Professional Profile
Jeannie Cho Lee is the first Asian to be awarded the Master of Wine (MW) title in 2008. Jeannie’s pioneering book about Asian cuisine and wine called Asian Palate won the Gourmand award for Best Food and Wine Pairing Book in the World. The book was also short-listed for the UK’s Andre Simon award and won the 2011 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Award in the Wine, Beer or Spirits category. The 220-page coffee table book, which is now also available as an iPad version, highlights the increasingly prominent role of wine in the dining experiences across ten major cities in Asia and recommends wines to pair with hundreds of local Asian dishes. Jeannie’s second book, Mastering Wine for the Asian Palate, was recently released in May 2011.

Jeannie is Founder of AsianPalate.com, a website that celebrates authentic Asian cuisine and wine together. The site contains thousands of wine ratings and reviews by Jeannie as well as a comprehensive Asian food and wine pairing guide. AsianPalate.com aimes to lead intelligent and insightful discussions about the world of wine as well as the quickly evolving Asian food and wine scene.

Jeannie has long been associated wth top companies and luxury products around the world. In August 2010, Jeannie was chosen to be the face person for Estee Lauder’s newly launched Advanced Night Repair eye serum in an ad campaign in Hong Kong & China called: “No. 1 Eye Repair in the Eyes of No. 1” Jeannie is Singapore Airline’s Wine Consultant, involved in the selection of all wines served on board all routes. Jeannie is currently the Wine Consultant for Galaxy Macau resort, formulating its Master Wine List and selecting wines for more than 50 food and beverage outlets for this 2,200-room resort complex which includes Banyan Tree resort and Hotel Okura from Japan. Jeannie’s commitment to education led her to co-found The Fine Wine School in Hong Kong with one of UK’s oldest and most respected fine wine merchants in the world, Berry Bros & Rudd.

Jeannie is currently Contributing Editor Asia for Decanter UK and Contributing Editor to The Asset financial publication. She contributes regularly to Wine Spectator and Revue du Vin and also pens several wine columns which appear weekly in the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and in China Business News (China) and monthly in Decanter Taiwan, Noblesse Korea and Noblesse China. She also writes about food in publications such as Australian Gourmet Traveller and Tatler’s Best Restaruants guide books.

In addition, Jeannie consults and reports on market trends, publishing the first of its kind 110-page China wine market intelligence report in December 2010 called Wine Insider – China. She is a highly sought-after speaker and has participated in various Institute of Masters of Wine seminars and has led master classes and seminars in international wine exhibitions such as Vinexpo and Vinitaly.

Jeannie judges in international wine competitions such as the Decanter World Wine Awards (London), International Wine Challenge (London), Mundus Vini (Germany) and the Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Jeannie is a Certified Educator from UK’s Wine & Spirits Education Trust and a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) from the US Society of Wine Educators. In 2009, Jeannie was awarded the Vinitaly International Award for her contributions to the wine industry by the organizers of Vinitaly.

Personal Background
Jeannie Cho Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, but has lived in numerous cities around the world including New York, Boston, London and Kuala Lumpur. Hong Kong has been her permanent home since early 1994, but her travels as an international wine judge, speaker, journalist and educator, take her to countries in the Asian region, Europe and North America on a regular basis.

Jeannie’s interest in wine began at Oxford University where she spent her junior year before returning to Smith College where she graduated with a dual degree in Government and Sociology. Jeannie then went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Public Policy & International Relations from Harvard University.

With her vast network of contacts in the wine and food industry, Jeannie’s advice has been sought by multinationals, wine merchants as well as the hospitality industry as a speaker and as a consultant. Jeannie has consulted for companies such as Watson’s Wine Cellar, Deutsche Bank, Shangri-la hotels and Ficofi. To keep up-to-date on wine industry movements and trends, Jeannie regularly participates in tasting Bordeaux en primeurs and travels to classic wine growing areas throughout the year.

Jeannie is also very much involved in the regional Asian wine community. She travels regularly to report on market trends in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand and is an active member of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, the Hong Kong Wine Society and the L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne.

When not immersed in wine, Jeannie enjoys cooking, playing golf and writing fiction.

Jeannie is married with four children.