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VinePair named AAPI Food & Wine its 2026 Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year. Founded by Lois and Dave Cho in 2023, the nonprofit has grown from a sold-out Oregon festival to events in Oregon and New York, with more cities under discussion.
AAPI Food & Wine, the nonprofit founded by Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho, has been named VinePair’s 2026 Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year. The recognition comes as the organization expands its festival beyond Oregon, including a three-day New York City program in March, and considers events in several other U.S. cities.
The Chos launched AAPI Food & Wine in 2023, after conversations about pairing their CHO Wines with Korean food led them to think about the comparatively limited recognition of Asian American wine. The idea began as a proposed potluck for AAPI community members in the Willamette Valley and developed into a public festival connecting food and wine producers with attendees.
The first event brought together 12 Portland chefs and five Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned Willamette Valley wineries. Lois Cho told VinePair that about 1,000 people attended and the festival sold out. The report says the organization has since held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon, with events described as near or total sell-outs.
AAPI Food & Wine has also taken its programming to the East Coast. Its New York City expansion included a three-day celebration in March and a partnership with Korean restaurant Atoboy. The report identifies secretary and volunteer director Sylvia Choi and vendor relations and events director Jane Barmore as members of the board handling nonprofit operations.
A Platform for AAPI Food and Wine
The award recognizes an organization whose stated aim is to give AAPI chefs, winemakers and other industry professionals a shared public platform. The festival’s format lets attendees meet producers and sample their work, while bringing food and wine into the same conversation rather than treating wine as separate from the cuisines it can accompany.
That focus matters to the people represented by the events. Lois Cho told VinePair that the enthusiastic response to the first festival was more emotional than she had anticipated. She connected the organization’s purpose to a shift away from pressure on Asian American communities to stay quiet or assimilate, saying a newer generation is more openly presenting its heritage through food and wine. Those are her observations about the community, not a measured finding supplied by the report.
The recognition also draws attention to the nonprofit’s community-led growth. Its programming has involved established restaurants and wineries as well as other collaborators, including winemaker Sashi Moorman and JinJu Patisserie bakers Jin Caldwell and Kyurim “Q” Lee, whom the report identifies as James Beard Award winners. The organization says it wants future events to feature emerging cooks, including people running small restaurants and food carts.
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From CHO Wines to a Festival
Lois and Dave Cho started CHO Wines in 2020 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. VinePair describes them as the first Korean American winemakers in Oregon. As their winery gained attention, they were repeatedly asked what shaped their palates. The couple’s answer brought them back to Korean food and to the possibility of making wines intended to pair with their heritage’s cuisine.
That reflection led to a broader question about the visibility of Asian American wine compared with Asian American food. A potluck idea grew into the first festival, held in 2023. The report says the inaugural event came together in a matter of weeks and quickly sold out. The Chos have since moved from organizing a single gathering to building a nonprofit whose events bring together vendors and attendees in more than one region.
The organization’s stated approach is not limited to established names. Lois Cho told VinePair that she hopes expansion will help showcase chefs and winemakers outside the Pacific Northwest and New York metropolitan area. She also wants to make room for newer and smaller operators alongside better-known participants.
“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, as quoted by VinePair
Expansion Plans Still Unconfirmed
The report says AAPI Food & Wine is in discussions about possible events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Austin. It does not provide confirmed dates, venues, partners or budgets for those cities. The organization’s plans should therefore be understood as exploratory, not as a published tour schedule.
The award coverage also does not provide financial information, membership figures, staffing levels or details about how the nonprofit measures its reach. While VinePair reports that previous festivals were near or total sell-outs, it does not give attendance totals for the later Oregon events or the New York program. The scale and timing of future growth remain unclear.
More Cities Under Discussion
The next developments will depend on whether the nonprofit turns requests and discussions into scheduled events. Lois Cho told VinePair that the organization is considering additional cities and hopes to include more chefs and winemakers from outside its existing regional base, including emerging cooks operating small businesses and food carts.
No dates or announcements for the possible new locations were included in the report. For now, the confirmed development is the award recognition and the organization’s completed expansion to New York; any further city launches remain prospective.
Key Questions
What award did AAPI Food & Wine receive?
VinePair named AAPI Food & Wine its 2026 Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year, according to the publication’s report.
Who founded AAPI Food & Wine?
Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho, founders of CHO Wines, launched the nonprofit in 2023.
Where has the nonprofit held events?
The report says it has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon and expanded to New York City with a three-day celebration in March.
Are events in other cities confirmed?
No. Lois Cho said the organization is discussing possible events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Austin, but the report gives no confirmed dates or locations for future festivals.
What does AAPI Food & Wine aim to do?
The nonprofit brings together AAPI food and wine producers through public events and aims to increase their visibility. Cho has also said she wants future festivals to include emerging cooks and smaller food businesses.
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