Minkyu poured me a glass, and I was immediately transported into a very different universe. Where the Sparkling Magpie was festive and light-hearted, I felt like the Tiger Reserve would be the ideal companion to a late night of drinking with close friends, when the time has come for sharing confidences and life-contemplation.

At Wines Experience Ho Chi Minh City 2026, five sommeliers from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand asked where Southeast Asia’s wine market is heading – and shared four bottles that made the point.

Nino, 55, is Georgian by birth but spent much of her life in Russia, where she worked as a professional pianist. It was a serious career, a life shaped by discipline, by the pursuit of something internal – maybe a quest of harmony.

Cellar Bridge was at ProWine Tokyo 2026.
Here’s what we saw, who we met, what we drank, and what we learned.

We road-tested the Kairos electronic wine aerator – a contactless, mmWave-based device new to Vietnam – with three Ho Chi Minh City sommeliers:

Just a train ride away from Tokyo City Center, Ishikawa Brewery is laden in history and traditions. Cellar Bridge takes you on a visit into the heart of sake and beer brewing.

From a vertical of vintage Port to Korean cheongju and Burgundy vodka: the off-site tastings, spirits, and what’s next for Vinexpo Asia.

Our report on ProWine Singapore 2026 and the wineries we think you should know.

We got the chance to sit down and chat with the Sydney-based Master of Wine Andrew Caillard, who was there to show his latest opus, 3 splendid volumes about the history of Australian wine: The Australian Ark.

Osaka-born sommelier Yu Yamamoto won the first-ever MICHELIN Sommelier Award in Vietnam for his work at Lua, a hidden Thao Dien wine bar turned farm-to-table restaurant. We sit down with him to talk about building a wine list from nothing, the natural wine debate, and the fast-rising Vietnamese scene.

The vineyards go as far as the eye can see and one may get a sudden feeling of teleportation when – in the heart of Thailand, only a couple hours away from Bangkok- appear wooden signs in French with evocative words such as «Marsanne», «Roussane» and «Petite syrah».