The first representative from the 6th wine brand, marked by Sean Lowell, took the wine they brought from the 6th black box to the stage's center.
Opening the bottle cap, they poured the wine into an apparatus that can detect alcohol content.
Beyond alcohol content, within six minutes, the device can detect the wine's year based on volatility coefficients.
As the brand representative took the stage, screens began to show the wine's brewing process.
Using the video as a background, the representative introduced the wine they brought today.
From brand, scent, year, bottle, label, to marked alcohol content and raw material information, they spoke eloquently, like an expert.
Everyone stood from a God's perspective, except Sean Lowell in the soundproof glass room.
Inside the soundproof room, his distinct right hand picked up a wine glass.
After a one-second sniff, he gently took a sip.
The liquid stayed in his mouth for three seconds, allowing it to permeate his whole palate, then he spat it out.
This extraordinary man had a remarkably exquisite manner of drinking wine.
Many felt even the act of spitting out wine by Sean Lowell had a lethal appeal.
The soundproof room had excellent audio reception.
With careful discernment, one might even hear the wine glass being softly placed back onto the table.
Yet no matter how outstanding the audio device was, it couldn't capture a sound from Sean Lowell, as even his breathing seemed still.
After finishing the wine tasting for number 6, Sean Lowell said nothing, writing down his evaluation on the board—clean, refreshing, smooth, sweet, pure. Amid an ethyl acetate base, lactate ester aromas emanated, elegant and comfortable without impurities, spicy yet mellow on entry, with a sweet finish and lingering aroma.
The final tasting result for wine number 6: Westmount Grain alcohol, new product, bottle marked at 53 degrees, actual degree 52.8.
Most drinkers can easily distinguish between high and low alcohol content beverages.
However, with less than a five-degree variance, most can't tell them apart.
Alcohol content assessment is the 'ghost of trouble' in wine taster exams, spanning across 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53 degrees with four identical 'repetitions', totaling ten glasses. This is the exam's toughest part.
Being able to discern a three-degree difference qualifies one to pass as a wine taster. Those able to detect a one-degree difference are considered outstanding in wine tasting.
Even the most skilled national wine taster can't discern less than one-degree differences. Except Sean Lowell.
After writing down the degree, the instrument's data was revealed.
52.8 degrees, not one more or less, just perfectly accurate.
A wave-like applause erupted from the audience.
Being able to pinpoint alcohol content accuracy to one decimal place astonished peers, showcasing the talents of Sean Lowell inside the soundproof room, China's youngest chief wine taster.
Sean Lowell remained oblivious to the applause and the expressions of winery representatives.
External reactions were beyond Sean's concern.
Silently, he awaited the mechanical device transporting the second glass for tasting.
The brewing process of wine number 13 began playing on the on-site screen, with the representative taking the wine from the black box and walking towards the stage's center.
Baijiu enthusiasts in the audience collectively swallowed nervously.
Wine number 13 differed from the new wine from factory 6; it was an aged wine.
Sean Lowell wrote down the simple review of aroma, mellow, soft, robust, intense for wine number 13, adding professional evaluations—elegant aged aroma, incorporating ancient cellar, aged dregs and aged ferment Five-Grain cellar scent, robust yet smooth taste, perfectly blended sorghum, rice, sticky rice, wheat, and corn, leaving a lasting lingering aftertaste.
The final tasting result for wine number 13 is: 1988 drum-shaped bottle Five-Grain Liquor, factory alcohol degree 60, current stored alcohol degree 56.7.
56.7, Sean Lowell's alcohol content assessment matched the instrument once more.
The machine took six minutes to determine the wine's year, perfectly aligning with Sean Lowell's casually written 1988.
No matter how much the brand representatives under the God perspective longed, Sean Lowell barely retained the wine in his mouth for three seconds before spitting it out, rinsing with strong tea.
After finishing the first two rounds of tasting, the representative from winery number 22 rose from their position in front of the lamp box.
Would it be aged wine or new?
All eyes focused on the large on-site screen, but unlike the previous seamless introductions for number 22's wine, the video did not play.
Has the on-site playback system malfunctioned?
The representative from winery number 22 was close to the stage, but the screen remained blank.
No staff handed her a microphone just before ascending the stage.
Behind this grand event looms the Celestar Baijiu annual Top100 list.
Every year, Winters Spirits Group selects the top one hundred wines in sales from that year's market based on online votes.
Among voters, at least 70% are young women who rarely drank baijiu at all.
Hence, from a professional ranking perspective, this list held no worth.
However, there are billions of drinkers worldwide. How many can truly understand each drop they consume?
Expert opinions differ from that of the common populace or even the perception among major wineries.
The Winters Spirits annual blind tasting event parallels the once globally popular Victoria Secret Show.
When it comes to product creation, professionalism is lacking.
As a spectacle, it's unrivaled in expertise.
"What's happening?"
Brand representatives began exchanging looks and words, probing the sudden situation:
"Has Winters Spirits' annual show ever had such a low-level playback error?"