Quitting a good paying job to go back to the countryside to cook something, an 8X from Quang Ninh created an OCOP product, earning 70 million/month

Having a stable job with a salary of tens of millions of dong, but Mr. Doan Cong Bach (born in 1989, Bieu Nghi area, Dong Mai ward, Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh province) decided to quit his job to make wine. Mr. Bach's Goc Da leaf yeast wine product has now been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product.

Quit high paying job to make yeast wine

Following the introduction of the Quang Yen Town Farmers' Association to the Chairman of the Quang Yen Town Young Farmers' Club, we visited the wine production facility of Mr. Doan Cong Bach's family in Bieu Nghi area, Dong Mai ward.

Mr. Doan Cong Bac (Bieu Nghi area, Dong Mai ward, Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh province) uses 2 types of yeast to brew wine: leaf yeast and herbal yeast. Photo: Bui My. As soon as we stopped at the beginning of the alley, we could smell the strong aroma of sticky rice wine. Everywhere in the village, there was a faint scent of new sticky rice, mixed with a bit of the aroma of fermented fruit. Mr. Bach invited us to visit the wine production area and enthusiastically told us: After graduating from Vietnam Maritime University, he worked as an engineer at a shipyard for about 1 year in Ha Long city. After that, he worked as a manager of a Japanese company in an industrial park in Quang Yen town with a salary of about 12-13 million VND/month - a high salary in 2019. However, after many years of working, he realized that working in a factory environment was not suitable for him. Therefore, he felt the need to change. In 2019, Mr. Bach decided to quit his job and start a farming business.

The main ingredient used to make mem la wine is sticky rice grown in the fields of Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh province. Photo: Bui My. At that time, his whole family objected. His job was stable, the foreign business environment was a dream for many people, but he gave it up. However, he still resolutely asked for leave to fulfill his wish - to create products made from his hometown's own products. To develop the economy, Mr. Bach thought about developing "not new" models in the "not old" direction. Through researching a number of industries, he realized that wine making is a long-standing profession, but currently most establishments still make wine manually, on a small scale. If the method of making wine is changed to a clean wine production process that ensures quality, using modern machinery and technology, and large-scale production, it will bring much higher efficiency. Thinking is doing, Mr. Bach decided to design the wine making system himself, then hire a processing unit according to his needs. Regarding the source of raw materials for making wine, Mr. Bach chose yellow sticky rice grown in the Quang Yen raw material area. In addition to the sticky rice from his hometown, Mr. Bach also spent a lot of time choosing the right yeast. After many experiments, he finally used the traditional medicine yeast ordered from Voc village (Ha Nam) and leaf yeast from Ba Be lake area (Bac Kan). In addition, he also used European multi-layer tower technology, Mr. Bach distilled Goc Da leaf yeast wine with a characteristic cool, smooth flavor. This helps the wine to condense and evaporate many times, thereby ensuring purity, few impurities and creating the desired concentration.

Thanks to the use of a multi-layer distillation tower system, the distilled alcohol is guaranteed to be pure, with few impurities... Photo: Bui My

Turning yeast wine into an OCOP product

From an engineer who switched to winemaking, Mr. Bach has traveled to many places to learn experience. The milestone for him to develop as he is today originated from a time he learned experience in Hai Duong. "That day it was raining heavily, I rode my motorbike alone to Hai Duong to learn experience. Until now, I still remember that day clearly, because that was the turning point in changing my thinking, the way of developing and promoting my brand image" - Mr. Bach said. According to Mr. Bach, when he first switched to winemaking, he also encountered many difficulties. Due to lack of experience, many batches of wine were spoiled at first, sometimes causing losses of up to tens of millions of dong.

Mr. Doan Cong Bach's Go Da leaf yeast wine product has now been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product. Photo: Bui My. Once, due to poor fermentation techniques, workers ruined 1 ton of yellow sticky rice, and an entire batch of rice wine could not be used. All the costs of raw materials, effort, and time were wasted. Drawing on experience from failures, Mr. Bach has successfully created Go Da leaf yeast wine with a cool, smooth flavor. Currently, Mr. Bach's Go Da leaf yeast wine product has been certified as a 3-star OCOP product. Not only consumed in the province, Go Da leaf yeast wine is also consumed in many other provinces and cities and is highly appreciated by consumers. Mr. Bach said that initially, his family only produced about 50 liters of wine/day. But after 4 years, his family has increased the capacity to 500 liters of wine/day and has maintained this capacity for more than a year now. From making yeast wine, his family has an income of 50 - 70 million VND/month after deducting expenses. Sharing more about the Young Farmers Club of Quang Yen town, Mr. Bach said: "Initially, the club had 26 members, and now it has grown to 29 members. The members are all mastering dynamic and effective economic models in many fields of livestock, cultivation, aquaculture, etc. The members are all having effective exchanges and connections. Personally, I have successfully connected and guided a young person to develop a wine making model, although it has just been introduced to the market, it has received positive feedback." Source: https://danviet.vn/bo-viec-luong-tot-8x-quang-ninh-ve-que-nau-ruou-men-la-lai-70-trieu-thang-20250101143859398.htm