(story to be published in tomorrow's issue, March 6)
In Cotnari, the Romanian wine capital, a settlement that seems to have fallen from the skies (located at 33 km to Iasi, between seven beautiful hills, with no connection to the railways), Emanuel Hutaru, a secluded intellectual, is trying to obtain, by means of complicated alchemy procedures, the potion for an ageless life. To succeed, he is using a mixture of antique, ritual methods and the most recent discoveries of science - a fully equipped computer that supervises everything: inclination of vineyard, temperature of air and soil, humidity, dew point. Professor Emanuel Hutaru has rallied a few men that are fully aware of the importance of the mission they have to fulfill. The grapevine they are tending must produce the potion. They hope for the best but things will not run as smoothly as they should. In this world, intensively connected to a primordial, archetypal world, things always turn to myth... Sometimes, things that are expected do not occur or, if they do, perhaps they are not the right ones. In addition, an explosion will also occur, which will completely change the course of events. I have not lost my mind, not as much as to make prophecies. These facts are not based on reality, but on events narrated by Mihail Galatanu in his next book - "The potion", which is part of a "mythical" trilogy, along with "The bell makers" and "The bodiless bride" ( a forthcoming book that is to be published by PRO Publishing House). Mihail Galatanu researched his book "The potion" right in the middle of Cotnari Vineyard. He arrived there hitchhiking and was hosted by wine specialist Minciuna. He accompanied him through ancient cellars, among wine casks - some of them were owned by King atefan cel Mare, and showed him various old, legendary sorts of wine. But this was not the time when the writer got a special passion for wines. He had already been in a few "hunts" for rare sorts of wine and he is an expert in this field himself. His friends are familiar with his fondness for Grasa de Cotnari, his favourite wine, four or five bottles an evening are Galatanu limit. The writer knows lots of stories related to wine, the liquor being the main character in all of them. For instance, while he descended in a wine cellar in Budapest accompanied by a woman - one of the Gallimard publishers who was in charge with the issue of a wine dictionary, he was surprised to see the cellar owner displeased. His female companion apologised and thanked for being allowed to enter the cellar. It is then that Mihail found out traditions related to preservation of wines do not allow the descent of women in the cellars. They say women have a negative energy, opposite to the solar power of wine and they may pollute the wine. Excerpts of these stories are presented in Galatanu's latest book. It cannot be overlooked that Mihail Galatanu made his debut as a poet and he still writes valuable poems. A miraculous wave of poetry floats above his works. Galatanu's latest novel promises to be another inebriation of human senses.
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