Humble Canucks. Though they lack the superstar celebrity sommeliers of their neighbours to the south, Canada’s wine influencers have certainly made their mark at home, and abroad. The country’s top wine professionals are consistently competing, travelling and tasting locally and internationally, bringing that knowledge and experience back to share. Most of the top professionals don’t limit themselves to the restaurant floor, but work in wine journalism, consulting, importing and education. That’s key, as the vast geography of Canada can easily keep ideas and information isolated.
Here are some of the top Canadian tastemakers spreading wine culture coast to coast.
Bryant Mao, Wine Director, Hawksworth Restaurant, Vancouver, British Columbia
From simple beginnings as barback at a local Vancouver casino, Mao has risen to the top of the ranks to become head of the wine program at what is arguably Canada’s top fine dining restaurant, Hawksworth Restaurant. When Mao decided to get serious about wine studies in 2004, he dove in, completing the International Sommelier Guild Diploma two years later and then moving to London, where he was hired as a sommelier at Chez Bruce in 2008. He made his return to Vancouver a few years later to take over the position of Wine Director at Hawksworth. For Mao, “The most important trait for a great sommelier is the ability to listen to your customer and give them what they want, not what you want.” The restaurant has won platinum (highest honours) at the Vancouver International Wine Festival three years in a row from 2014 to 2016, and Mao was named 2015 Sommelier of Year by Vancouver Magazine.
Jason Yamasaki, JOEY Restaurants, Vancouver, British Columbia
When Jason Yamasaki, a dynamic leader of the young generation of Vancouver sommeliers, announced he was leaving the city’s vibrant Chambar Restaurant earlier this year for a corporate wine job, there was a collective gasp in the wine trade. Now he’s turned his sights to shaping wine for casual dining on a big scale, with nearly 30 JOEY restaurants across Canada and down the west coast of the United States. Yamasaki started as a server and earned a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management before formal wine studies with the International Sommelier Guild, WSET and French Wine Scholar. For him, top sommeliers focus as much on the medium as the message. “A great sommelier must possess two practiced and exceptional skills. Hospitality and communication. Collecting immense levels of wine knowledge is only one side of our profession.” It’s a credo that has proven effective; Yamasaki earned the title of British Columbia’s Best Sommelier in 2015, and competed in Canada’s Best Sommelier 2015.
Brad Royale, Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts, Alberta
Brad Royale is impossible to miss. In addition to overseeing seven restaurants throughout Alberta, he is an active wine judge, traveller, and since 2012, micro-négociant of his own label, Kitten Swish. A childhood with parents in the restaurant industry sparked his interest in the trade, while a stint at university, where he used his tuition money for wine, cemented it. He turned his education towards wine, completing diplomas with the International Sommelier Guild, WSET and the first levels of Court of Master Sommeliers. Royale’s adventuresome and brave choices, and the words he uses to communicate them, have earned him the unofficial title of Canada’s Wine Laureate. For Royale, open-mindedness is key. “Wine is a monstrous topic that spans agriculture, anthropology, chemistry, art and geology. A great sommelier needs to be able to communicate these ideas to their guests and staff efficiently and in a manner that everyone can relate to.”
Will Predhomme, Predhomme Inc., Toronto, Ontario
There is no aspect of wine that Will Predhomme hasn’t succeeded at. Prior to starting Predhomme Inc. in 2014, Predhomme was well known as a sommelier, notably for the wine programmes at Canoe Restaurant in Toronto. He also makes wine, with current projects in Ontario, Oregon and South Africa. Within Canada his reach is national as producer and host of The Globe & Mail Wine Basics video series, as well as locally as wine educator at The University of Guelph. His initial taste of the wine industry came via jobs at luxury resorts in the Rocky Mountains. It was a quick redirect of his focus, and he obtained the advanced certificate through the Court of Master Sommeliers (he is currently pursuing his Master Sommelier accreditation) as well as the WSET Diploma. Predhomme represented Ontario (2011) and Canada (2014) at the ASI Best Sommelier of the World competition, and continues to travel widely and regularly.
John Szabo MS, John Szabo Consulting, WineAlign, Toronto, Ontario
John Szabo, the closest thing Canada has to a celebrity sommelier, is not only driven and dedicated (he is a third degree black belt in Goju-Karate-do), but he was also the country’s first Master Sommelier back in 2004. He came into the industry from the back of house, including an affirming stint with chef Michael Stadtländer in Niagara. Being in the heart of Ontario’s wine region piqued his interest enough to prompt a move to Paris and fill his spare time with cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants and taking wine classes at Formation à l’Oenophilie, C.I.D.D. Upon returning home, he finished diplomas at the Canadian Sommelier Guild and WSET before completing the MS certification. His empire has continued to grow exponentially; one of Canada’s top wine educators, judges and writers (and co-founder of national wine portal WineAlign), he has consulted on wine programs for numerous companies large and small, and penned Pairing Food and Wine For Dummies, and Sommelier Management. His next book, Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grit and Power, is due out this month. He also makes wine, as a partner in the small J&J Eger vineyard in Hungary.
Steve Robinson, Atelier Restaurant, Ottawa, Ontario
After spending his university science student days making home-brew wine, Steven Robinson rose rapidly through the wine industry, gaining Advanced Sommelier certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers. At his first restaurant job in 2007, Robinson worked alongside awarded chef Marc Lepine, and when Lepine opened Atelier Restaurant in 2008, he asked Robinson to join him as sommelier.
Robinson has gone on to rank in competitions throughout the Americas, most recently taking second place at Canada’s Best Sommelier in 2015. While Sherry is a passion (this Certified Sherry Educator is quick to name Manzanilla and Atlantic oysters as his top pairing), his 150 wines on the list at Atelier are wide ranging and diverse, focusing on the best wines for pairing to Atelier’s nightly 12-course tasting menu. He is currently pursuing his Master Sommelier certification, aiming to represent Canada at the Best Sommelier of the World Competition in 2019.
Vanya Filipovic, Joe Beef, Vin Papillon, Les Vin Dame-Jeanne, Montreal, Québec
Wine comes as naturally as breathing to Vanya Filipovic, having grown up with sommelier/chef parents who had a restaurant first in Quebec, then Vermont. It was a natural step then, from front and back of house to continual travel to wineries (and distilleries, breweries, cooperages, labs) around the globe. She was part of the opening team at Montreal’s iconic Joe Beef, taking over the wine program four years later and affirming the city as a vibrant eating and drinking destination. When the restaurant owners decided to open a wine bar, they invited Filipovic to partner with them. Together with chef-boyfriend Marc-Olivier Frappier, they opened Vin Papillon a few doors down from Joe Beef in 2013, and she remains general manager and wine director of both. In 2015 she founded Les Vin Dame-Jeanne, a wine import agency that focuses on organic and biodynamic grower Champagne, Loire and Burgundy wines. She was named one of Wine & Spirits Magazine’s 50 Masters of Place (and scored a cover spot) in Fall 2016.
Élyse Lambert MS, Consultant, Montreal, Québec
Canada’s newest Master Sommelier, Élyse Lambert has been inspired by wine since her first wine course in 1996, and has been inspiring the wine choices of others since becoming a certified sommelier in 1999. From her start in Quebec’s prestigious Relais & Châteaux properties, she went on to lead fine wine programs in top restaurants across the province, and competed in numerous competitions locally and internationally. Most recently she was ranked fifth for Best Sommelier in the World 2016. She is Canada’s first Quebecer, fourth Canadian, and second Canadian woman to hold the title of Master Sommelier, completing the certification in 2015. Lambert is currently an in-demand wine consultant for restaurants, and private and corporate clients, and contributes to Quebec’s popular wine guide, Les Méchants Raisins. Her take on what makes a great sommelier is simple: “Humility. Be a good listener. Take care of people. Patience. Speed.”
Véronique Rivest, Soif Bar à Vin, Gatineau, Québec
With over 25 years in the hospitality industry, Véronique Rivest is one of Canada’s best-known and most-influential wine professionals and an in-demand speaker, educator, consultant and media personality, with a string of high-profile awards in national sommelier competitions. Twice Canada’s best sommelier, she was named best sommelier of the Americas and took second place at the World’s Best Sommelier Competition in 2013, the first woman to take to the podium. Her studies in geology, agronomy and history, Bachelor’s degree in languages and literature, and her MBA in international trade have made for a solid and diverse foundation for a life learning about and communicating wine. Rivest is quick to answer “curiosity and humility” when asked what traits a top sommelier possesses. In 2014, she opened the Gatineau destination wine bar Soif Bar à Vin, which was shortlisted as one of the Best New Restaurants in Canada by enRoute Magazine.
Jeremy Bonia, Raymonds Restaurant, The Merchant Tavern, St. John’s, Newfoundland
A university job working for the local liquor corporation tilted the rudder of Jeremy Bonia’s career, prompting him to take a job at one of Newfoundland’s original fine dining restaurants, Bianca’s. Moving the focus of his studies to wine, he gained certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers. After opening Atlantica with colleague Jeremy Charles in 2007, and earning the coveted title of Best New Restaurant in Canada from enRoute Magazine, the duo went on to open Raymonds in 2010, and earned the Best New Restaurant title an unprecedented second time. He manages a list of 500 wines at Raymonds, with a focus on small lots from across Canada. This year they opened The Merchant Tavern, and are waiting to see if the third time is a charm. Bonia travels often and extensively through Europe and Canada to select wines for his lists, though when pressed for his favourite pairing, “fresh scallops (as in right out of the water) with your favourite Canadian or Riesling” was a quick answer.
