Giving new meaning to indigenous luxury | News
In the misty highlands of southwest China, Anantara Guiyang Resort wine insider Jason is caught up in a delicate tightrope walk. In a region where the fiery Moutai liqueur has dominated social functions for thousands of years, his mission is to show how tradition can open up to new expressions – in this case through wine. As Anantara Hotels & Resorts celebrates its 25th anniversary with the ‘People Who Inspire’ series, Jason captures the brand’s stewardship of authentic local experiences and the confident rise of Chinese wine culture.
Guizhou’s proud culinary heritage of Miao and Dong has shaped a fermentation-driven cuisine characterized by spiciness, numbing heat and, above all, sourness, often layered with perfumed notes from native plants such as the citrusy Litsea cubeba. Balancing these volatile flavors takes skill, not only for chefs but also for sommeliers.
Jason’s instincts are as sharp as the flavors of his home province. His UK-based WSET training and experience in the high-pressure China Young Sommelier Team Competition give him both the technique and confidence to strike the right balance. Its wine list reflects this precision: Chinese and international labels with soft tannins, cool fermentation profiles and lighter alcohol levels ensure the wine supports dishes rather than competing with dishes perfected over generations.
“Miao cuisine is central to the region’s identity, and the right wine can turn an informal tasting into a moment of true discovery.”
During his tasting salon sessions, Jason embraces the social dimension of wine and invites guests to slow down, taste with intention, and connect with each other through the experience. By engaging wine educators and enthusiasts, he helps nurture a local wine culture that is steadily gaining confidence. He also trains the next generation of hospitality professionals, encouraging them to balance technical skills with the hallmark of great service: attention and trust, based on humility.
p>“True trust does not come from knowing everything, but from respecting the wine, the guest and the story behind each bottle.”
And he will certainly need his best stories to engage someone as well-traveled as Bill Heinecke, the founder of Minor Hotels, who Jason hopes to host in one of his trial salons. Yet he also knows that the country speaks more eloquently than any sommelier. When he takes his guest of honor through the villages of Miao and Dong, he lets the landscapes, the people and the flavors speak for themselves. Nothing staged, just life unfolding as it has for thousands of years, with terroir and tradition filling the glass and nourishing the soul.
“I teach my team to approach every donation not as an achievement, but as a dialogue.”
Sometimes the safest foundation comes from listening to the land and letting it tell the story.
