The UC Davis campus was brimming with energy as the spring semester began. Students sat in clusters on the lawns, and the athletic field was noisy with students playing basketball.
I took a seat with Armando, Jacob, and Chloe in the study lounge on the second floor of the department building. The walls were made of clear glass, so unless the blinds were drawn, the inside was plainly visible.
It was a space students mainly used for group projects, equipped with long tables, whiteboards, and even power outlets. Above all, the surroundings were quiet, making it suitable for serious conversations.
“Are you really okay with just a sandwich?”
When Chloe asked as she set out the sandwiches she had bought, I grimaced.
“Ugh... the food here tastes terrible.”
“Shouldn’t you be used to American food by now?”
“No, I don’t want to be. Eating is one of the few pleasures in my life, and if I’m going to eat something bad, I’d rather just get by on a sandwich. Even the steak at the dining hall tastes awful.”
As I grumbled and unwrapped my sandwich, Armando nodded in agreement.
“It’s a fact that American food tastes bad. Except for hamburgers and pizza.”
Jacob cut in.
“That’s American soul food.”
“That’s why I’m acknowledging it.”
After roughly finishing my sandwich, I stood in front of the whiteboard and picked up a marker.
“All right, let’s get started in earnest.”
“This feels like a class.”
Chloe chuckled.
“You and Armando can mess around if you want. But Jacob’s future is on the line here.”
Jacob shrugged, but he couldn’t hide the tension on his face.
“That’s right. If it’s boring, go study.”
“No thanks. I’ll just listen.”
“Me too.”
Once Chloe and Armando also focused, I wrote a large title on the whiteboard.
[Draft Business Plan]
“Now, if you’re going to establish a new rice spirits distillery in California, you need to have a clear grasp of the order of things. You can’t just do it randomly. Administration, or permits—funding—facilities—production. That’s the order. Among those, the business plan is essential. Why? Because you need a business plan for everything: USDA Value-Added Producer Grants, SBA loans, attracting investors, and permits.”
“What’s a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant?”
Chloe, who had been quietly watching, asked.
“It’s a grant program run by the USDA Rural Development office. It supports farmers who want to create new markets by processing or branding agricultural products instead of simply selling them as raw goods.”
“Oh! That’s perfect for Jacob, since he’s trying to process rice into spirits. Then what’s SBA?”
“It’s a system where the U.S. Small Business Administration guarantees bank loans.”
“Ah... how do you know all this?”
“... I just do. Anyway, the beginning of all of this starts with the business plan. In a way, the key parts of a business plan are securing raw materials and the production plan, and since you’re farming the rice yourself, you have a huge advantage there. What kind of liquor you’ll make has already been decided, the equipment scale should be small, and the next important things will be the initial investment cost and branding strategy.”
After explaining that much, I looked at Jacob.
“Once you start, you can’t turn back. Especially once you take out a loan, you have to follow through. Are you confident?”
“Yeah. I’m confident. You have equity in it too, so you’re going to help me as much as possible, right?”
The strategic business partner contract for helping the farm had been set with a term of thirty years, but since this was creating a business entity called a distillery, I had decided to take a 30% stake.
“That goes without saying.”
“Then there’s no reason for me not to be confident.”
Jacob shot me a look filled with firm resolve.
“Good. The most important thing here is the design drawing and layout plan you submit to get the permit before bringing in the equipment. It doesn’t have to be on the level of professional architectural blueprints, but it must be a floor plan sketch where the dimensions and divisions are clearly shown. This needs to be perfectly set up in order to receive the federal TTB DSP permit—Distilled Spirits Plant Permit.”
“This isn’t something I can do alone. I’ll have to ask someone, won’t I?”
“I think so too. You’ll probably need to ask someone majoring in that field at the university.”
“Got it. If you tell me the necessary equipment, I’ll try to get at least an essential floor plan sketch from someone in that major. If that doesn’t work, I’ll officially hire a company and get the drawings done.”
“Yeah. Honestly, doing it cleanly that way might be better. You’ll need expert input anyway because it has to meet fire and safety regulations too. And after you confirm that the permit has been approved, then you take out the loan and bring in the equipment. If you take out the loan, bring in the equipment, and then the permit doesn’t come through, then... you know.”
“If I don’t want to go under, I get the permit first and then take out the loan. Okay.”
Next, I wrote [Product Portfolio].
“Like I said, low-end products won’t be competitive. And beyond competition, if you think about all the taxes, raw materials, fixed costs, and so on, a small distillery doesn’t make anything at under five dollars a bottle. It’s a loss. So the wholesale price needs to be set at a minimum of six dollars, but if you’re going to set it awkwardly like that, the positioning becomes strange. I think it would be better to go for a wholesale price of fifteen dollars or more instead.”
“That’s what you mentioned before, right? Going for something like a Korean light vodka that can be used as a cocktail base?”
“Exactly. After distillation, you lower it to a mild alcohol content and position it as a clean, aromatic liquor like wine. On top of that, add a higher-quality premium Andong soju to raise the distillery’s class.”
“An... what?”
“An. Dong. So. Ju.”
“An-dwung-so-joo?”
“...... Perfect. Great pronunciation. If you age that Andong soju in oak barrels for at least six months and set the wholesale price at thirty dollars or more... you’ll pay a ton in taxes, but the profit margin should still be quite high.”
At the words thirty dollars per bottle, Jacob clenched both fists and steeled his resolve.
“I can do it!”
“Yeah. For now, the permit is important, so organize the necessary documents carefully, and if you go to the agricultural extension center, they’ll explain the details well.”
“Okay.”
However, Chloe and Armando, who had never experienced something called soju, looked at each other with questioning expressions. To be fair, that reaction was normal.
Afterward, I carefully organized the equipment that needed to be brought in, the initial operating costs, and even the branding strategy, then turned my head toward Chloe, who had been watching intently as if listening to a lecture.
“How about you guys? Is everything going well?”
“Yeah. Dad finished the contract with Zaiger Genetics for Royal Tioga. He said the Coral is arriving soon, so we’ll start work then.”
“Good. Grafting is best around late March anyway. The sap starts rising in the rootstock, and it’s right before new buds sprout, so the chances of successful union are high. You’re going to be really busy.”
Even if they were only grafting a third of the 200 acres at a time, that was still an enormous area. From mid-to-late March to early April, there probably wouldn’t be enough time even if they did nothing but graft from the moment they opened their eyes. They would mobilize a huge number of workers, of course, but checking whether the work was going well was the owner’s responsibility.
She shook both shoulders lightly and smiled.
“I’m fine. I’m actually looking forward to it. And I learned how to graft properly from Zaiger Genetics too. I’m totally confident.”
“Then that’s a relief. What about fertilizer and water management?”
“Since March began, we’ve mainly been applying nitrogen fertilizers like urea, ammonium nitrate, and DAP. And we’re keeping the SWP—stem water potential—around minus eight to ten bars.”
It was all information I had taught her.
“I might come check for myself.”
“Anytime.”
Just from her confident demeanor, I could tell how much passion and care Chloe was putting into the farm.
“Ask about me too!”
Armando cut in as if starved for attention.
“Are you confident about your chemistry and botany grades?”
Armando’s face immediately fell.
“Ah, well...”
“You should raise your grades first. If your grades are lacking, your parents won’t buy you a farm, will they?”
“That’s true...”
Rather than buying one for him, it would be more accurate to say they would take out a loan.
“Just manage your grades well and learn properly at our farm. Then let’s look for a decent farm together.”
“What if farm prices around Napa and Sonoma suddenly skyrocket by then?”
“Then you can switch to something other than grapes.”
“No. I want to become a winery owner like you!”
“Fine. When the time comes, let’s look for a good farm. There’s never been a history of AVAs around Sonoma skyrocketing so far.”
“Right?”
While we were talking like that, a woman passing by outside stopped in her tracks, looked into the meeting room where we were, and opened the door to come in. Naturally, everyone’s eyes focused on her.
It was Sienna, entering with her blond hair tied up and a confident expression on her face. She looked around at us for a moment, then spoke.
“What are you all doing?”
Her tone wasn’t interrogative; she sounded genuinely curious.
“We’re just having a meeting among ourselves.”
When I answered, Sienna looked at the business plan written on the whiteboard, and I awkwardly smiled as I shifted my body to cover it slightly. At that, she let out a small laugh behind her hand and said,
“What, are you afraid I’ll steal a look?”
“It’s about my friend.”
“Your friend is already doing business?”
“He’s a farm owner.”
“Ah... I see. Nice to meet you. You’re Brian’s friend? I’m Sienna.”
“I’m Jacob.”
Sienna greeted him with a light wave, then looked at me again.
“You know the alumni wine showcase is coming up soon, right? And the Winkler Dinner hosted by DEVO, the Department of Viticulture and Enology student council. So... are you going to participate?”
“You mean me, right?”
“Yeah. You’re the only student from our department here.”
I was slightly flustered.
“Do I participate in the wine showcase even though I’m still a freshman? And the Winkler Dinner too?”
“The wine showcase is attended by all years, and the department chair recommended you for the Winkler Dinner.”
“Me?”
“That’s right. He asked whether you’d like to take charge of one course out of the six.”
For a moment I wondered if that even made sense, but considering the person in question was the department chair, I also thought it was plausible. After all, I was a student who had personally made a marketable wine.
“All right.”
When I nodded, Sienna instead looked surprised.
“So you’re accepting?”
“If I’m being entrusted with it, yes.”
“Wow... impressive. All right. I’ll look forward to it.”
She looked at me with an unreadable gaze, then let her eyes slide briefly past Chloe before leaving. Chloe muttered something with only the shape of her mouth, and Armando whispered something into her ear.
“What are you talking about?”
“What are the alumni wine showcase and the Winkler Dinner?”
Chloe asked.
“The alumni wine showcase is an event held at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. UC Davis alumni wine producers personally introduce their wines and hold tastings there. I didn’t know freshmen had to attend.”
“Mondavi? That’s famous.”
Hearing her exclamation, Jacob asked me,
“Really? Is it very famous?”
“It’s one of the largest wineries in Napa Valley. With Cabernet Sauvignon from the To Kalon area of Oakville, it helped raise American wine to a world-class level.”
“That’s an impressive place.”
Their gazes returned to me, and I said with an annoyed expression,
“And the Winkler Dinner is an annual fundraising event hosted by our department’s student council. It’s a dinner event made up of six-course meals and wine pairings. Various chefs prepare different dishes, and wines donated by UC Davis alumni wine producers are served alongside them.”
“So what does it mean that they want you to take charge of one course?”
“It means they want me to come up with the optimal pairing using the donated wines.”
Chloe, who had been listening, brightened and said,
“Wow, that’s an event the whole school pays attention to! It’s a great opportunity.”
“Maybe for kids whose dream is to become sommeliers. I don’t know why they’d ask a winery owner to do something like that, but...”
I briefly met Jacob’s eyes.
“Now that I think about it, they’re probably people I should get to know. I need to at least make myself familiar to them if I’m going to promote Andong soju later, don’t I?”
“That’s right!”
Jacob hadn’t even received his distillery permit yet, but his enthusiasm seemed no less than that of any winery owner.
And as I thought that I might be able to present the vinegar I had made with that dish, a slight curiosity began to stir in me.