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VinePair named AAPI Food & Wine its Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year. Founded by CHO Wines owners Lois and Dave Cho in 2023, the organization has held annual festivals in Oregon and expanded to New York City, with further city events under discussion.
VinePair has named AAPI Food & Wine its Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year, recognizing an organization founded by Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho to bring Asian American and Pacific Islander chefs and wine producers into the same spotlight. The award highlights the nonprofit’s growth from a Willamette Valley festival to events in New York City, as it considers further expansion.
The Chos launched AAPI Food & Wine in 2023, after conversations about pairing wines from their winery, CHO Wines, with Korean food led them to consider the visibility of Asian American wine. The organization’s first festival brought together 12 Portland chefs and five AAPI-owned Willamette Valley wineries. Lois Cho told VinePair that about 1,000 people attended and the event sold out.
Since then, AAPI Food & Wine has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon, where participating chefs and wineries serve samples and meet attendees. The nonprofit also held a three-day celebration in New York City in March 2026, marking its expansion beyond the Pacific Northwest. VinePair reported that the events have been near or total sell-outs, though it did not provide attendance figures for each gathering.
The organization is now run with support from a board, including secretary and volunteer director Sylvia Choi and vendor relations and events director Jane Barmore. Its participating food and wine professionals have included Hundred Suns Wine, Et Fille Wines, restaurants Sun Rice and Matta, and, at the New York events, the restaurant Atoboy. VinePair also cited collaborations with winemaker Sashi Moorman of Evening Land Vineyards and JinJu Patisserie bakers Jin Caldwell and Kyurim “Q” Lee.
A Platform for AAPI Food and Wine
The award draws attention to a nonprofit working across food, wine and cultural representation. The Chos’ initial idea was to pair their wines with Korean cuisine; the project developed into a festival bringing chefs and winemakers together rather than presenting wine as a separate industry conversation. That format gives attendees a direct way to discover AAPI-owned businesses and meet the people behind them.
For the organization, recognition from VinePair comes as it moves beyond its Oregon base. The New York City events show that the festival model has been taken to another major food market, while the interest in additional cities could create opportunities for more regional producers and smaller food businesses. The award itself does not establish how much the recognition will affect attendance, funding or the careers of participating vendors.
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From CHO Wines to a Festival
CHO Wines began in 2020, when Lois and Dave Cho launched their winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. VinePair described the couple as the first Korean American winemakers in Oregon. As the winery gained attention, the Chos said they were repeatedly asked what informed their palates. Their thoughts returned to Korean food and the possibility of making wines that complemented their heritage’s cuisine.
That question led first to the idea of a potluck for AAPI community members in the Willamette Valley, then to a larger public festival. Lois Cho told VinePair that the inaugural event came together within weeks, but the response was more emotional than she had expected. She recalled attendees approaching her in tears. The Chos created the nonprofit to put AAPI-made wine alongside the growing public interest in Asian American food.
VinePair also reported that the group’s next ambitions include events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Austin. Those are prospective locations, not confirmed festival dates. Lois Cho said she hopes future events will feature chefs outside the regions where the organization has already held festivals, including cooks running small restaurants and food carts.
“The first year, we hosted 12 Portland chefs and five Asian American Pacific Islander-owned wineries from the Willamette Valley. We had 1,000 people show up, and it was sold out.”
— Lois Cho, co-founder of AAPI Food & Wine, speaking to VinePair
Expansion Plans Still Unconfirmed
VinePair’s report does not give the award’s selection criteria, the number of nominees or details about any prize attached to the recognition. It also does not specify attendance, revenue or funding for the festivals beyond Cho’s account of the first event. The reported sell-outs are not accompanied by venue capacities or comparable figures across years.
The organization’s next cities remain under discussion rather than scheduled. No dates, venues, participating vendors or budgets were provided for possible events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., or Austin. It is also unclear whether future festivals will follow the same format as the Oregon and New York events.
Potential Cities and New Vendors
AAPI Food & Wine has said it is discussing possible events in several U.S. cities, but has not announced a schedule. Readers will need to wait for the nonprofit to confirm whether any of those plans will proceed and which local chefs, wineries and other vendors will participate.
Lois Cho told VinePair she wants future festivals to include more emerging cooks, including people operating small brick-and-mortar businesses and food carts, as well as chefs beyond the organization’s existing regions. The next concrete developments to watch for are confirmed locations, dates and vendor announcements.
Key Questions
What award did AAPI Food & Wine receive?
VinePair named AAPI Food & Wine its Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year in its 2026 awards coverage.
Who founded AAPI Food & Wine?
Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho, who founded CHO Wines, launched AAPI Food & Wine in 2023.
Where has the organization held festivals?
The nonprofit has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon and a three-day celebration in New York City in March 2026.
Are more city events confirmed?
No. Lois Cho told VinePair that the organization was in discussions about Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Austin, but no dates or confirmed events were reported.
What does AAPI Food & Wine do?
It organizes events that bring AAPI chefs, wineries and other food and beverage professionals together, giving attendees opportunities to sample their work and meet the vendors.
Source: rss
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