Features
Portfolio Highlight: Daritana, Malaysia
Daritana is founded on the premise of friendship; the same way they view their all-star producers as connections, not trophies.
15 August 2026
Weingut Keller was foundational in the crafting of Daritana's portfolio. (Photo Credit: Jaclene Liew)
It starts with friendship, as it often does in the wine trade.
What was different however, was the clear-eyed segregation of roles. That has always been a difficult conversation in any entity formed by friends, but a necessary one for the longevity of any business.
Malaysian-born Aaron Tan brings with him an impressive network of winery connections, based on his years of working in vineyards across Australia and Germany. He credits Klaus-Peter Keller as his mentor, and it was while deciding to distribute for Keller in Malaysia that he started Daritana together with fellow Malaysian-born Richard Lau. Every other producer in Daritana’s portfolio since has a link to Keller. Aaron met Jan Raumland of WongAmat during harvest one year, who is a close family friend and neighbour of the Kellers.
Richard had already started Wine Lab in Sarawak, during the pandemic. He is known for building a community of fine wine collectors in Kuching, not an easy feat by any means. “What actually convinced me to start Wine Lab was when I would go out to restaurants and bars and ask for a glass of wine, it was usually not something I liked,” shares Richard. “I found that there was a gap between the supply and demand for better quality wines in Kuching.” Daritana officially started in mid-2025, before Taiwanese-born Hsiao Tung Wei joined them later that year.
Tung Wei is well known in the wine scene in Kuala Lumpur for his wine bars, Unwined and Unwined Plus. “While I remain committed to low-intervention, biodynamic, and chemical-free winemaking and viticulture, I now look for exceptional craftsmanship,” shares Tung Wei. “My palate has expanded to embrace the absolute best of well-made wines—ranging from iconic estates in Burgundy and Piedmont to hidden, artisanal micro-producers globally.”
Their philosophy is simple: friendship, transparency and palate.
Daritana works with people they get along well with, treating every relationship like a partnership instead of a pure business transaction. “We trust their work implicitly, and they trust us to protect their reputation in our market,” shares Aaron.
Transparency of the intent and place, which to them refers to “the culture, the history, the weather, and the physical labour”. As Tung Wei echoes, “While I remain committed to low-intervention, biodynamic, and chemical-free winemaking and viticulture, I now look for exceptional craftsmanship.”
Their own preference also guides the producers they work with, saying, “We don’t sell what we don’t drink. If it’s not something we would proudly open at our own table, it simply doesn't belong in our portfolio.”
