CHAPTER 15: LEARNING IS IN THE DOING
Three weeks later
Thomas Barrow's Pantry
Lord Grantham had been so amused by Carson's tutelage of Barrow that he permitted Carson to make tasting selections from his wine cellar, confident that Carson would not abuse the privilege. As a result, Carson decided that it would be convenient for Thomas to have his lessons in the butler's pantry.
Every Monday and Thursday afternoon, Carson would walk to the Abbey from his cottage and interrogate Mrs Patmore about the evening's dinner menu. Then he would make complementary wine selections from the cellar for Thomas to taste. Early in the evening, Andy would take responsibility for preparing the dining room for the family's dinner while Thomas received instruction from Carson in the pantry. After the lesson, Thomas and Andy would carry the bottles that Carson had opened to the dining room. There, the wine would be consumed by the family before it had the opportunity to overdevelop.
On this particular evening, Carson was seated at the small table when Thomas opened the pantry door. On the table sat a bottle of Bordeaux, cheesecloth, string, a candle in a holder, and a decanter. "Good afternoon, Mr Barrow. Today, it is your turn to decant the wine. I selected this bottle yesterday morning and stored it upright so the sediment would have time to settle at the bottom."
"Why don't we store all the wines upright, Mr Carson?"
"We store the wines horizontally to keep the corks moist, Mr Barrow."
"I didn't know. Should I get my notebook, Mr Carson?"
"Not yet, Mr Barrow. Learning is in the doing, not in the writing. Your first task is to uncork the bottle while keeping it perfectly still so the sediment remains at the bottom."
As Thomas gingerly uncorked the bottle, Carson questioned him.
"Why do we decant wine, Mr Barrow?"
"To separate the wine from its sediment and to aerate the wine."
"Why do we not want sediment in the decanter?"
"Because it can be gritty."
"And?"
Thomas tried to picture his notes in his mind's eye. "And ... it can have a bitter taste."
"And what does it mean to aerate the wine, Mr Barrow?"
That was an easy one. "To expose the surface of the wine to air."
"Why do we want to aerate the wine?"
"To open the ... the aroma and the flavour."
"And what does that mean, Mr Barrow?"
"To make the aroma and flavour more ... vibrant?"
"I see you've been paying attention, Mr Barrow. Now cover the mouth of the decanter with the cheesecloth and tie it securely about the rim."
Thomas followed Carson's instructions.
"Now light the candle."
"Why do I need a candle, Mr Carson?"
"To help you see when the sediment reaches the neck of the bottle as you pour."
"Ah." Thomas lit the candle.
"Now pick up the bottle gently so as not to disturb the sediment. Pour it slowly and continuously into the decanter until you see the first sign of sediment in the neck."
"Why must I pour slowly, Mr Carson?"
"Because the wine will leave the bottle in a thinner stream allowing more of the wine's surface to be exposed to air. And you'll be less likely to slosh the sediment about."
Thomas poured with one hand and moved the candle to a better position with the other. He kept a sharp eye on the bottle's neck for sediment. "Mr Carson, may I ask you a question?"
"Certainly, Mr Barrow. About decanting?"
"No, about your time as butler."
"Careful! You're pouring too quickly." Thomas gently adjusted the bottle's angle to slow the stream of wine. "What is it you want to ask, Mr Barrow?"
"Mr Carson, when you were promoted to butler, did you ever feel as though you were not quite ... that you didn't have the ... I beg your pardon, Mr Carson. I should keep to the subject of wine."
Carson raised his eyes from the bottle and peered at Thomas. "I felt like a fraud who had no business being in charge of other people's lives or making decisions that could affect the success or failure of the family in society. Is that about right?"
"Yes," confessed Thomas. "How long did it take for that feeling to fade, Mr Carson?"
"Who says it faded, Mr Barrow?
"But Mr Carson, in the ... what ... sixteen years I've known you, I've never seen you lack confidence."
"It doesn't matter how you feel, Mr Barrow. It matters how you behave. Think of Lord Grantham as Admiral of the Fleet. This house is one of his ships, and you are the captain. You must take charge, confident or not. Everyone on board is dependent on you to keep the ship afloat and to travel safely from port to port. If the ship takes on water or you chart a wrong course, you are responsible, confident or not. You can't blame your crew. You assigned their duties; it was your responsibility, confident or not, to teach them competence. And if the ship sinks..."
"I must go down with it, confident or not?"
"Be certain everyone is off, Mr Barrow. Then you may abandon ship. A captain has no use for unnecessary dramatics."
"That's a relief." Thomas stopped pouring. "Look, Mr Carson, in the neck! It looks like specks of dust." Thomas set the bottle on the table. "Is that sediment?"
"Yes, Mr Barrow. Sediment may even appear in the neck as nothing more than a haze. That was nicely done, Mr Barrow." Carson shifted in his chair as he prepared for the lecture portion of his lesson. "You may take out your notebook now, and we'll discuss appropriate aeration times for different wines and which wines should not be decanted."
"Do you mean to say they're not all the same, Mr Carson?"
"Heavens no, man. You could ruin a promising wine by letting it aerate too long!"
"You're the teacher, Mr Carson." Thomas retrieved his notebook.
Carson permitted himself a smile of satisfaction when Thomas was not looking. He never imagined that Thomas, of all people, would be the willing heir to the knowledge Carson had taken a lifetime to acquire. He had always expected that his passion would die with him.
