Contributed by Liz Thach, MW
What type of wine pairs best with Asian cuisine? Well, actually almost any type, according to the Asian-American winery owners who attended a recent ‘Taste of Asian Crafted Wine from Napa Valley,’ at the Empress M Restaurant in the town of Napa.
“Asian cuisine is very versatile, and can be paired with many types of wine,” stated Jane Jiang, Winemaker and Founder of Duncan Peak Winery, as well as Assistant Winemaker with Kale Consulting, Inc.
For example, a big red Napa cabernet sauvignon can pair perfectly with savory Korean short-ribs, whereas a light and crisp white sauvignon blanc is excellent with Vietnamese shrimp spring rolls, and a velvety pinot noir is exquisite with Chinese roast pork.
However, it is even more thrilling to have the opportunity to taste wines made by Asian winemakers who live in Napa, with many having started their own successful wine brands.
In addition to Jane Jiang, other Asian winemakers/owners who attended the event were:
- Ivonne Shu, Winemaker and Owner with Appellations Cellar,
- Cheng Chang, Owner of Quixote Winery,
- George Zhang, Owner of Shunyi Cellars, and
- Margaret Wong, Owner of Empress Court Vineyards, as well as Empress M Restaurant.
Attendees had the chance to taste ten different wines and pair them with the exquisite Chinese food prepared by Empress M chefs, including award-winning Executive Chef, Peter Huang.
More Than 40 Asian-Owned Wineries in Napa and Over 180 in the U.S.
According to attendee, Dave Thompson, Founder of the Napa Wine Project, “I have compiled a list of 43 Asian American brands or wineries in Napa Valley, connected through ownership or the winemaker.”
And in the U.S., there are now over 180 Asian affiliated wineries, according to Marc Capobianco, Wine Director at BlueStream Wines in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In his role as wine director, Marc has been able to source wines from more than 175 Asian-owned and operated wineries in the U.S., and the list of growing.
Establishing an Asian-American Wineries Association
Some of the attendees are in early discussion about the possibility of establishing an ‘Asian-American Wineries Association.’ Currently, there is an Association of African American Wineries (AAAW) and the Mexican American Vintners Association (MAVA), but no Asian-American winery association counterpart.
“I’ve been organizing informal Asian wine tastings like this one for the past three years, in collaboration with the other Asian winemakers,” reported Jane Jiang, “and it would be great to have a more formal organization with some financial and organizational support.”
The group is holding a Zoom brainstorming meeting on the topic on August 14, at 10am. For more information, please contact Jane Jiang at jane@kalewineconsulting.com or Liz Thach at Liz@lizthach.com
The group wants to be as inclusive as possible, and have adopted the U.S. Census definition of Asian: “a person with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.” This includes people with the following ethnic backgrounds: Bangladeshi, Burmese (Myanmar), Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong , Indian (from India), Indonesian , Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Nepalese, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Thai and Vietnamese.
