Art of Recompense Character Synopsis 11 - Anthony Fletcher

Resentment, properly aged, becomes something far more potent than mere bitterness; it becomes purpose. Anthony Fletcher understands this truth intimately. Born in Bordeaux wine country and educated at the Université de Bordeaux, he earned his Advanced Sommelier certification in 1985 and seemed destined for the pinnacle of his profession. Then came the Master Sommelier examination, and failure. Three times he attempted it, in 1988, 1990, and 1992, and three times the wine world's highest honor slipped through his fingers. The rejection carved something deep into his professional soul, a wound that never properly healed.

Tall, thin, and dark-skinned with close-cropped male-pattern baldness and a neatly trimmed beard, Fletcher carries himself with the precise arrogance of a man determined to remind everyone of his expertise. The silver Tastevin cup hanging from a red silk ribbon about his neck and the small enamel pin of Bacchus on his lapel announce his credentials before he speaks a word. His slight French accent and formal attire, black slacks, matching waistcoat, crisp white shirt, complete the portrait of a sommelier who takes himself with deadly seriousness. He is perfectly suited to impart knowledge to wealthy patrons, and he despises every one of them for having what he cannot.

When Louise Palmer promised him partnership in her new Aspen venture, Vineyard Vignettes, Fletcher saw redemption within reach. When that promise shrank from ten percent equity to a mere three percent sales bonus, when she outbid him at Sotheby's for the Hine Cognac he had saved two years to acquire, when she hung his humiliation on display in the very shop he managed—resentment found its final, volatile form. Some debts, Fletcher has decided, demand repayment.