Grand Cru: The Wine Maker — v0.8.0 "The Season of Auctions"

Bonjour, winemakers!

Making great wine has always been the heart of Grand Cru. This update is about what comes after the bottle — the season your wine sells, the room where auctions are held, and the reputation that decides who is invited to bid. v0.8.0 opens a whole new season of auctions, and reweaves the economy beneath it.

New Features — The Season of Auctions

• En Primeur — Autumn Futures — Importers arrive at harvest to buy wine still aging in your cellar, purchasing the promise of a vintage before it is finished. Every autumn, they compete to reserve your best barrels first.
• The Grand Auction — Winter Prestige — A single-lot winter auction for châteaux that have made their name. Consign your finest bottle and watch anonymous bidders from twenty nations and famed collectors drive the hammer price. The invitation is never requested — it comes only once your name, and your wine, are worthy of the room.
• "The Winter Hammer" — A New Story — In your third winter, you first hear of this world: rumors of rival Valois's record sale reveal a room where the greatest wines are not made — they are invited.
• Relationships That Compound — Importers remember. Sell a good vintage early, and they return hungrier the next year. Good years quietly build on good years.

The Economy, Rebalanced

• Realistic Yields — Grape yields settle to about 60% of the old ceiling, curbing runaway overproduction and reflecting real Bordeaux châteaux living alongside a crowded market.
• Age That Makes Value — A wine's aging potential now follows a single, structure-based curve. Time in the cellar is rewarded through one clear channel — value is no longer double-counted.
• Money Must Move — Storage fees are now tiered and the old cellar exemption is gone, so hoarding inventory finally has a cost. We also fixed a bug that charged barrel fees twice.
• A Growing Market — Demand expands faster each year, hypermarkets absorb larger volumes, and higher reputation draws better wholesale visits.

Whites, Polish & Quality of Life

• Two New White Specialists — Château Blanchefort and Domaine des Cygnes join the region as white-focused houses, turning the White award into a real contest rather than a walkover.
• A Sharper Look — Icons across the game are redrawn in cleaner gold linework, with serif type and a subtle paper grain tying the château's whole visual identity together.
• Icon Style Toggle — Switch the sidebar between the new estate duotone icons and the classic set anytime.
• The Feel of the Moment — Payments count up in cash, harvests land with a little more flourish, and key actions finish with a satisfying stamp.
• Smoother Onboarding — Tutorials and first-hour guidance are reworked from real player feedback — including clearer season-advance prompts — and the market's buyer flow reads more cleanly.

Bug Fixes

• Cleaner Score Toasts — Critic-score popups no longer stack or leave afterimages on screen.
• Season Report Scrolls — The end-of-season report scrolls within its window, so long reports never cover their own title.
• No Repeat Mysteries — Blind tastings will not serve the same mystery wine twice in one lineup.

What's Next

This update is about a long climb — reputation, rivals, and rooms that open only when you have earned them. All of it applies to games already in progress, and your existing saves carry over safely. There are more stories to tell, and more ways to feel your château's name gain weight.

Santé — may your harvest be bountiful!