Our Tasters
All wines listed are recommended by our experienced panel of tasters. Each wine is rated based on its varietal character, representation of style and/or region, balance and price-quality ratio. Readers should assess these, and all wines, using the same criteria. Browse our experts’ tasting notes to find the wines that may appeal to your taste or pique your interest to try something new. Afterall, one of the best parts about wine is the discovery. The prices listed are suggested retail prices and will likely vary from province to province. A large number of these wines can be purchased across Canada, so check with your local liquor board or private wine store for availability.
Our tasters are Tony Aspler, Gurvinder Bhatia, Tod Stewart, Evan Saviolidis, Rick VanSickle, Ron Liteplo, Sean Wood, Gilles Bois, Crystal Luxmore, Tara Luxmore, Treve Ring, Tim Pawsey, Silvana Lau and Jonathan Smithe.
Our tasters are:
Gurvinder Bhatia
Editor-in-chief Gurvinder Bhatia’s love of wine and food took him from practising law to eating and drinking his way around the world in search of all things delicious. He also writes about wine for the Edmonton Journal, judges international wine competitions, and runs the Northern Lands Festival to support his habit. You can follow his culinary adventures on Twitter @EdmontonWineGuy.
Tony Aspler
In May 2012, Tony Aspler was the first Canadian wine writer to be elected to the New York Media Wine Writers Hall of Fame. He is currently working on the fourth Ezra Brant wine murder mystery, Nightmare in Napa. His new book, with Quebec photographer Jean-Francois Bergeron, Canadian Wineries will be out this fall.
Sean Wood
Sean Wood is a weekly wine columnist for the Halifax Chronicle Herald. He has written for both national and international wine magazines and travels frequently to report on wine regions throughout the world. He has provided consulting services to government on wine-related issues as well to the hospitality industry. Sean also serves frequently as a wine judge. His book Wineries and Wine Country of Nova Scotia was published in September 2006.
Gilles Bois
A former engineer, Gilles Bois is now devoting time to his passion: tasting wines from everywhere and meeting the people who make them. As a wine judge or in the vineyard, he is always on the lookout for an original bottle worth writing about.
Evan Saviolidis
Evan Saviolidis is the Wine Tasting Challenge Grand Champion, Instructor for the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, and teaches wine appreciation courses in Niagara at WineSavvy. For complete information, please visit www.evanwinesavvy.com.
Treve Ring
Treve Ring is a wine writer and editor for regional, national and international publications, as well as an international wine judge and speaker. She is based on Vancouver Island, though is most often found on a plane or in a vineyard. She writes for WineAlign, Gismondi On Wine, Meininger’s Wine Business International, SIP Northwest Magazine, Scout Magazine and others.
Rick VanSickle
Rick VanSickle is a freelance wine writer who lives with his family in Niagara where a good bottle of wine is always nearby. He publishes a website called WinesInNiagara.com.
Ron Liteplo
Ron’s “aha” wine experience occurred in 1979, when he had an affair with a case of 1961 Garrafeira from Portugal. Life since has been a quest for similarly fulfilling experiences, occasionally successful.
Tod Stewart
To reduce the impact of numerous wine and food sorties abroad, Quench contributing editor Tod Stewart permanently lives in a different time zone. And while it helps with the jet lag, many complain that he seems somewhat distant.
Tim Pawsey
Tim Pawsey (a.k.a. The Hired Belly) is a much-travelled food and wine critic. He writes, tweets and shoots for the North Shore News and Vancouver Courier. He also writes monthly in WHERE Vancouver, and contributes to Taste, Quench, Montecristo and others. In 2012, Tim was honoured to be inducted as a “Friend of the Industry” into the BCRFA Hall of Fame. Taste with him vicariously at www.hiredbelly.com and follow him at rebelmouse.com/hiredbelly.