About Us …

As our name implies, Winetasters is a wine-tasting club. And, what can be more fun than a wine tasting? Maybe you are really lucky and you are friends with a great wine producer who invites you to taste an aged vertical of their wines, one that spans a decade. Or, maybe your wine-collecting friend invites you to taste an extraordinary collection of Chardonnay wines. Or, maybe you are a member of Winetasters’ Society of Toronto, one of Toronto’s oldest and largest non-profit wine clubs, where such experiences happen 10 times a year. No, you don’t bring your own wine to the event. The wines all come from Winetasters’ cellar. Winetasters is a group of wine enthusiasts that have taken great pleasure in hosting fine-wine-tasting events for members and their guests. We have been doing so for over thirty years.

Members and their guests gather for events monthly. Most events occur on the fourth Wednesday of the month but there are exceptions occasionally. We take a break during the summer so there are no events in July and August.  We offer three types of events. A typical year would include 7 tastings, one dinner, and our famous Holiday Party. Our regular venue for tastings is the North York Memorial Community Hall (5110 Yonge Street), a location that is convenient for many as there is a subway stop in the complex.  We are also experimenting with holding some events downtown, and these have been warmly received.

Tastings are usually presented as single-blind experiences that include 8 wines. Single blind means that you will have a list of the eight wines that you will enjoy that evening. However, you will not know which wine is in which glass until the end of the evening when we reveal their identity. The event will also include either a mystery wine (for a bit of fun), or a reception wine. .  An expert speaker enhances the experience by providing background on the wines, including such information on the region, the winemaker, the vintages, and the taste profile we can expect. After tasting the wines the speaker and the members share their impressions of the wines.

The wines for tasting events come from Winetasters’ extensive cellar, which has been built up over decades and stored under ideal conditions.  Our cellar includes the classic regions as well as up-and-comers.  Our cellar allows us to offer tastings of mature wines at a reasonable price. We typically have one e event a year where the theme is of an exploratory/educational nature.    The Events page shows our past events, and the 10-Year Plan shows what’s in store. If you visit that page you will glean an idea of what we are aging in our cellar.

Come December we switch formats to our Holiday Party. This is a special walk-around party where a large variety of wines are available and you create your own tasting event!  Old, new, traditional and novel – wines of every kind and price are available along with some great finger foods.  We usually include as ‘headliner’ a very special wine such as old madeira, port, or sherry.

Our dinner event is carefully planned with the chef of the restaurant to provide members and their guests with a food and wine pairing experience that ensures an interesting, enjoyable, and memorable evening.

Our membership year ends in June. and members pay an annual fee to help cover the club’s operating costs.  When you become a member, you get access to our events for an additional event fee, which is significantly less than the fee we charge to guests.  We make sure that members receive exceptional value for all events, whether they be tastings, dinners, and the Holiday Party. Membership also includes a coupon system to allow members to bring a guest to a tasting at member prices – we hope that this will encourage members to introduce their friends and colleagues to the club.

Each event fee is determined on a break-even basis, allowing for putting suitable wines back into the cellar, and event operating costs.  We are a not-for-profit organization.  Non-members may sign up, subject to space, for a premium over the member price.  Members always have priority and we work hard to keep the member dues near a trivial amount.

You don’t have to be a wine expert to join. When you come to an event you will meet wine experts and novices; the young and old; tall and short; singles, couples, even the odd family. What people have in common are love, curiosity,  and passion for wine. No matter who you are or what you do, Winetasters is for you.  We have around 150 members presently, and more would enhance the value and experience of all.