A Fine Wine (2) Ein guter Wein (2) Un buen vino (2) Un bon vin (2) 고급 와인 (2) A Fine Wine (2)

'Nurse,' he told her. 'This burger tastes like salty cardboard, the chips are like soap, the peas are tasteless and hard and the orange juice is like old vinegar! Don't you have any fresh food here? Are you trying to play some kind of joke on me or what?'

The nurse took away the food and he was brought a salad instead. Once again, Daniel Appleby complained that his food had no proper taste. The nurse had the food checked by the manager of the kitchen. The manager said it all tasted fine.

'That manager's tongue must be made out of rubber,' Daniel replied in disgust.

The doctor was called and tests were made immediately on Daniel to see if anything was wrong. There was something wrong. The accident had caused some bleeding in Daniel's brain. It had damaged the part of his brain that controlled his sense of smell. The result was that Daniel had almost completely lost his ability to smell things. Because the sense of taste depends very much on smell, all he had now were three basic tastes: salt, sweet and bitter. He couldn't taste anything else. He could still enjoy the colour and feel of food, but none of it would taste of anything more than those three basic tastes, no matter what the food or drink was. That's what the doctor told him.

But, apart from that, he was fine.

'Of course I'm fine! Now can I go home?' he asked, impatiently. The doctor told him he could and that was what he did.

But this time he went home on the bus.

The first thing he did when he got home was book a table at his favourite French restaurant. He did not believe for one moment that his famous nose and tongue were no longer as sensitive as they used to be. It had only been a minor accident. No, a good meal, a glass of good wine and he would soon be back to his old ways. As for hospital food, well... everybody knows what that is like: it always tastes disgusting. In fact, cardboard would be an improvement on that awful rubbish.

After a bath and a shave he was all ready. He put on his favourite clothes, including his spotted tie and red jacket. He was looking forward to his meal. Er freute sich auf seine Mahlzeit. As always before eating out, he drank nothing stronger than water - he did not want any other tastes to spoil the sensitivity of his tongue. Wie immer vor dem Essen trank er nichts Stärkeres als Wasser - er wollte nicht, dass andere Geschmäcker die Empfindlichkeit seiner Zunge beeinträchtigten. He had also arranged to meet Justin, his immediate boss and one of Happimart's chief marketing managers. Er hatte auch ein Treffen mit Justin arrangiert, seinem direkten Vorgesetzten und einem der wichtigsten Marketingmanager von Happimart. Justin had left a message on his answerphone. Justin hatte eine Nachricht auf seinem Anrufbeantworter hinterlassen. He wanted to know if the Bordeaux business with old Colbert had been successful. Er wollte wissen, ob das Bordeaux-Geschäft mit dem alten Colbert erfolgreich gewesen sei. Well, he would tell him the good news over a delicious meal. Nun, er würde ihm die gute Nachricht bei einer köstlichen Mahlzeit überbringen.

They had the best table, the one overlooking the river. Sie hatten den besten Tisch, den mit Blick auf den Fluss.

Daniel recommended the veal with truffles and new potatoes in garlic butter. But first they must have Henri's famous onion soup. Henri was the best maker of soups in the business. The restaurant had brought him all the way from Provence in France just to make soups for them. Das Restaurant hatte ihn extra aus der Provence in Frankreich kommen lassen, um für sie Suppen zu kochen.

When the soup arrived, he waited for Justin to taste first. They had both turned down an aperitif and had drunk only mineral water to begin with. Sie hatten beide einen Aperitif abgelehnt und zunächst nur Mineralwasser getrunken. They had their wine glasses filled with wine from Burgundy, but they would only drink it after the soup - they didn't want to spoil it. Sie hatten ihre Weingläser mit Wein aus dem Burgund gefüllt, den sie aber erst nach der Suppe trinken wollten, um ihn nicht zu verderben.

Justin tasted. He was a tall man of about thirty-five, with neat blond hair and a body which had once been fit but had got fatter with lots of good food. He wore an expensive suit and had the look of a man who was used to getting his own way. He was almost as fond of good food and wine as Daniel. In fact, it had been Justin's idea to produce Dinner Party for television with Daniel as one of its stars.

'Daniel, my dear boy, this soup is fantastic! Henri has never made better!'

Daniel smiled. Good old Henri! He took a spoonful of soup and put it into his mouth. He waited a moment for the heat of the soup to go down a little, while his tongue took in the flavour.

Salt!

All he could taste was salt! It tasted so terrible that he nearly spat out the soup.

Justin noticed.

'Daniel - whatever is the matter? Are you all right?'

Justin, he observed, had already swallowed two spoonfuls of the soup. Justin's taste was almost as expert as Daniel's, yet he had liked it. Could those doctors have been right? Had he really lost his famous sense of taste?

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. This was hardly the time to admit anything about the loss of his sense of taste - not to a man who was going to give him a job that depended on it! Dies war kaum der richtige Zeitpunkt, um den Verlust seines Geschmackssinns zuzugeben - nicht gegenüber einem Mann, der ihm einen Job geben wollte, der davon abhing! He would have to pretend nothing was the matter. Er würde so tun müssen, als ob nichts wäre. After all, Henri's soup could always be depended on - it was always excellent. Auf Henris Suppe war schließlich immer Verlass - sie war immer ausgezeichnet.

'Er... nothing,' he told Justin. 'Just a little something in the throat. Nur eine Kleinigkeit im Rachen. This soup is delicious, do finish it.' Diese Suppe ist köstlich, iss sie auf.'

Justin smiled and finished his soup. Justin lächelte und aß seine Suppe auf. He then praised the Burgundy, a wine that was a particular favourite of Daniel's, though tonight it tasted like warm vinegar as far as he could tell. Затем он похвалил бургундское вино, которое Дэниел особенно любил, хотя сегодня, насколько он мог судить, оно напоминало теплый уксус. In fact, it tasted so horrible that he had to try very hard not to spit it out. But he drank it.

They talked as they ate and Daniel told Justin about old Colbert's wine. Justin seemed delighted and was looking forward to tasting it. He asked Daniel to bring some to the Happimart office the next day for a tasting of some of the new wines Happimart had recently bought. Justin liked to try all the new wines before they went on sale, and it was a good way for Happimart's wine tasters to practise. Justin also knew that Daniel loved to show off in front of the other tasters. It was expected.

'Why, of course,' Daniel answered. But he was beginning to be afraid. The veal which Justin was now finding so tasty was just a salty piece of soft stuff in his mouth. He might just as well be eating the insides of a cushion. But he dare not tell Justin. The thought of attempting a wine tasting - an occasion he would normally look forward to - now filled him with fear. Der Gedanke an eine Weinprobe - eine Gelegenheit, auf die er sich normalerweise freute - erfüllte ihn jetzt mit Angst. He would need time to do something. Er würde Zeit brauchen, um etwas zu tun. He had to act quickly. Er musste schnell handeln.

'But wouldn't it be better, Justin, if we had the wine tasting at a later date?' Aber wäre es nicht besser, Justin, wenn wir die Weinprobe zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt machen würden? he suggested. schlug er vor.

'Daniel, my boy, why ever would you want to do that? Daniel, mein Junge, warum wolltest du das tun? Don't you want to show off your abilities to your employers!' Willst du deinen Arbeitgebern nicht zeigen, was du kannst? Разве вы не хотите похвастаться своими способностями перед вашими работодателями! The way Justin emphasised the word employers sounded almost threatening. Die Art und Weise, wie Justin das Wort Arbeitgeber betonte, klang fast bedrohlich. То, как Джастин подчеркнул слово «работодатели», звучало почти угрожающе. Justin was not used to his arrangements being disturbed. Justin war es nicht gewohnt, dass seine Absprachen gestört wurden. Джастин не привык, чтобы его планы нарушались. If Daniel had a reason to change his plans it had better be good. Если у Даниэля была причина изменить свои планы, она должна быть хорошей.

Daniel had to think quickly. He knew that Justin wouldn't want him on his television show if he knew about his problem; he might even find a reason to make him leave Happimart completely!

An idea formed in Daniel's mind, a desperate one but it came out of his mouth before he could stop it.

'Er... to give us time to bring over our new employee, Monsieur Colbert,' said Daniel. 'Old Colbert makes some of the best wines in the world; perhaps he would be a good man to test out our wines, as well as myself. After all, if he is to supervise our new vineyard it would be a good idea to get his expert advice on other wines, wouldn't it?'

Justin sensed that something was not right but didn't know what it was. He didn't really like Daniel but had always respected his abilities as a wine taster, even if he thought Daniel was greedy, with too high an opinion of himself. Er mochte Daniel nicht wirklich, aber er hatte seine Fähigkeiten als Weinverkoster immer respektiert, auch wenn er Daniel für gierig hielt, mit einer zu hohen Meinung von sich selbst. But, of course, if he wasn't able to do the job any more then there was no reason to keep him on. Aber wenn er nicht mehr in der Lage war, die Arbeit zu erledigen, gab es natürlich keinen Grund, ihn weiter zu beschäftigen.

'Why, Daniel, I never thought I'd hear you tell me that you valued somebody else's opinion above your own! Daniel, ich hätte nie gedacht, dass du mir einmal sagen würdest, dass du die Meinung eines anderen über deine eigene stellst! You must be losing your abilities!' Du musst deine Fähigkeiten verlieren!'

'Not at all!' Überhaupt nicht! Daniel thought that old Colbert was sure to have a good nose for wines - in his business he had to have. Daniel dachte, dass der alte Colbert sicher einen guten Riecher für Weine hatte - in seinem Geschäft musste er den haben. He could simply agree with everything Colbert said. Er könnte einfach allem zustimmen, was Colbert sagt. That would stop people finding out about him and save him from a huge embarrassment. Das würde verhindern, dass die Leute etwas über ihn herausfinden und ihn vor einer großen Blamage bewahren. He could pretend there was nothing wrong with him and just judge wines on their colour and feel - you could tell a lot about wines that way if you knew what to look for, as he did. Er konnte so tun, als sei alles in Ordnung mit ihm, und die Weine nur nach ihrer Farbe und ihrer Haptik beurteilen - auf diese Weise konnte man viel über die Weine erfahren, wenn man wusste, worauf man achten musste, wie er es tat. Yes, he could use old Colbert to get him out of this mess until his sense of taste got back to normal. Ja, er könnte den alten Colbert gebrauchen, um sich aus dem Schlamassel zu ziehen, bis sich sein Geschmackssinn wieder normalisiert hat. But that would be soon, he was sure. Aber das würde bald sein, da war er sich sicher.

'All right, Daniel. I'll leave the arrangements to you. Bring him over, fix a date and I'll get the wines. Bringen Sie ihn her, vereinbaren Sie einen Termin und ich besorge die Weine. But Daniel?'

'Yes, Justin...?'

'Don't make a habit of this. Das sollte nicht zur Gewohnheit werden. OK?'

Daniel went to see the doctor again. He had been certain that his condition was just temporary but now he wasn't so sure. Er war sich sicher gewesen, dass sein Zustand nur vorübergehend war, aber jetzt war er sich nicht mehr so sicher. Would he ever get his sense of smell and taste back to normal? Würde er seinen Geruchs- und Geschmackssinn jemals wieder normal entwickeln können? He had to know - his future career depended on it. Er musste es wissen - seine zukünftige Karriere hing davon ab.

'There's no way of knowing, Mr Appleby,' said the doctor. Das kann man nicht wissen, Mr. Appleby", sagte der Arzt. 'In most cases I'd say no, but your brain suffered very little damage. In den meisten Fällen würde ich das verneinen, aber Ihr Gehirn hat nur sehr wenig Schaden genommen. It might recover, but I can't be sure. Vielleicht erholt sie sich, aber ich bin mir nicht sicher. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful than that.' Es tut mir leid, dass ich Ihnen nicht weiterhelfen kann.

That evening at home Daniel did something he very rarely did: he got drunk. An diesem Abend tat Daniel zu Hause etwas, was er sehr selten tat: Er betrank sich. He got drunk at home on brandy he could not taste. Er betrank sich zu Hause mit Schnaps, den er nicht schmecken konnte.

The next morning he had a terrible headache and he stayed at home. Am nächsten Morgen hatte er schreckliche Kopfschmerzen und blieb zu Hause.

Daniel Appleby had to face the fact that his future now depended on Colbert. He didn't like the idea, but maybe he could use him. After all, he had saved his vineyard for him; it would go on making his beautiful wines. Schließlich hatte er seinen Weinberg für sich gerettet, aus dem er auch weiterhin seine schönen Weine herstellen würde. The fact that the old vineyard was now owned by Happimart and the old man was now just an employee wasn't important. Die Tatsache, dass das alte Weingut nun Happimart gehörte und der alte Mann nur noch ein Angestellter war, spielte keine Rolle.

At least, Daniel didn't think so. Zumindest glaubte Daniel das nicht. And if he could get the old man to help him, nobody need know about his loss of taste. Und wenn er den alten Mann dazu bringen könnte, ihm zu helfen, müsste niemand von seinem Geschmacksverlust erfahren. 'Surely,' thought Daniel, 'old Colbert could understand the pride we wine tasters have in our profession? Sicherlich", dachte Daniel, "kann der alte Colbert den Stolz verstehen, den wir Weinverkoster auf unseren Beruf haben. After all, he's a proud man himself, in his way.' Schließlich ist er selbst ein stolzer Mann, auf seine Art.' Daniel guessed that Colbert - like most wine experts - would love to try what other wines were on offer. Daniel vermutete, dass Colbert - wie die meisten Weinexperten - gerne andere Weine probieren würde, die im Angebot waren. In any case, he knew that Colbert would be needed to instruct Happimart specialists on the methods he used to produce his wine. Auf jeden Fall wusste er, dass Colbert gebraucht werden würde, um die Fachleute von Happimart in die Methoden einzuweisen, die er zur Herstellung seines Weins anwendet.

Daniel decided to risk it; he would tell Colbert everything about his accident and his loss of taste. Daniel beschloss, es zu riskieren; er würde Colbert alles über seinen Unfall und seinen Geschmacksverlust erzählen. Besides, Colbert owed him a favour, didn't he? Außerdem war Colbert ihm einen Gefallen schuldig, nicht wahr? But, just to be sure, he would tell him that he would get him sacked from his new job if he didn't help. Aber um sicherzugehen, würde er ihm sagen, dass er ihn aus seinem neuen Job entlassen würde, wenn er nicht helfen würde. He couldn't refuse then. Da konnte er nicht ablehnen. He would get on the telephone and speak to him right away. Er würde sofort zum Telefon greifen und mit ihm sprechen.

No problem.

The next few days saw Daniel Appleby busily making arrangements over the telephone with old Colbert, who agreed to be there in two weeks. In den nächsten Tagen war Daniel Appleby damit beschäftigt, telefonisch mit dem alten Colbert zu verhandeln, der zusagte, in zwei Wochen zu kommen.

Thank goodness!

A week later Daniel got a phone call from Justin. Eine Woche später erhielt Daniel einen Anruf von Justin. He had just tasted some of old Colbert's wine and he was very excited about it. Er hatte gerade den Wein des alten Colbert gekostet und war sehr begeistert davon.

'Daniel, my boy, I knew it must be good because of what you said but I never realised it would be this good. Daniel, mein Junge, ich wusste, dass es gut sein muss, nach dem, was du gesagt hast, aber ich hätte nie gedacht, dass es so gut sein würde. Once we start producing this we'll create a whole new market for quality wine - everybody will want it! Sobald wir mit der Produktion beginnen, werden wir einen ganz neuen Markt für Qualitätswein schaffen - jeder wird ihn wollen! And you must get Monsieur Colbert to bring any more of these wonderful wines he may have - the man is simply brilliant! Und Sie müssen Monsieur Colbert dazu bringen, noch mehr von diesen wunderbaren Weinen mitzubringen - der Mann ist einfach genial! You are a clever old thing, Daniel! Du bist ein schlaues Kerlchen, Daniel! But then you are the best in the business - Happimart is lucky to have you! Aber Sie sind der Beste in der Branche - Happimart kann sich glücklich schätzen, Sie zu haben! I am looking forward to meeting Monsieur Colbert next week! Ich freue mich darauf, nächste Woche Monsieur Colbert zu treffen! I've invited people from the television company, photographers from the best newspapers - everybody! Ich habe Leute vom Fernsehen eingeladen, Fotografen von den besten Zeitungen - alle! Don't disappoint me, Daniel because this is going to be big!' Enttäusche mich nicht, Daniel, denn das wird eine große Sache!'