What About Wine

I recently rewatched an episode of Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour. It was about the “elements that make up a great bar”. It’s early 2000’s in its nostalgic splendor: shot in what appears to be 480p, with unflattering angles, frenetic cuts, and alternating slow-mos and fast-paced transitions. Only Bourdain can turn drinking into an action-packed thriller.

My parents didn’t want me to work when I was younger. They told me to focus on school and they would pay for what I needed. I had more than enough, my own bedroom, a car, and lots of free time. But what I really wanted, was an idea of my own independence. I thought real freedom was financial. Being able to pay for whatever you want, whenever you want, without asking.

This piece marks my first paid subscriber post, where I’ll be sharing very special places in a country that I’ve visited many times before, but this time saw with fresh eyes. Using my broken Viet-English, I was able to learn firsthand with locals about what it’s really like to live in Vietnam. (Also, check out this guide to Vietnam’s restaurants, cafés, and wine bars.) If you’ve been to Vietnam, you know it’s all about the high and low. Mopeds and Beamers. Street vendors and Michelin dining.

Michelin Guide debuted in Vietnam on 2023. The formality of being recognized doesn’t necessitate the marker of good or bad (Michelin is a pay-to-play enterprise after all). But it still feels like overdue acknowledgement for a cuisine that’s widely recognized as one of the most interesting (and frankly, delicious) in the world. I’ve been to Vietnam 6 or 7 times in my life.

My favorite game to play while traveling is thinking about whether I would buy a second home there (Brooklyn as my year-round #1). Never mind the fact that I don’t have the capital to purchase a single property, much less a second one. But it’s a fun game to frame your mindset on what living local could be like. A second home gives you the opportunity to escape to recharge or avoid the brutal seasons and ideally, double your community.

Let me paint the picture. It’s a Saturday afternoon after a long week. It’s the first day you don’t have any scheduled plans in a while and you’ve been running around like crazy, so you’ve been needing a moment to relax.

If you’re like me, your first experience with sake was perfectly adequate. You know, the inoffensive one you drank with your parents when they took you out to an upscale suburban sushi spot after turning 21? It tasted slightly bitter, like lightly alcoholic flavored water. You politely sipped because it was a nice buzz, but you secretly wondered who actually drank this stuff.

My first proper wine event was in 2022 at Viniesta NYC. It was the year I wanted to intentionally break out of my wine cocoon—meet producers face-to-face and taste as much as I could. This event was the perfect medium. An open ballroom with producers standing behind neatly arranged booths with sometimes 3, 4, or 5 bottles on the table. Right before you enter the main room, you’re given a glass, a tasting map, and told to enjoy. You always walk in a bit disoriented trying to get a lay of the land.

Celebrating 1 full year of What About Wine. When I started this newsletter exactly one year ago today, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t suspect that I would seriously consider the virtues of non-ABV beverages, dive into sake, discuss my favorite wine-related movies, or venture into more personal stories. While I’ll always write about food and wine, I occasionally get excited by shiny new objects—so I appreciate you letting me meander from time to time.

Everyone gather around this holiday season! In-laws, uncles & aunts and friends from home you haven’t seen in years, and the accidental run-in to your high school classmates you wish you didn’t see. This time of the year is the pinnacle of calendar Tetris, the unwieldy piling of events that fall into a variety of categories: obligatory social hangs, family gatherings, and the parties you’re actually excited about.