The Spark
Ming’s Well began as a 20-year friendship between founder Jack Chen and winemaker Christian Tietje. The two shared a passion for food and wine that grew into a collaboration to make amazing wines to pair with a multicultural range of culinary experiences. The result is wines of exceptional character, flavor, and sophistication capturing the essence of the terroir of each specific region of the Central Coast of California.
Jack Chen has been a successful entrepreneur & restaurateur on the Central Coast of California for over 35 years. He emigrated from FuJian, China in 1990 and began his first restaurant in Paso Robles in 1992, 30 years later China Gourmet is considered one of the top Chinese restaurants on the Central Coast and is beginning to expand. Jack has also had successful enterprises in telecommunications and importing & exporting. Believing he should always give back, Jack has been a conduit to help Chinese immigrants get visas, admission to Universities, and become established in the area and become strong members of the community. Through his business success and philanthropy, he was asked to lead the _____ Business Association of Los Angeles and continues to build, improve and give back to his community.
Jack Chen’s success as a businessman and community leader has enabled him to pursue his dream and passion for Wine. He began exporting California wine under his California Coast label to China in 2006. Making Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot entry-level wines for a growing Chinese audience of wine consumers. His success spurred his enthusiasm and he desired to reach for the upper echelon of winemaking and asked his longtime friend and winemaker Christian Tietje to collaborate on a wine project that would be among the best in California.
Christian Tietje, the winemaker, and international wine consultant is a 30-year veteran of the California wine industry. His flagship winery, Four Vines, was one of the most successful wineries in Paso Robles, having numerous 90+ scoring wines in publications including the Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, and Wines & Vines. Christian is one of the few winemakers to make the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines twice. Aside from his many accolades, Christian has enjoyed consulting for numerous wineries on the Central coast and abroad making wines in France and Argentina.