From Escaping Post-War Vietnam to Creating Red Boat Fish Sauce to Becoming a Napa Valley Vintner | Cuong Pham
The Taste with Doug Shafer – a Podcast About Wine, Food, and FriendsShow Notes
Cuong Pham has one of the most remarkable stories we've ever heard on the podcast. He escaped Vietnam in 1979 and lived in a refugee camp in Malaysia before making it to the U.S. Here he became an engineer at Apple in its early days where he built a long, successful career.
In the early 2000s, with a longing for the flavors of his mother's cooking, he began the work of creating Red Boat Fish Sauce company, which has become a global phenomenon.
Cuong's most recent adventure began when he and his wife, Ann, purchased a hillside property on Soda Canyon Road in Napa Valley. With his new vineyard established, Cuong has launched a winery called Doi Da, which is Vietnamese for "Rocky Hill." We learned about the wines both from him and his highly regarded winemaker Nova Cadamatre.
We also learned a host of surprising similarities between making fish sauce and producing wine, involving terroir, harvest, fermentation, aging, and more.
We were riveted by this one.
Learn more at: redboatfishsauce.com doidawine.com
More from The Taste with Doug Shafer – a Podcast About Wine, Food, and Friends
Todd Ricard's one-of-a-kind journey to Napa Valley winemaking started in rural Ohio and took him through a stint as an Army satellite operator in Japan. He discovered wine while later stationed near Paso Robles. What started as a way to celebrate weekends quickly turned into a vision for a career.
Davie Piña grew up in a long Napa Valley tradition of vineyards and winemaking. He and his brothers ran one of the Valley's first vineyard management companies, helping to drive the enormous changes in Napa's reputation from the 1960s to today. They eventually launched their own family winery, Piña Napa Valley.
Meghan Zobeck grew up in a Colorado cow town, graduated valedictorian of her senior class, studied for a career in medicine, and after college pivoted to a high-energy job with the Denver Broncos, negotiating player contracts — not your average pathway to Napa Valley winemaking.
It's hard to believe that we recently lost Tom Rinaldi. He had a big impact on Napa wine and beyond that was a great friend and a fantastic human being.
Long before Joe Czerwinski reviewed Napa Valley wines for Robert Parker Wine Advocate, he spent two hours a day reading about wine, visiting local wine shops, and making decades-long friendships on first-generation wine forums in the early 2000s.