The Cerasia Deal
A week later, I headed back to the Deer Ridge Country Club where Chloe lived. After driving for over an hour, I arrived at her house, and just like last time, Chloe came out as soon as she spotted my car. She was wearing a cream-colored knit sweater and jeans, and objectively speaking, she looked quite pretty.
“Wait a second.”
I took the three cases of Cerasia out of the car one by one and moved them into the house. During the process, Chloe’s brother came out to help, his lower lip jutting out in a pout of dissatisfaction, but I pretended not to notice.
“Is this the stuff?”
Once everything was moved inside, Brandon picked up a bottle of Cerasia from the case and examined it with interest. Being annoyed that his sister had snatched the cherry orchard away was one thing, but it seemed he was genuinely intrigued by the fact that it was a wine made from the orchard’s cherries.
“Hahahaha! You’re here!”
“You’ve come again. Welcome, Brian!”
Chloe’s parents, who had been in the living room, came over to greet me warmly, but their attention shifted entirely to the three cases of wine stacked at the entrance.
“Honey, is this it?”
“That’s right. Let’s take a look.”
Frederick picked up a bottle and examined it with the exact same posture as Brandon; looking at them from the side, the father and son were identical. He broke into a wide grin when he saw the phrase on the back label stating it was made with cherries from Harris Orchards.
“This is excellent. I like it very much.”
“If you like it that much, why did you ask for it for free?”
When I brought up the story I’d heard through Chloe, Frederick gave a slightly embarrassed laugh.
“Isn’t it fine to give away at least one case for free?”
“That won’t do. You’re already taking half the revenue; asking for a whole case for free is a bit much. I might have considered one bottle, though.”
The reason I had brought three cases was that Frederick had requested to purchase Cerasia. Since the minimum purchase unit was three cases, he had been forced to buy that much, though he didn’t think he had bought too much.
“That’s why I bought three cases.”
Seeing Frederick looking satisfied with the wine bottle in his hand, his wife, Amelia, pointed out:
“Honestly, you don’t just want to drink it—you want to show it off, don’t you?”
“Of course! Obviously! Once it’s officially released, I’m going to pass it around to all the Brentwood orchard owners. Can you imagine how envious they’ll be? They all want to make something like this, but they don’t have a winery that will produce wine for them. They’ll probably scour every winery in California looking for one!”
In fact, Frederick’s words made a lot of sense. Even for large-scale cherry orchard owners, it was common knowledge that those who generated secondary income through processing companies earned significantly more money than those who simply sold raw cherries.
Even if you just sold 100 tons of cherries to Redwood Winery, taking only 20% of the profit from the wine sales was twice as profitable.
“Alright, that’s enough. Come on in. Brandon, stack the wine cases in the pantry.”
“Got it.”
Surprisingly, Brandon seemed to listen to his parents well; despite his sour expression, he did as he was told.
Come to think of it, it was strange that he hadn’t rebelled by running away from home, despite being so angry about losing the cherry orchard to his sister. Was this normal?
“Come sit here.”
Frederick sat me down in a chair at the living room table. He then pulled out a bottle of Cerasia and began to open it with a wine opener.
“You don’t mind if I open this one to drink now, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since that tasting event that day.”
“...To be honest, it only reached about 80% of the quality I had in mind.”
At those words, Frederick’s hand, which had been turning the opener, came to a dead stop.
“Really? 80%?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“There are a few reasons, but most of them involve trade secrets of the winery, so it’s difficult to explain. But that’s just how it is.”
“Ha, I can’t exactly disbelieve you... but if most of it is hard to talk about, does that mean you can tell me one or two things?”
“Hmm... the sugar content was a bit low.”
Frederick nodded as if he understood.
“I suppose that would be the case. Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir would have a sugar content in the mid-20s Brix. But isn’t that something you have to endure?”
It was a reasonable thing for him to say.
“It was unavoidable for now.”
It was a cryptic remark, but Frederick decided to let it slide for the time being. I was a guy with too many secrets, and it didn’t look like I was going to satisfy his curiosity, and he didn’t want to focus on things that couldn’t be solved immediately on such a happy day.
Glug, glug, glug...
“The sound this wine makes when it leaves the bottle... I find that so pleasant. You could say I’m drinking the anticipation of the wine before I even take a sip.”
He was a true drinker. I almost asked if he was an alcoholic, but I held my tongue for Chloe’s sake, who was sitting right next to me.
“You really love wine.”
“Don’t you?”
“I’m only twenty.”
“...Now that I think about it, that’s true. So how do you make something like this?”
“Science.”
“Science?”
“Yes. Chloe’s mother might not be a good cook because she’s good at science, but surprisingly, if you’re good at science, you can cook even better. Farming and winemaking are the same. Even if you don’t love alcohol, if you know the clear formulas, you can produce the desired quality.”
Frederick was impressed by my words.
“Amazing. And it’s reliable, too. You mean you don’t rely on your own taste or intuition, but strictly follow concrete, detailed recipes?”
“Exactly.”
“Then the quality will remain consistent in the future.”
As expected of a businessman, he caught the most important point in my words.
“I would hope so.”
He nodded and took a sip of the wine. After expressing his own sense of awe with an indescribable expression, he poured some into Amelia’s glass, then into Brandon’s and Chloe’s.
“Do you have any guesses as to why I made these two compete?”
“...Well. I’m not sure.”
He swirled his wine glass slowly and said:
“Kids these days don’t know how to sacrifice. They don’t know the value of time. They don’t know the importance of the land. All they like are pop stars, movies, and dramas. And they think working on a farm is hard and uncool. Unfortunately, I thought my kids weren’t much different.”
“I’m not like that.”
Brandon chimed in immediately, but Amelia shut him down with a sharp remark.
“You’re not? You, who wouldn’t even come out to the farm until your sophomore year of high school, even though your father begged you to help?”
“That was... because I was studying.”
“How were your grades, by the way?”
“......”
Brandon shut his mouth, and Chloe quietly turned her head toward the window. Frederick, chuckling at his daughter’s reaction, said:
“That one over there was a cheerleader until middle school, and I was only able to send her to that far-off Vintage High School by threatening to cut off her allowance if she didn’t study agriculture. Well, I suppose it was an excellent choice, since she found such a brilliant friend there.”
“I’m also glad to have found a reliable cherry supplier.”
“Hoho, I think I can really talk to you.”
There seemed to be some misunderstanding about me, but I stayed quiet.
“To continue, I didn’t like either of them. So, half-jokingly, half-seriously, I made them compete. Only then did they both start paying attention to the farm. Honestly, it was a thrilling and satisfying feeling. And if things had gone wrong, I was actually planning on not handing the farm over to either of them.”
“Dad! That’s too much!”
Brandon complained, but Frederick just raised his glass and said to his son:
“In any case, didn’t you both end up taking one?”
“......”
“Honestly, I was thinking of selling the farm instead of passing it on to you.”
At that bombshell, Chloe’s family was shocked.
“You’ve never said anything like that before.”
Amelia asked, surprised, and Frederick drank his wine before replying:
“I was thinking about it. Honestly, it was very hard for me because you two showed no interest in the farm. I wondered if I should keep operating it. And because of development expansion, I still get contacted often to sell the land. They’re offering 12 million dollars for the land alone. And that’s just for the cherry orchard.”
“Really?”
Amelia was stunned by the mention of 12 million dollars.
“So I thought about just wrapping things up and traveling around with you. But when I dedicate myself to farming, the cherry orchard alone generates a fixed annual revenue of at least 3 million dollars, and I just didn’t want to hand it over for that measly amount.”
At those words, I was certain that Frederick wasn’t just farming and selling wholesale, but also handling distribution. And if he was involved in distribution, 3 million dollars was truly the minimum, and he could have earned twice that depending on how he managed it.
Moreover, a large-scale farm owner with 200 acres like this holds powerful authority in the region that goes beyond just the income. It means it cannot be evaluated by money alone.
Frederick turned his head back to me and said:
“I’m especially grateful to you for getting Chloe, who seemed to have no interest in anything but playing around, to take an interest in farm work now. Actually, the 10 tons I sent—I didn’t really care about getting the 5:5 profit from the wine. My daughter’s transformation is worth more than that.”
“If that’s the case, then... whatever you wish...”
As I prepared to follow his suggestion without a moment’s hesitation, as if I’d been waiting for it, Frederick gave an awkward laugh.
“I was just saying that was how I felt back then. Now that the wine has turned out so well, I can’t give up taking a portion of the revenue, regardless of the money, because of my own personal satisfaction. I hope you’ll overlook that.”
“Come to think of it, Frederick, you always speak nicely, but you always make sure to get your share.”
“Hahahaha! I’m not usually like that, but this time it just happened to work out that way. I’ve lived my life without being called a petty man. Now, let’s see that contract.”
I placed the contract, which had already been reviewed by my lawyer, on the table. On the thick draft of the contract, the title [Redwood Winery – Frederick Orchards Supply & Profit Sharing Agreement] was written in bold letters.
Frederick unfolded the paper with a face full of curiosity. It was packed with printed clauses. From supply volume to quality standards, annual unit price increase rates, payment terms, and even methods of arbitration in the event of force majeure or disputes...
“You want the pest and mold infection rate to be under 1%? Isn’t that too strict? Depending on the harvest, you should allow up to 2%.”
“That’s fine. Instead, if it exceeds 2%, let’s make it a 5% discount on the unit price per ton.”
“That’s not easy. And the supply price increases by 3% every year? Hmm... if inflation rises too much, I’ll be at a disadvantage.”
“That’s fine, too. If the CPI (Consumer Price Index) exceeds 5%, let’s link it to the CPI.”
Since wine prices would rise if inflation rose anyway, I decided to concede this much.
Once all the signatures were completed, Frederick burst into loud laughter and said he had prepared a party today with a barbecue in the yard. Just as he was boasting about showing me the taste of Texas-style barbecue, Chloe interrupted.
“Dad, Brian says he can significantly increase our cherry production capacity.”
At the sudden remark, Frederick looked at me.
“Is that so? I heard you gave my kid tips on soil acidity adjustment, and I thought you were just sticking to the basics. But you have a way to make production significantly higher than it is now?”
“I don’t know about ‘significantly,’ but on average, about 20–30% is possible.”
Honestly, Frederick couldn’t believe it. 20–30% was just a number, but for such a large farm, that increase in production was a massive deal.
As his father looked surprised, Chloe stepped in.
“I asked Brian if he would help us if we offset the cost of the supply volume corresponding to the increased production.”
“Wait, so you mean the winery takes the cherries for free as much as Brian increases our farm’s production?”
“Exactly.”
“And if there’s any surplus left over?”
Chloe shut her mouth, and Frederick looked at me. I replied calmly.
“It’s 7:3.”
“I’m the 7, I assume?”
“I have a conscience, too.”
“Does the cost go up to increase production?”
“It will probably go down.”
“Costs go down, but production goes up? Is that even possible?”
“It is. If you trust me.”
As a new deal began, Frederick rubbed his palms as if they were sweating, then downed the rest of his wine in one go. He refilled his glass and said:
“It’s 7:3 of the profit, right?”
“I’m not looking for 30% of the total revenue. Ultimately, you’ll have to contract directly with our winery, and the term will be 30 years. I’m taking 30% of the increase based on current profits for 30 years.”
“Haa, 30 years... well, let’s set that aside for now. Our farm’s profit hasn’t been much different from 20 years ago when considering inflation. Hmm... I thought I’d be earning 110,000 dollars a year, but at this rate, it looks like you’re the one who’s going to be earning that much?”
But I shook my head with a calm expression.
“That won’t be the case.”
“Oh?”
“If you do as I say, it won’t be just that much.”
“Are you saying the scale will get even bigger? How?”
“There are a few stages, but even just the first one or two will make things much better. And as the stages progress, revenue and profit will skyrocket.”
As I gestured with my hands to show the layers, Frederick gulped. He had a fleeting thought of, ‘If it’s that great, how is your own farm doing?’ but then he remembered the results I’d achieved at the Harvest Fair and the quality of the Cerasia and Pinot Noir wines, and he had no room for rebuttal.
“Can I know what those stages are?”
“The first is soil management and fertilizer, and the second is irrigation and moisture. Naturally, strict confidentiality is required.”
“Do you think I’m crazy enough to spill these secrets to my competitors? Anyway, once we get past those first two stages?”
“...From then on, it requires a bit of adventure...?”
“I’m curious, so let’s hear it.”
I became curious about what kind of expression he would make.
“I’m going to have you change the varieties. After that, we expand the scope of distribution. I don’t care how far you allow it. The increase in profit from the first stage alone will be sufficient. Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to do it. I’m only offering this because Chloe asked me to.”
“......”
Frederick was truly curious about what was inside this young Asian man’s head.