What We Do

Winetasters is Toronto’s oldest wine tasting group. Founded in 1978 as Les Amis du Tastevin, we've outlived two name changes and persevered through several relocations - from the west end to downtown to our current home, the Burgundy Room in North York. For more than 30 years we have been helping our members to educate their palate. During that time we have introduced countless new members with a passion for wine to the joy of wine appreciation. As well, Winetasters has helped to cultivate many new friendships, along the way.

We hold single blind wine tastings monthly from September to June, usually beginning at 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month. "Single blind" means that you'll know what the eight wines are but you won't know which is which. A ninth "mystery wine" usually follows.

We plan a variety of tastings each year, trying to alternate reds and whites, and including both horizontal (various wines, same vintage) and vertical (same wine, various vintages) tastings. Each event lasts an hour to an hour and a half. There will be bread to cleanse the palate, but if you don't like tasting wines on an empty stomach we recommend a snack first - preferably something bland so you don't arrive with scorched taste buds.

We're a non-profit organization offering tastings of interest to everyone from beginner to connoisseur. Our tastings, feature wines from all over the world and cover the entire wine spectrum. Many of the wines come from our extensive cellar, which has been built up over the last ten years and stored under ideal conditions. These wines represent an investment by our members, allowing Winetasters to present tastings at costs substantially below current market values.

Members also receive advance notification of other wine functions and activities, including educational seminars, social events such as our incredible Christmas Party, and dinners. Dinners normally fall into two categories: the inexpensive ones (about $60.00) which concentrate on the cuisines and wines of various countries, and the true extravaganzas - dinners (from $120.00 up) which feature the finest continental cuisine supplemented by some of the world's greatest wines.

We are not a private import "buying club". We are not trying to sell wine to our membership. We do import some wines but they are used only for the tastings available to the club membership. We cannot sell wine to individual members.

The Monthly Update

Members can use the new Winetasters website to book reservations for upcoming events: dinners, Tastings, the Christmas Party, or other special events. Once a member has logged into the system, newly published events will automatically be emailed to the member. Any events with space still available can be reserved online and payment will be resolved through Paypal. Major credit cards are accepted only for online reservation. Any members that do not wish to receive email can specify that in their user login. Any members who no longer wish to receive regular mailings can refuse them as well.

If you would rather not reserve online, Wintasters will continue to send out mailings just as we always have. Ten times a year you'll receive a mailing from the club. The envelope may contain a number of items. For your convenience, the various leaflets are colour-coded: white paper for the upcoming monthly tasting; pink for special dinners; yellow for educational wine seminars; blue for the annual membership application; and green for special mailings such as information about bus trips, wine vacations, or the annual cellar inventory. To reserve a place at a tasting send in your cheque and application as soon as possible. If you're returning applications for separate events (such as a tasting, a wine seminar, and a dinner) a separate cheque for each event is most convenient. Please double check the mailing address: different people may be handling the mail for different events. Please, NO registered letters, NO post dated cheques, and NO reservations by phone.

Don't worry if you haven't heard from us. We'll only telephone you if the tasting is full. Once a tasting reaches its limit (usually, 130 people) we telephone guests first then members. In each case, the date the application was received and the date on the postmark determine who gets in and who doesn't. Cancellations will be accepted until the Friday preceding the tasting. After that, you must pay even if you don't show up. Sorry, we can't accept payment at the door. It contravenes LLBO regulations.

Getting There

The setting is the Burgundy Room of the North York Memorial Community Hall, 5110 Yonge Street (under the library). We recommend that tasters take the TTC: the North York Centre subway stop is handy. If you insist on driving, there's parking in the building (enter off Beecroft, one block west of Yonge), and meter parking on Beecroft after 6:00 p.m.

The Art of Tasting Wines

Books have been written on the subject. Ideally you ought to read one or two of them before your first tasting, but if you haven't time we provide one or more New Members Tables at each tasting. Your guide is there to answer questions - the more the better. The actual process of tasting involves what American wine writer Thomas Maresca calls the "infamous s's": see, swirl, smell, sip/slurp, savour/slosh and swallow. You'll be asked to evaluate each wine on a scale of 1 to 20. Then, a table ranking and a group ranking will be tallied. Hold on to your score sheet. The expert's and the group's choices will be announced before the evening's over. The guest speaker will comment on the wines individually once we've all had a chance to taste them; therefore, it's a good idea to leave some in the glass for sipping along with the expert.

The etiquette is simple: please don't divert attention from the wines. That means you should avoid perfumes or colognes; and if you're one of the 187 smokers left in Toronto, please do not light up in the tasting room. There is no dress code for club members. Most of us come directly from work and we dress accordingly.

What It Costs

The annual membership dues, covering mailings, supplies, and other costs, is $40 per year including GST. Two people at one address can join for only $60. inc Our tasting year starts in September. If you join late in the year, after January, the membership fee covers both the current year and the following one. As mentioned earlier, tastings typically cost between $35 and $75. Members can bring one guest, if space is available, usually for an additional charge of $5. All participants must be booked in advance, due to LCBO regulations. Other events, such as dinners, can vary widely in price.

Membership in Winetasters often results in discounts to other wine-related activities in the Toronto area. We include notices of such events in our monthly mailings.

If you wish, we can place you on our mailing list for three months, with no obligation. While on this list, you may book to attend events, at guest prices, and subject to space availability. At the end of the three months you will automatically be dropped from the list unless you join as a member. To be placed on this list, please click here and fill in the form.

If you still have questions we haven't answered for you here, please contact us or bring them to the attention of the guide at the New Members Table. Happy tasting.