Japan Eats

Our guest today Xander Soren who is the founder of Xander Soren Wines https://xandersorenwines.com/ .  Xander Soren Wines is a unique boutique California Pinot Noir producer whose mission is to create wines that pair exceptionally well with sushi and other Japanese foods without overpowering them. Equally unique is Xander’s background. He spent 20 years at Apple where he played a pivotal role in helping to develop digital music products like GarageBand, iTunes, and iPod.  Since the winery launched in Japan in 2023, top restaurants like 3-Michelin-starred Sushi Saito, NO CODE and KOKE have included Xander’s wine on their lists. Also here in the U.S., his wine became available in the summer of 2024 and is on the lists of notable restaurants on the West Coast such as n/naka, Single Thread and Nisei. In this episode, we will discuss how Xander’s love for Japanese food started, why he decided to make his own wine to pair with Japanese food, why Pinot Noir goes very well with Japanese food, tips to pair Japanese fo