Fuck…
Wait!
Hey!
Wait!
No, no, no! Stop, stop, stop!
Sorry, but can you put it down, please?
Please, I forgot a very important thing inside. Thank you.
Okay.
Come on, come on.
Yes! Yes! Thank you!
Bravo! Sorry. Have a nice day.
Yes!
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Let's go.
Hirokazu, please don't go now.
He's no longer in intensive care. I think he's gonna be okay.
But still, he needs you.
We're running late. We have a plane to catch.
Take care of him.
Visits are allowed from 1:30 p.m.
- Room 409. Thank you. - Take care.
Marianne, be careful with the chickens!
The bottle's empty. You know that?
Yes, but I noticed that the wax is sticky. Do you know why?
Yes, it's greasy. It's not resin, it's beeswax.
- But beeswax hasn't been used since-- - The Middle Ages.
So, you're trying to help your brother, right?
I would like to, but…
I have an idea.
Have you known him long?
Since we were kids.
We used to get pissed together in our early twenties.
Then I got married.
So…
Raphael!
No. He must be near the beehives.
Careful, girls.
Everything okay in there?
- Looks like it. - Raphael?
Yes?
I thought you were dead.
Well, no.
Is this your daughter-in-law?
Well, sort of.
We need to pick your brain.
When you need me, you know where I live, right?
It's been five years.
- Wait. - Sorry.
I'm sure your bees are very nice, but may we go somewhere else?
Sorry.
It's beeswax.
No paraffin, no resin.
There's no coloring either.
It's yellow because it contains a lot of propolis,
which is characteristic of certain bees.
Can you identify which type of bee made this wax?
Of course I can.
We're going to measure the melting point.
If the wax melts at 58 degrees,
that points to a small black bee found only in America.
- Okay. - On the other hand,
- if it's 61 degrees, we're in trouble. - Why trouble?
It would mean it's a common bee. They can live pretty much anywhere on Earth.
Great.
Shall we?
CAUTION HIGH TEMPERATURE 250°C
Sixty-one degrees.
Sorry, I can't tell you the brand of bee.
You know, there are other ways to find out.
Really?
You could contact a laboratory and get a microbiological analysis.
They could tell you which pollens are in your wax. Then you'll know the flowers.
And then we will only have to find where they came from.
I have a friend in a lab in Aix-en-Provence.
A friend?
Excellent! So ask your friend.
Since you're my friend,
next time you come to see me, bring a bottle with wine in it.
And we can drink it together.
I have a lead.
A wine of this quality must be bottled where it's produced.
Not somewhere else, right?
The wax on the bottleneck, it has pollen in it.
So I've sent it to a lab to analyze it--
If we are sending anything to a lab,
it should be the wine to establish the grape variety.
That's what we need to know.
Yeah…
There is none left.
You drank it?
I emptied it.
I was angry and really needed to put this behind me.
But it's not a problem.
We tasted the wine. It's all here in our heads.
How could you do something so stupid?
You know, people worry about you, but you're not making it easy.
Do you know your father left this morning back to Tokyo?
I don't need pity.
I'll call you when I get the results of the lab.
You'd like that.
Finding it for me.
It's not a competition, Issei. Okay?
Hello.
Dad. Why are you leaving?
I can't go through this again.
What do you mean?
You probably don't remember this,
but when you were three we were in Okinawa on vacation…
and you almost drowned.
You never told me that.
Yes, you almost died.
That might explain it.
What?
I understand now why you don't want me to dive.
When I saw you yesterday,
it felt like the story was about to repeat itself.
I couldn't bear it.
…traveling to Tokyo, are requested
to proceed to boarding gate…
I have to go.
Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.
Take care.
Camille.
Camille, what are you doing? The American guy's waiting for you on the patio.
You handle the meeting, please.
He came to see you.
I'm sorry, I can't.
I'm trying to help Issei find the grape variety.
Well…
That's how it is. Another day wasted.
I came here to spend time with her, but no.
Camille has other things to deal with.
She is so ungrateful. Like all children, in fact.
Except for you, Thomas. You look after your father.
You do realize how lucky you are?
Yeah, I know.
I think I'll do like Hirokazu. I give up.
I'm going home tomorrow.
Vacation's over.
I'm still going to bring her some food.
I'll leave you alone.
She worries about Issei. That's all.
Believe that if you want to.
But I know my daughter better than anyone,
and above all I haven't forgotten who Alexandre was.
Thank you.
The wax analysis might give us a location,
but we still need to know the grape variety we're looking for.
I've listed all the aromas, and then there's this minerality,
which I can't find. I'm fed up.
Drop it then.
He's so annoying.
But what can I do? I'm worried about him.
Why don't you go to Vassal?
Maybe it is a forgotten variety you're looking for.
Vassal is the world's largest bank of grape varieties.
They have some you'll never find in your books.
- Would you come with me? - No.
- Come on. - I have too much work, Camille.
- Come on. Come on. Please? - No. No.
- No. - Please. Yes.
- You annoy me, you know? - Yes.
We have almost 8,500 grape varieties from every continent.
It started in 1876 at the height of the phylloxera crisis,
when the aim was to collect as many varieties as possible
before the insects destroyed everything.
Okay, hence the sand.
It stops the insects from getting through it.
That's why we chose this site.
But unfortunately, it's turning out to be a curse.
By 2050, the sea will have submerged everything.
What are you going to do?
We're moving, replanting our 27 hectares five kilometers from the coast.
And we have to do it in the next ten years.
After which… the world will end.
What a job.
So,
you need to find a forgotten grape?
Yes.
Well, you've come to the right place.
It's a variety that gives a red wine with notes of red currant,
wild black currant, fresh arbutus berry.
Rose hip, geranium, lilac and jalapeño pepper.
It's a clear wine, like a Pinot Noir.
But the freshness of the wild berries
reminds me of a grenache with controlled oxidation.
Except that the palate is firmer, acidic, a bit like a reducing Sangiovese.
And then there's this mineral impression that we can't put our finger on.
That's why we think it's a forgotten variety.
Our thing is ampelography. We're all about the plant, not the wine.
I'm not a sommelier.
Tell me about the flavor of the fruit, then I can help.
But the aromas of the wine only pop up after vinification.
They've got little to do with the plant itself.
So, for example, Tazzelenghe. Friuli area, Italy.
It has dense flowering, conical cluster,
- violet fruit, resistance to diseases-- - I'm sorry.
- Yes? - This won't help.
We need to taste these wines.
Well, we vinify some of our grape varieties
that might adapt to climate change and, among them, some forgotten ones.
And… can we taste them?
Yes. Yes.
Here. The list of forgotten grape varieties
we've vinified in red since 2018.
I won't go back further than that because over time we lose freshness of the aromas
and… there's no point.
Thank you.
Is it good?
So why did you eat it?
I'm very obedient.
Thank you.
If you'd drowned, Daï would've made my life unbearable.
So it was self preservation really.
I called him, by the way.
He asked me to pass on a message?
"A sea lion would never use a hair dryer in a tub."
What the hell?
I met Daï at university. In California.
You can see sea lions when you drive along the coast.
We invented this game.
Everything a sea lion would never do.
So like, a sea lion would never eat this.
- Hey. - Listen.
I'm at the Vassal domain. It's a research center near Montpellier.
Yes, I know it.
So, I've got 123 wines to taste
made out of forgotten grape varieties that nobody knows--
Anyway, I don't--
From all around the world.
Okay.
Just wanted to let you know.
Thank you.
- Well then, let's begin. - Let's.
What are you doing?
Issei?
I really think you should stay in bed.
I feel much better now.
So where are we heading?
Vassal.
What's in Vassal?
A wine.
What kind of wine?
A special one.
That special?
Yes.
Okay then, get in.
Can't your sister figure things out on her own?
She's the best.
So, what's the problem?
She's unpredictable. I don't trust her.
You sure that's what this is?
What do you mean?
Nothing. I'm sorry. It's none of my business.
No, you were saying that…
It just seems to me
that you're trying to prove to yourself you're better than her.
I love awkward silences.
Next… A Criolla from Argentina.
I know this one.
It's the grape variety that's been replaced by Malbec.
More robust. This isn't it.
Wait, wait, wait!
- I'm telling you this isn't it. - Yes, well…
- Yeah… - Yeah, sorry.
Issei? What are you doing here?
How far did you get?
We've tried over half.
Yeah, 71.
And we've selected two that could match.
Look at the color.
These wines are too deep.
There's no point trying them. You are doing it wrong.
You should be in a hospital.
I'm gonna… gonna go.
- Hi, Daï. - Natasha?
Everything okay?
How's Issei?
Good. Better.
I just wonder if he isn't completely crazy.
Does he want to dive again?
No. But as we speak,
your friend is about to try a hundred different wines
while he should be in the hospital.
That just means he's back to normal.
Don't worry.
I gotta go. Bye.
Okay.
Ten more to go.
Herbemont.
It's not only a forgotten grape variety.
It's a forbidden one.
You know what they say about wines made out of it?
It can drive you mad.
Don't worry, it's a legend.
Well, it's true that it gives off methanol during fermentation,
but in such a tiny amounts. It's been proven.
But the real reason it was banned, it was financial.
There. The Herbemont plants that we keep in the center.
See, the Herbemont, it's like God and the Devil rolled into one.
It's resistant to all diseases, so it doesn't need treatment,
which is not good for the chemical industry.
So, that's why the French government banned it in 1935.
And today, no one uses it to make wine anymore.
Well, someone does.
Okay.
More, please.
Just a little more.
- That's a bonus for you. All right. - That's perfect, thank you.
- Here. Thank you. - Here you go.
- Good morning. - Good morning, Mrs. Kinu.
Mrs. Kinu!
Good morning, sir.
I'm delighted to see you.
- It's been such a long time. - Yes.
- Are you well? - Yes.
And Mrs. Honoka is well?
Yes.
Ah, thank you. Come again.
- I wish you a very good day. - Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
- Mrs. Kinu, the same as always? - Yes?
Oh, yes.
What?
I almost called you, but you wouldn't have answered me.
Your son had an accident. He almost died.
A diving accident. He's got into free diving.
He almost drowned.
He's in a hospital, in France.
Where?
In Marseille, La Timone Hospital. Pulmonology department.
Is he going to be all right?
Call him.
He won't answer you, but it'll put your mind at ease.
At least, I think it will.
ISSEI
Issei!
I've got the wax analysis.
We're gonna know where it's from and then we'll be able to find our Herbemont.
Look!
It's in Latin.
Doctors know Latin.
Yes, but this doctor is busy. Please leave.
Sorry.
As soon as you're done, we'll go to the beekeeper.
You go. He stays.
Right.
You were lucky, Mr. Tomine.
You got water in the lungs, but no fever, so no infection.
At least, for now.
However, you have a severe pneumopathy.
You're going to take it easy.
No excitement. Rest. Watch the birds. Okay?
Polygonum aviculare. Birdweed.
That's everywhere you find human beings, even in towns.
Oxalis pes-caprae,
the goat's foot, from South Africa.
Paliurus spina-christi.
The Romans used its thorns to make Christ's crown.
Olive, thyme, Centaurea pumilio,
common yarrow… that's the Mediterranean,
and I'd even say Greece, because there's Greek arbutus.
Greece, it's big.
I don't know that one.
Micromeria acropolitana Halácsy.
Halácsy, Halácsy… Halácsy.
What's going on?
Halácsy, Halácsy, Halácsy…
Halácsy. Got it.
In 1908, Eugen von Halácsy
managed the Athens Botanical Gardens and listed all the flora in Greece.
Hats off to the guy.
Got it. Micromeria acropolitana.
It was collected for the first time in 1906.
It's endemic,
which means that it only grows there, on the Acropolis hill in Athens.
A flower which only grows on the Acropolis?
It can happen. It's nature.
Ouch.
Your flower used to grow there,
but since 1906 nobody has ever found it again.
It's listed as, "Disappeared."
Bummer.
Camille…
But this wax, and even this wine aren't from 1906.
At least I don't think so.
Well, I can't say for the wine…
but about the wax, you're right.
It's no more than 20 years old.
Which means that your little flower still exists.
I'd put money on that.
Go out there and look for beehives on the Acropolis.
- Thank you. - Okay,
can somebody tell me what's going on?
This is so slow.
I told you we should have booked.
This is not a way to do this.
You've got a better idea?
I'm not sure this is the better idea.
AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
So, you're looking for a wildflower
that almost no one has ever heard of
because you think someone is making beeswax out of it for a bottle of wine?
Yes.
You really like your job.
I love my job.
Sometimes it takes me to places I never thought I would go,
like the banks of the Amazon River.
It kills my daughter.
She just wants me to babysit her children all the time.
Anyway, you are lucky you found me.
In 2006, one of my colleagues identified your flower on the Acropolis.
And in 2009, a professor from Copenhagen confirmed its presence.
Just think, it dates back to Sophocles, back to Homer.
Look.
What's this?
This is the DNA of the micromeria acropolitana Halácsy.
Isn't it great?
It is. But I'm not sure this can help us.
Do you know if there are any beehives around the Acropolis?
There must be some
because my daughter once gave me a jar of honey
she bought next to a church from someone a bit eccentric.
He said that he had beehives right there in the Acropolis area.
And could you ask your daughter for his name?
She's gonna ask me to babysit again.
Please, madam.
You're going too fast.
Sorry.
Excuse me. Do you live here?
- Yes. - I'm looking for Agios Georgios Church.
Yes. It's over there.
- Over there. Okay. - Yes.
Thank you so much.
Issei, do you need a doctor?
- I'm calling a doctor. - No, no. I'm okay. I just need a minute.
Okay.
You go. I'll join you.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
Go, go. I'm okay.
Okay.
Don't worry. She is just tired.
She's nice.
At the end of summer, the bees know that they will die soon.
We must pray for them.
Are you Alexi Pipia?
Good, huh?
It's good.
Feel better?
Honey cures everything.
Thanks to God.
How many beehives do you have?
I had six, but three now. Empty.
The bees are dying because of man.
Do you make a lot of honey?
Less and less.
What about the wax? Do you collect it?
Oh, yes.
Wax is sacred. It's the grace of the Holy Spirit.
It's used for candles, and candles are the symbol of prayer.
Do you make candles too?
No. No candles. I give my wax to the monastery in my village.
Where is your village?
In Georgia.
You're not Greek?
I was born in Georgia.
Georgia.
Fantastic food, great… great wine.
God says eat your bread and drink your wine.
Especially from Kakheti, isn't it?
I am not from Kakheti, I am from Kartli.
Kartli?
You know Kartli?
Of course. I'm an enologist.
Wine expert. This is why I was looking for you.
Actually, I am looking for a wine,
and your wax is used to seal the bottles of that wine.
Do they make wine in this monastery?
Yes.
Can you tell me the name of your village?
Hello. Excuse me, do you speak English?
Yes.
I'm looking for someone. Maybe you know him.
Alexi Pipia?
Yes, I know him.
Daï, it's me.
I need someone I can trust in Georgia.
Where are you?
In Greece.
Are you okay? How do you feel?
I'm fine.
Fuck.
I'm impressed. I know a guy. I'll text you.
Thanks.
Oh, my God! Issei!
Where were you?
I've got Alexi's address.
I met him.
What?
He gave me the name of a monastery in Georgia
where he sends his beeswax for their wine.
That's great.
Mr. Tomine? For the airport?
Yes, just a moment.
You were going without me?
No.
- We need to stop by our hotel first. - Okay.
Are you coming?
The Quinta Hotel.