Canada’s Top Sommeliers Discuss What’s Next for the World of Wine and How They Are Adapting to Shifting Consumer Habits

No matter how you slice it, the wine industry is at a turning point. For the pessimist, articles with headlines proclaiming its demise read like a tragedy, with tales of vines being ripped up, wineries going bankrupt, and would-be Gen Z customers reaching for cannabis rather than cabernet. For the optimist, these and other more positive articles spell out what they’ve long known: the wine world needs to adapt, and these events are a necessary kick in the ass. At the front lines of this sea change is the sommelier, whose precarious role in the restaurant industry has always rested on the acceptance that wine is as essential to a good meal as the food on the plate. Now, with consumer habits shifting faster than ever before, somms more than any other in the world of wine are witnessing first-hand just what’s next for the beleaguered industry and are adapting themselves to it along the way.

At Harbour Sixty, the sprawling Toronto steakhouse frequented by Bay Street bankers and Blue Jays batters alike, wine director Christian Perreault Hamel is seeing in real time just how consumer habits are changing, with diners from across the spectrum opting for whites and lighter reds rather than heavily oaked, fruity wines from places like Napa and Australia. “You never know what people are attracted to,” he says. “I think we have to get rid of all the stereotypes of, well, ‘people in those kinds of restaurants want to drink that.’” At the same time as wines from these stalwart regions are falling out of favour, causing panic throughout parts of the industry, others from regions such as Yamanishi, Japan, and Alentejo, Portugal, are seeing newfound success selling in restaurants as classic as Harbour Sixty, according to Hamel. However, the effect of the general broadening of palates and availability of wine has conversely led to what he calls “the golden age of buying bordeaux,” with prices dropping and savvy oenophiles swooping in to drink classics at a startlingly low costs compared to their post-COVID peak.

Bordeaux and burgundian wines still form the core of the wine list at Vancouver’s Le Crocodile, where wine director Andrew Forsyth aims to pair superlative bottles with the superb cooking of chef Rob Feenie. Typically, they would be supplemented by wines from south of the border—California, Oregon, and Washington—which Canada has long been the largest export market for. Nowadays, as a result of political turmoil with our once-equanimous neighbours along with the implementation of tariffs and countertariffs, not to mention the gibes and general unkindness, demand for these wines has fallen off. In their stead, Canadian wines have taken pride of place on Forsyth’s and other top sommeliers’ wine lists. In British Columbia especially, top wineries such as Mission Hill and Phantom Creek have reached maturity, and the high quality of their wines means they are poised to replace those cult Napa cabs.

One thing that has grown is the thirst for wine knowledge. While Canadian sales by volume dropped 4.8 per cent in 2023/2024 according to Statistics Canada, the third year of decline since the peak days of the pandemic, when overimbibing caused first by boredom and later by post-lockdown celebration was supported by an excess of cash after years without travel and other luxuries, those who picked up a passion for wine have continued to learn. “During the pandemic, there was a huge amount of time that people were able to devote to hobbies and picking up new things. And one of them was wine knowledge,” Forsyth says.

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“I’ve become a little more educated by virtue of the guest being really into what they want to drink. That’s a lot of fun because it’s fun to get challenged, but it’s also fun for me to go home and say ‘okay, I didn’t know the answer to that.’” —Wine Director Andrew Forsyth

 

Because the wine-drinking public is generally more educated, even wine lists such as Forsyth’s, which prioritize prominent names from classic regions such as Champagne’s Dom Pérignon and Bordeaux’s Château Latour, demand that the sommeliers who build them read up as they taste, as diners become increasingly interested in the minute details of wine producers: their stories, terroirs, and techniques.

As with most fields, artificial intelligence makes learning about wine easier than ever, but it also presents something of an existential threat to sommeliers.

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“You could probably get AI to build your wine list right now in five seconds,” says Vanya Filipovic, wine director/proprietor at Montreal’s Mon Lapin. “So knowing that, the only way we’re really going to keep dining alive is by having humans with personalities and convictions and opinions around. One thing that is extremely evident to me every single day is that people who come to my restaurant are in need of these sensorial moments, of these true connections with other humans, food, and wine.”

 

This commitment to the deeply humanistic aspect of dining has reinforced Filipovic’s resolve to support the wine producers she has worked with for years. “I think it’s more important than ever to stay true to the producers we’ve always loved and purchased and cellared, and the wines that really reflect our food and our identity.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the sommelier’s essential role as a server. While Filipovic, Forsyth, and Hamel either work side gigs importing wine, devote themselves to sommelier competitions, or both, the restaurant floor remains their true calling. The dining experience is built on interconnection, trust, and, increasingly, a respectful tête-à-tête, and regardless of rapidly changing consumer habits, sommeliers whose human touch is as highly developed as their palate are more necessary than ever. “I love that the sommelier is on the floor, because it is a lesson in humility every day,” Filipovic says. “It’s a lesson in rethinking what you thought, in reevaluating what you believed was true, and that’s what makes a sommelier better at what they’re doing.”

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