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VinePair named AAPI Food & Wine its 2026 Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year. Founded by Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho, the nonprofit has held annual festivals in Oregon and expanded to New York City; further city events are being discussed, but none are confirmed in the report.
AAPI Food & Wine, the nonprofit founded by Oregon winemakers Lois and Dave Cho, was named Nonprofit of the Year in VinePair’s 2026 Next Wave Awards, recognizing its work bringing Asian American and Pacific Islander food and wine producers together at public festivals. The honor follows the organization’s expansion from Oregon to a three-day event in New York City and comes as its founders discuss possible future events in other U.S. cities.
The organization grew from a question the Chos repeatedly heard after launching CHO Wines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 2020: what informed their palate for wine? They connected their answer to Korean food and to a desire to make wines that complemented their heritage’s cuisine. Their conversations also prompted concern that Asian American wine was receiving less attention than Asian American food. A planned community potluck developed into a festival, and the couple officially launched AAPI Food & Wine in 2023.
The first festival brought together 12 Portland chefs and five AAPI-owned Willamette Valley wineries. Lois Cho told VinePair that 1,000 people attended and that the event sold out. Since then, the nonprofit has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon, where vendors offer samples and attendees can meet participating chefs and winemakers. VinePair reports that the events have been near or total sell-outs.
The organization expanded to the East Coast earlier this year with a three-day celebration in New York City in March. It partnered there with Atoboy, a Korean restaurant. A board now handles nonprofit operations, including secretary and volunteer director Sylvia Choi and vendor relations and events director Jane Barmore, according to VinePair. The report names past collaborators including Hundred Suns Wine, Et Fille Wines, Sun Rice, Matta, Evening Land Vineyards winemaker Sashi Moorman, and JinJu Patisserie’s Jin Caldwell and Kyurim “Q” Lee.
A Platform for AAPI Producers
The award calls attention to an organization using shared public events to connect AAPI-owned wineries with chefs and food businesses, while giving attendees a way to encounter those producers together. The Chos’ original idea was not simply to present wine on its own, but to show how it relates to the foods and cultural histories that shape its makers’ tastes. That framing makes the festival relevant to both the wine trade and the broader restaurant scene.
Its growth also offers a practical route for smaller or less widely known businesses to reach diners and wine drinkers. Lois Cho told VinePair she hopes future events will include up-and-coming cooks, including people running small brick-and-mortar restaurants or food carts, rather than focusing only on established names. The recognition may raise the nonprofit’s profile, but the source does not report a funding award or quantify the award’s effect on its operations.
Cho also described a wider cultural shift, saying that a younger generation is more willing to bring Asian American heritage into public conversations about food and wine. That is her assessment, not a measured finding in the report. Still, the festival’s reported attendance and repeat sell-outs indicate that it has drawn substantial interest in the communities where it has held events.
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From Willamette Valley to New York
The nonprofit began after Lois and Dave Cho launched CHO Wines in 2020. VinePair describes them as the first Korean American winemakers in Oregon; the article does not provide independent documentation of that distinction. The couple’s effort to connect wine with Korean cuisine became the basis for AAPI Food & Wine, formally launched in 2023.
At the inaugural Oregon festival, attendees encountered local wineries and Portland restaurants in one setting. The format has continued as a walkaround event with tasting stalls. The New York gathering marked a geographic expansion beyond the Pacific Northwest, extending the organization’s model to a different regional food and wine community. Its partnerships have included both businesses and recognized culinary professionals, but the report does not give a complete list of participants for every festival.
The organization’s next phase is being shaped in part by requests from potential audiences and collaborators, according to Lois Cho. VinePair reports that she hopes to feature producers outside the Pacific Northwest and New York metropolitan area, and to create room for emerging cooks as well as established chefs. These goals describe the founders’ plans; they do not amount to confirmed event bookings.
“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
Future Cities Remain Unconfirmed
The award report does not state whether the nonprofit will receive money, services, or other support as part of the recognition. It also does not give attendance figures for the later Oregon festivals or the New York event, beyond noting that events have been near or total sell-outs. The source does not specify the award’s selection process or name other nominees.
Plans beyond New York remain at the discussion stage. Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Austin were mentioned by Lois Cho as possible locations under consideration, but no dates, venues, partners, or confirmed bookings were reported. It is also unclear how quickly the nonprofit can expand while maintaining its current event format and reaching smaller food businesses.
Expansion Talks and New Participants
AAPI Food & Wine is expected to continue planning future events and building relationships with producers and local partners, though VinePair’s report gives no schedule for announcements. The cities mentioned by Lois Cho may be among those considered, but readers should treat them as possibilities rather than a confirmed tour.
Cho told VinePair that she wants the organization’s next stage to include more chefs and cooks outside its existing regional networks, particularly emerging operators and food-cart businesses. Any future event announcements would clarify which cities, vendors, and dates are set. For now, the confirmed development is the VinePair award and the organization’s completed expansion to New York.
Key Questions
What award did AAPI Food & Wine receive?
VinePair named it Nonprofit of the Year in its 2026 Next Wave Awards coverage. The report does not describe a cash prize or other material award benefits.
Who founded AAPI Food & Wine?
Lois and Dave Cho, the founders of Oregon winery CHO Wines, launched the nonprofit in 2023 after an idea for a community potluck grew into a festival.
Where has the nonprofit held events?
It has held three annual walkaround festivals in Oregon and staged a three-day celebration in New York City in March. The report does not provide specific dates or venues for all events.
Are events planned in other cities?
Lois Cho said the organization was in discussions about possible events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Austin. No dates or bookings for those locations were confirmed in the report.
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