Asia Wine and Life
Jeannie Cho Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, and moved to Hong Kong in 1994, but her travels as an international wine judge, speaker, journalist and educator take her to Europe and North America on a regular basis. She is the first Asian female in the 54 year history of the Institute of Masters of Wine in the UK to pass the rigorous Master of Wine Examination that tests both practical and theoretical understanding of the wines of the world. In 2008 she was officially awarded the title Master of Wine (MW), joining a group of only 274 such Masters worldwide. In 2009 Jeannie was awarded the Vinitaly International Award for her contributions to the wine industry. Vinitaly is the largest wine trade fair in the world. Her first book, Asian Palate, is the culmination of a long journey marrying two loves in her life - Asian cuisine and wine, and is due to be published in November 2009.
Why did you decide to write Asian Palate and Mastering Wine at the Asian Table? What does each book talk about?
Asian Palate was a joy to write. I knew there was a gap between wine and Asian cuisines and since I love both, it was an easy direction to take. It took me two years to research the Asian cuisines and look at how the different flavors interact with wine and vice versa. Mastering Wine was supposed to be part of Asian Palate but together it was over 500 pages long. My publisher decided to cut the book in half with Asian Palate focusing on Asian food and wine, while Mastering Wine focuses on developing a new vocabulary for describing wine using Asian descriptors.
Describe to us the notoriously difficult four-day exam for the wine master degree.
The exam consists of four days of blind tasting 12 wines every morning, followed by writing essays for three hours on various topics in the afternoon. None of the different parts of the exam are averaged, meaning if you did well on the first and second day, but on the third day you caught a cold and could not taste, or your essays that day were weak and you receive a C grade or below, you will fail the entire exam. It is challenging because it requires you to be focused and at your best for four days in a row! I also had to give up one of my favorite foods, kimchi, from about three months prior to the exam so that my palate was not affected.
How do you keep up-to-date on wine industry movements and trends?
The only way to keep up to date is to travel, taste wines and talk to the people making wine. I visit various regions in France at least three to four times a year, Germany or Italy and Australia once a year and North or South America at least once a year.
How do you see China’s wine market?
China’s wine market has been booming since the mid-1990s. The real turning point was in 2006 when the volume of wines imported into China surpassed Hong Kong and now is more than double. I am very optimistic about the Chinese wine market.
Do you collect wine? What do you do in your spare time?
I have 400 bottles at home, about 3,000 bottles in a warehouse in Hong Kong and another 1,000 scattered in London, Bordeaux, Paris and Burgundy. My favorite wine changes with my mood, with the seasons and the time in my life. I love cooking, we all play golf as a family, this seems to run in the blood for Koreans, and I love to read and write. I have an unfinished novel and a play which I would like to finish one day. Plus I want to spend more time with my four beautiful girls!
