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VinePair named AAPI Food & Wine its Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year. Founded by Lois and Dave Cho in 2023, the organization has grown from an Oregon festival into a New York City event, with further city expansions under discussion but not confirmed.
AAPI Food & Wine, the nonprofit festival organization founded by Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho, was named Nonprofit of the Year in VinePair’s 2026 Next Wave Awards coverage. The recognition follows the group’s expansion from annual Oregon gatherings to a three-day New York City celebration and draws attention to its work bringing Asian American food and wine producers together.
The Chos launched AAPI Food & Wine in 2023, after conversations about pairing the wines they made at CHO Wines with Korean cuisine led them to consider the limited visibility of Asian American wine producers. Their initial idea was a potluck for AAPI community members in the Willamette Valley; it developed into a public festival.
The first event brought together 12 Portland chefs and five AAPI-owned Willamette Valley wineries. Lois Cho told VinePair that 1,000 people attended and the festival sold out. She said some attendees were moved to tears, an emotional response that helped demonstrate the event’s resonance with its audience.
Since then, the nonprofit has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon and staged a three-day event in New York City earlier this year. VinePair reports that the events have been near or fully sold out. The organization’s board now includes secretary and volunteer director Sylvia Choi and vendor relations and events director Jane Barmore.
A Wider Platform for AAPI Producers
The award recognizes an organization working to increase the visibility of AAPI-owned wineries, chefs and food businesses through shared events. Its model puts wine and food producers in front of attendees together, rather than treating wine as separate from the cuisines and cultural traditions that shape how many participants enjoy it.
For readers, the development matters as a sign of growing institutional recognition for a festival that has expanded beyond its original Oregon base. The award itself does not establish how much the nonprofit has changed industry access or representation; VinePair’s report documents the events, attendance and partnerships, while the broader effect remains difficult to measure from the available information.
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From CHO Wines to a Festival
Lois and Dave Cho founded CHO Wines in 2020 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. VinePair describes them as the first Korean American winemakers in Oregon at the time of the winery’s launch. The Chos said they were often asked what shaped their palate. Their answer — memories of Korean food and the hope that their wines would complement it — prompted a broader discussion about the recognition given to Asian American wine alongside the attention paid to Asian American cuisine.
The inaugural festival featured wineries including Hundred Suns Wine and Et Fille Wines, alongside Portland restaurants Sun Rice and Matta. The organization has since worked with other food and wine professionals, including winemaker Sashi Moorman of Evening Land Vineyards and JinJu Patisserie bakers Jin Caldwell and Kyurim “Q” Lee. In New York, it partnered with Korean restaurant Atoboy.
VinePair’s account also places the festival within a generational shift described by Lois Cho. She said AAPI communities have often felt pressure to assimilate and avoid drawing attention to themselves, while younger generations are more publicly connecting heritage with food and wine. That perspective is her explanation of the project’s meaning, not a finding independently measured in the report.
“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
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Expansion Plans Still Unscheduled
The award announcement does not include details about the nonprofit’s finances, staffing beyond the named board roles, or the criteria VinePair used to select its award recipient. The report also does not provide attendance figures for the later Oregon festivals or the New York City event, so comparisons in scale over time cannot be made from the available numbers.
Further expansion is a stated ambition, not a confirmed schedule. Cho told VinePair that the organization was in discussions about events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and possibly Austin. The report gives no dates, venues, partners or confirmation that any of those events will take place. It also does not specify the nonprofit’s future programming or how it will select participants in new cities.
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More Cities Under Discussion
The next confirmed milestone is not stated in VinePair’s report. The organization is considering additional city events, while Cho said she hopes future festivals will highlight chefs and winemakers beyond the Pacific Northwest and New York metropolitan area. She also wants to create space for emerging cooks, including operators of small restaurants and food carts, rather than concentrating only on established names.
Readers can watch for official announcements from AAPI Food & Wine about locations, dates, participating vendors and ticket availability. Until the nonprofit confirms specific events, the cities mentioned by Cho should be understood as discussions or possibilities, not a published tour schedule.
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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 also founded CHO Wines, launched the organization in 2023.
Where has the festival taken place?
The organization has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon and held a three-day celebration in New York City earlier this year, according to VinePair.
Are events planned in other cities?
Lois Cho told VinePair the nonprofit was in discussions about Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and possibly Austin. No dates or confirmed events in those cities were given in the report.
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