Travel Around the World’s Natural Wineries with Old Bird Wine Director, Hao Yang Wang

The Goods from Old Bird

Vancouver, BC | To highlight Old Bird’s rotating monthly wine list, called “Miss Wong’s Wine Journal”, we posed a handful of questions to Hao-Yang Wang, Wine Director at the Main Street neighbourhood’s modern Chinese bistro…

First of all, can you please elaborate on the concept behind “Miss Wong’s Wine Journal”? As a Taiwanese wine lover, wine and Asian food pairings have been a career-long passion of mine! The challenge has always been the absence of tradition in the relationship of wine to Chinese food; however, that is not to say the coupling can’t be exciting and tasty.

Let’s start with who is Miss Wong: Miss Wong is a fantasy character that Old Bird has created that captures our essence; Chinese-inspired, fun, and full of personality. When I was thinking about the wine program here at Old Bird, I thought what could be better than asking the question, “What would Miss Wong have drunk?”

I wanted the wines to flow seamlessly in the dining room; and the food, the people, and the atmosphere all screamed ‘Natural’! It is a category of wines that are full of humble but proud farmers, making wines for the sake of wine, themselves, and those they are willing to tolerate. I wanted to share the fruit of these incredible labours with Old Bird’s guests in a way that is more personal and thoughtful.

“Miss Wong’s Wine Journal” is a monthly rotation of natural wine selections which allows us to offer varieties to our neighbourhood guests without the overwhelming “wine tone” that often intimidates the guests, while paying homage to the small farmers by giving them a bit more limelight, and sharing their stories more intimately with both our guests and staff.

I love the unexpected bond between natural wines and Chinese food. Due to the nature of this style of wine, they are often packed with fresh fruit notes which contrast well with the umami-dominant Chinese cuisine, and the lower alcohol content makes them much more friendly to anything with spice.

Where is Miss Wong taking us in October? This month we are excited to share three very special bottles with our fan birds. Hailing from Catalonia, Spain, Succés Vinicola is featured for the month of October at Old Bird, pouring three distinct variations of the indigenous grape, Trepat, available by-the-glass. We are sharing the Rosado Patxchanga (rose), La Trompa (rose/red), and Cuca de Llum (red). I thought this was an elegant way to showcase the same grape, producer, and region, but in three very different expressions.

What’s your favourite bottle out of the three and why? I would have to say my personal bias leans towards La Trompa. There are just so few wines like this in the market! It sits unapologetically right in-between a very dark rose or a very light red; it is aromatically enticing, with an explosion of berries on the palate, charmingly expressed with a tiny bit of fizz. The perfect wine to exemplify “who cares what it is, it’s delicious!”

What food from Old Bird’s menu would you pair with this bottle? La Trompa compliments our BBQ Jackfruit Gua Baos and brings out the sweetness of the jackfruit.

What can we expect from the wine list next month (November)? I don’t want to completely reveal what is next, but we will be moving eastward from Spain, landing somewhere around Germany and Austria, to cozy up with the wines from the cooler climates, and take a page out of their book on what to drink when the weather is grey and damp!

About Hao-Yang Wang | Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, Hao-Yang Wang rooted his early connection and memories of food from surfing through the night markets of Taiwan in his youth. HY’s hospitality career began at Vancouver’s iconic West Restaurant. There he discovered his love of hospitality and ignited his passion for wine. HY went on to complete his Level 4 Diploma with WSET. During this time, he was advancing through the ranks in the Top Table Group, where he met his lovely wife Kathleen. After the successful opening of PiDGiN in Gastown, HY continued a path of restaurant-opening, where he led the way opening the natural wine bar, Grapes & Soda (of Farmer’s Apprentice); with the Hawksworth Group to open Nightingale’s doors in Coal Harbour in 2016; and most recently re-opening the fabled dining room of Shangri-La Vancouver, as the restaurant Carlino of the Kitchen Table Group. At Old Bird, HY is ecstatic to be honing his crafts in hospitality inspired by the backdrop and inspiration of his roots.