Only Noblemtl

207 Let’s see the real face of this wine?

The company that hosted mankind’s first auction in 1744.

Together with Christie’s, it is still the largest auction house in the world.

A magical company that attracts the world’s wealthy, and is regarded as one of the world’s top four auction houses along with Bonhams and Phillips.

Vincent had already submitted an application for auction at Sotheby’s.

Top-class auction houses such as Sotheby’s have strict security systems and verification procedures.

The verification process here is so credible that even paintings suspected of being forgeries are recognized as genuine when officially put up for auction at Sotheby’s.

Above all, since they are insured and will compensate customers for all losses if their products are later found to be counterfeit, the wealthy who visit these places tend to easily open their wallets.

The product he is exhibiting this time is 100 bottles of Chateau Petrus 2005 vintage.

Romanee-Conti was the most profitable when making a single bottle, but DRC only produces about 400 bottles of this wine a year. Even the most capable dealers might be suspicious if they have multiple bottles of the same wine.

In comparison, Chateau Petrus is a premium wine that produces only 30,000 bottles a year. Of course, this is a very small amount compared to demand, but it was an excellent condition for Vincent.

This dream wine is coveted by many enthusiasts and collectors and there are people all over the world who want to buy this product.

Moreover, if it is the 2005 vintage, which is called the best vintage of the 21st century, it would not be strange to see a premium of more than 10 times.

Because Sotheby’s thoroughly verifies provenance, Vincent actually paid a large sum of money to the dealer who bought the wine and took over the provenance.

I heard that the wine of that merchant went to a wealthy Russian. Of course, it was a secret transaction, so there is no record, but the original provenance is still valid.

On paper, the wine is now owned by Vincent.

If your records are perfect, it’s time to focus on the product.

It is impossible to fill all 100 bottles with fake wine. Even the best-made counterfeit wine would not easily pass Sotheby’s verification.

Vincent decided to mix in the 20 bottles of genuine products he had collected so far. He didn’t forget to bribe the auction house staff so that they could be verified as genuine.

This deal will give Vincent international recognition.

* * *

“Come here.”

Yuna gestures towards Noah.

To them, this five-story mansion was a mysterious world full of secrets.

The garden, which was only 50 pyeong in size, was a dense forest, and they were wizards and explorers who lived in a castle standing tall in the middle of the forest.

Joohee has prohibited the children, who are not yet familiar with the stairs, from entering the third floor.

Yuna had been trying hard to suppress her curiosity, but today, when her mom and dad seemed busy, she decided to explore every corner of the mansion.

The two children devoured an English breakfast prepared by Marianna in the dining room on the first floor.

It is important to have a well-fed stomach for an adventure. Marianna can’t help but laugh at the serious expressions on her twin’s determined faces.

Yuna grabs Noah’s hand and drags him up the stairs.

“Mom told me to be careful on the stairs.”

Noah frowns. But the stairs are already covered with thick carpet.

“I solemnly swear that I will become a villain.”

Yuna, who is obsessed with Harry Potter, raises her hand and takes the oath, following the movie’s lines. Then, Noah strikes the same pose as Yuna with a solemn expression.

Climbing stairs was a big challenge for them as they were still young.

Hey!

Start with your buttocks facing up and go up the steps one at a time.

The second floor was the space where their bedrooms were. The two children continued climbing without even looking at it. And they reached the fifth floor, which they had aimed for.

“I did it!”

Yuna and Noah looked around with eyes full of awe.

Before them was a heavy wooden door, with a golden lion’s head carved into the doorknob, seemingly growling at them. (It was just an ordinary doorknob.)

There was a step in one corner, as if someone had placed it there. As Yuna placed the step, Noah climbed up and turned the doorknob.

Squeak.

When I push the door, it opens with a creaking sound.

And the sight that unfolded before the two children’s eyes was a wonder far beyond their imagination.

The study was filled with bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the covers of the books like lights.

The two children’s mouths drop open in amazement at the mysterious and dreamy scenery.

“Look here!”

Yuna gestures to Noah.

The world map attached to the wall seems to beckon them to enter the magical world.

“amazing.”

They entered the room cautiously.

The two children could read English and Korean to some extent, but the spread out papers on the desk were dizzying because they contained unknown magic spells.

“What is that?”

Noah points to a beaker sitting on one side of the desk.

Inside, an unidentifiable liquid was seething with an ominous aura. And the surrounding area was filled with magical devices I had never seen before.

Squeak.

There was a sound of the door opening. Yuna was startled and collapsed on the ground. However, the diaper absorbed the shock sufficiently, so it didn’t hurt.

“Come on, let’s hide!”

In a jiffy.

The two children quickly hide behind the curtains.

When Joo-hee entered the study, she saw two pairs of adorable feet poking out from under the curtain. She suppressed her laughter and spoke in an exaggerated voice.

“Where have our little wizards gone?”

Yuna and Noah look at each other and giggle inside the curtain.

At that moment, the curtains are drawn back and the owner of the room discovers them.

“You have seen what you should not have seen. You will never leave this room.”

Je-hee, who had been out on the rooftop for a moment to collect her thoughts, enters the study and joins the children in their play.

“Gyaaaah!”

“Please save me!”

Marianna carries the twins who were arrested at the scene as if carrying a sack of wheat on each shoulder.

The struggling hands are pitiful.

Joohee and Jehee laughed for a long time at the sight.

“What is all that?”

Joo-hee asks incredulously. The desk is strewn with reagents, as if she had done an experiment, and the paper is full of unfinished chemical formulas.

When on earth did they study those?

As a liberal arts student, she had no idea what her husband was doing, but she could tell that he had extraordinary knowledge.

“I wanted to solve it on my own, but it seems like it would be impossible.”

There must have been something artificial in the process of counterfeiting wine.

I’ve tried many different ways to prove it, but so far I haven’t found an answer.

Even though he was a genius who graduated from MIT in his past life, at best he only graduated from college.

Jehee packed up the materials he had been researching and headed to his alma mater from his previous life.

This is because the person who was most suitable for this job readily agreed to allow me to visit his lab.

* * *

“Sit there.”

Professor Robert Miller, whom I met after many years, looked exactly the same as before. He still looked healthy and energetic as ever, continuing his lectures and research activities.

Professor Robert Miller stares at me.

I could see curiosity and a hint of skepticism in his eyes. It would have seemed strange to anyone that I, a chef, would be asking him for advice on chemistry.

“I was quite surprised to see the email you sent, wine forgery… . Interesting topic.”

I nodded and took the documents out of my bag.

“This is what I have researched so far. However, I have not yet found any conclusive evidence.”

Professor Miller takes the papers and quickly scans them. His face becomes increasingly serious.

“You studied chemistry in college? You’re much better than our undergraduates.”

But I still have this useless thought that I should be better than them since I am a graduate.

“Knowledge of chemistry is also very helpful in cooking. I have been studying it steadily for a long time, but I never thought it would be used in a place like this.”

The knowledge of undergraduates is something that even ordinary people can attain if they try hard enough. Professor Robert nods.

“It’s amazing that you’ve made it this far on your own. But proving wine forgery is much harder than you might think.”

“In what way is that so?”

I already knew this, but I was curious about Professor Robert’s opinion.

“Wine is like a living organism, changing over time. Furthermore, it can vary greatly depending on the storage conditions. It is often difficult to judge based on chemical components alone.”

This was the biggest problem while doing research on my own. Even for the same wine, the taste and even the ingredients can change depending on the storage conditions.

“Are you saying there is no way?”

Professor Robert smiles and shakes his head.

“No, we don’t have science.

Besides, science is advancing day by day. In the past, it might not have been easy to prove, but now there must be a way. From the data you brought, I see that there are some areas that require additional experiments.”

He picks up the phone on his desk and calls someone.

“Margaret? Can you come to the lab now? I have a project that I think you might be interested in.”

After a while, a young woman with short blonde hair entered the laboratory.

“Margaret. This is Chef Shin Je-hee. Have you seen her on TV?

“Shin Chef, this is Dr. Margaret Thompson. She is one of the finest analytical chemists in our department.”

Margaret extends her hand to me and smiles brightly.

“Nice to meet you. I don’t know what it is, but interesting projects are always welcome.”

Margaret sits down and begins reading the material I brought her.

“Interesting, but I guess I’ll have to move to my lab.

“The mass spectrometer they used for this test looks older than the one I used in high school.”

She frowns and walks out with the documents.

I looked at Professor Robert, but he just shrugged. I had no choice but to follow her outside.

Her lab was filled with expensive equipment, as if the reputation of being MIT’s best analytical chemist was not a lie.

“Please wait a moment.”

Wheeeeeeing.

She puts the wine in a high-performance mass spectrometer (MS) and starts running it. After 30 minutes, the results come back, but they are not much different from the data I brought.

“It’s embarrassing. This equipment can analyze down to the nanogram level, so how can it not be affected?”

Margaret blushes in embarrassment.

“Please note that there may be artificial ingredients added.

From what I’ve seen, anthocyanins are the most likely. They must have been trying to match the color of the wine, so I think they might be able to give us a hint there.”

Margaret nods at my words.

“Let’s examine the anthocyanins detected on both sides.”

Margaret took off her shoes and put on slippers. Then she left for a moment and came back dressed in training clothes.

“Ah! Now I can live. Let’s do some serious research.”

These people, past and present, do not know what it means to leave work. I had no choice but to sit down and volunteer to be her assistant.

“Here’s something that’s hard to understand if you’re not a chemist. In a mass spectrometer, it just shows up as anthocyanins, but the anthocyanins in plants each have their own unique chemical structure.”

“I know. What grapes contain is peonidin-3-glucoside.”

I remember learning this in biochemistry class.

“And this high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can separate almost any substance that exists. It can even distinguish very similar compounds. Let’s take a look at this wine’s bare face.”

This analyzer is a piece of equipment worth over a million dollars. Margaret strokes the chromatograph with rapt eyes, puts in a sample, and presses the start button.

It took over two hours for the machine to turn around.

Beep beep beep.

Jieeeeing.

The timer is ringing and the result is being printed.

Margaret snatches it up and begins to read it, then chuckles.

“Aha! You extracted anthocyanins from blueberries?”

The results showed that petunidin glucoside, a component never found in grapes, was detected.