ABOUT

AAPI Food & Wine is a 501(c)6 nonprofit founded in 2023 to elevate Asian American and Pacific Islander voices in the food and wine industry. Its mission is to celebrate AAPI talent, promote diversity, and build community through inclusive events and storytelling. Based in Oregon, it hosts the annual AAPI Food & Wine Fests in McMinnville and New York City.

AAPI Food & Wine was created to address the lack of visibility, access, and representation of AAPI wine professionals. The organization fosters connection one bite, one sip, and one conversation at a time. Through experiences like the annual AAPI Food & Wine Fest and upcoming NYC events, it connects chefs, winemakers, sommeliers, and cultural leaders in spaces of collaboration and celebration.

Two smiling people, a man and a woman, pose together at a food and wine event booth with a vineyard backdrop.
Group of smiling people wearing matching blue t-shirts with the logo 'AAPI Food & Win', posing together indoors for a photo.

Our Story

AAPI Food & Wine was founded by Lois Cho, CEO and co-founder of CHO Wines in Hillsboro, Oregon. After a decade as a family nurse practitioner, Lois transitioned full-time to the wine industry in 2022, wearing every hat from content creator to event producer while helping build a winery, tasting room, production facility, and vineyard alongside her husband Dave and their three young children.

In 2023, Lois created AAPI Food & Wine to shine a light on AAPI representation in the food and beverage industry. To create spaces where people could feel they truly belong. The response has been profound. At the festivals, the same words are heard again and again: gratitude, community, belonging.

“By bringing together winemakers, sommeliers, chefs, and curious drinkers, we strengthen the chain that connects vineyard to bottle, bottle to glass, and glass to community.”

~ Lois Cho | Founder of AAPI Food & Wine Fest

Three women smiling at a gathering outdoors, one holding a bouquet of flowers, another holding a glass of wine, and the third holding a bottle of champagne, with a scenic green landscape in the background.
Skewers of grilled seafood, possibly scallops, cooking on a barbecue grill.
Three people standing behind a table holding bottles of wine and smiling at the camera, with wine club signs on the table.
Three people laughing and talking at a table with stacks of wooden plates, in a greenhouse or garden setting.
Group of five smiling volunteers wearing blue t-shirts with 'AAPI Food & Wine' logo, standing together at an event, wearing name tags and purple lanyards.
A smiling woman with long hair wearing a blue jacket and name badge interacts with a man wearing a gray beanie and black jacket at an outdoor event under a large tent. The woman is handing the man a small object, and there are bottles and a flower ar

Board Members

  • Lois Cho Photo

    Lois Cho

    Founder and Executive Director

    After a decade as a family nurse practitioner, Lois became CEO of CHO Wines in 2022, doing everything from content creation to event production while building a winery and raising three kids. She founded AAPI Food & Wine to create spaces where people walk into wineries and finally feel at home, and believes the best wine moments happen when gratitude, community, and belonging pour into the same glass.

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  • Dave Cho headshot

    Dave Cho

    Communications and Sponsorships

    Dave Cho is the Korean-American winemaker and cofounder of CHO Wines. His journey from performing music at California wineries to studying with Burgundian monks led him to Oregon, where he's earned recognition for his traditional method sparkling wines and innovative Pinot Noir.

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  • Sylvia Choi headshot

    Sylvia Choi

    Secretary and Ticketing + Volunteer Director

    Born and raised in Oregon, she spent a few years in Los Angeles for college + her first job in entertainment before returning home. Coming back to Portland as a young adult, she discovered the city’s fantastic happy hours. She will never pass down a noodle dish. Team savory all the way! And she considers food a love language! She is excited to see so many new restaurants, especially AAPI restaurants, moving into Beaverton, Oregon.

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  • Jane Barmore

    Jane grew up in Silicon Valley watching Julia Child and Jacques Pepin after school, sparking a passion that led her to hospitality management and a career in events and catering. When the pandemic hit, she turned to cooking Filipino food for solace, a homecoming that changed everything. Now, she's building spaces where Filipino and adjacent cultures' voices lead in the Portland food scene.

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