The wine cup must be filled to the brim, the flower branches fall one by one.
Winters Spirits Group hosts its annual white wine blind tasting event, which over the past four years has gradually gained the feel of an awards ceremony.
The venue seats representatives from one hundred winery brands, with not a single empty seat.
The doors slowly open, and a young man dressed in Issey Miyake, untouched by a speck of dust and exuding an artisan's aura, enters the silent hall under the guidance of lights.
Precise steps, exact frequency.
In everyday life, few can turn walking into such a "precise" act, aside from professional flag raisers and bearers.
The spotlight stops at the waiting area for the Celestar white wine annual Top 100 list.
One hundred identical tasting glasses are lined up in a row.
Beneath each tasting glass is a black box numbered from 1 to 100.
This young man, exuding artisan qualities, walks past all one hundred black boxes.
He switches to a new number every three seconds.
Picks up the tasting glass on top of the black box.
Takes a deep breath.
Returns the glass.
After a brief pause, exhales gently again.
Leaves no trace of his own breath in the tasting glass.
Repeating the actions with machine-like accuracy, one hundred times.
Repetition means monotony, but if the person repeating these actions is the youngest national-level wine taster, Sean Lowell.
Monotony somehow turns into something worth anticipating.
The seated 100 winery representatives cannot help but scrutinize every subtle expression on Sean Lowell's face.
Hoping, compared to those not present, to decipher which wines Sean Lowell will favor this year, even a minute earlier.
Yet this young national-level wine taster continues to quietly inhale each one, without any change in facial expression.
This is a white wine tasting showcase frequently questioned by skeptics.
Fashionable. Dynamic. Technological.
Every element is incompatible with the centuries-old perception of Celestar white wine.
Many seasoned wine tasters regard it as the most unprofessional and unpopular Celestar white wine blind tasting event.
Yet this "unpopular" blind tasting event has become the most highly anticipated phenomenon in the Celestar white wine scene, without exception.
After a round of smelling, Sean Lowell does not follow the "typical" procedure by smelling again.
He doesn't even complete the usual processes of observe, smell, taste, and evaluate before closing his eyes.
Precisely 100 seconds later, Sean Lowell writes down ten serial numbers one by one on the electronic display screen next to the last black box in the waiting area.
No. 6, No. 13, No. 22...
Each time he writes a number, the brand lightboxes of the seating area for winery representatives, which were unified and turned off when he entered, are lit up.
The one hundred representatives hold their breath, hoping their seat is the next to light up.
The fierce competition of selecting ten out of a hundred cannot be underestimated.
Sean Lowell faces away from the guest seats, unaware if his chosen wines belong to long-established or newly arrived brands.
After writing the ten serial numbers, Sean Lowell plunges into a soundproof glass chamber built on a highly technological stage.
It closely resembles the scene of a global finals esports match.
Once he enters the glass chamber, the door automatically closes.
The audience can see Sean Lowell through a screen at the top of the stage.
But Sean Lowell does not see the people outside the glass chamber or hear any sounds from outside.
He is entirely cut off from the world.
After six minutes and forty seconds of silence, the venue suddenly erupts with voices.
Some congratulate the representatives of lit-up brands, while others remark how unfortunate it is for those whose brands remain unlit this year.
The attending brand representatives either sincerely celebrate or engage in superficial socializing.
A typical Celestar-style social gathering in appearance.
However, none of this relates to Sean Lowell inside the soundproof glass chamber, without even a ray of spotlight.
He silently sits inside the glass chamber, with an exceptionally sensitive microphone placed directly in front of him.
Immersed in his world, the occupancy of the venue, whether filled or empty, does not affect him in the slightest.
Once the ten selected blind tasting wines are delivered to a waiting area inside the soundproof glass chamber, the music and lights revert to their original state.