What does a wine career look like when your body can't do the hours anymore?

Merrin McHugh ran the floor and the wine pairings at Actinolite for seven years. Then a stroke in 2023 took her off the floor. Today she is the Wine Director for restaurants Sara and Rasa, the founder of Wine by Merrin, and does sales at Boires.

We talk about the 10-hour days and the 400-name handwritten wait list that burned her out, the three days she was alone after the stroke, and how she now runs two wine programs without being on the floor — a $60 pairing at Sara included. Plus: can fine dining and a life outside it coexist at all? "No. Maybe."

We also get into the kitchen that used fermented white-currant juice instead of lemon, and "no news is news" — her advice to every wine rep and every buyer.

If you work in restaurants, hire sommeliers, or just want to know what the hours really cost, this episode is a must-listen.

Is Fine Dining Burning Out Its Best People? — Merrin McHugh

Timestamps:
00:00 Would she do it again at 40?
00:35 Joining Actinolite the week the Globe review hit
02:36 Cooking the Canadian landscape: no lemon, foraged dishes, the health inspector
04:29 From Yours Truly to running Actinolite's wine list
07:14 Building pairings for vegetable-led menus: orange wine, a sparkling red, the egg dish
11:30 A day in the life of a 26-seat restaurant
12:42 Burning out: bonfire dinners and the 400-name wait list
14:47 Leaving for a fishing lodge in BC
16:07 The stroke
18:14 Rehab, her voice, and learning to walk and speak again
20:42 Wine by Merrin: consulting for Sara and Rasa from home
23:48 What a working week looks like now
25:17 Is this sustainable? Partner, parents and rest
27:40 Can a tasting menu afford a full-time sommelier?
30:17 One thing she'd change about the industry
31:32 Advice for the next generation
33:43 Life as a wine rep, and what reps and buyers get wrong
36:27 Ontario producers worth finding
39:20 Her favourite Toronto wine lists
42:11 Where to find Merrin, and Sara's $60 pairing

🎧 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favourite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Links:
Wine by Merrin — @winebymerrin
Merrin McHugh — @merrinlee
Sara — @sararestaurantto
Rasa — @rasarestaurantto
Tasting Notes Toronto — @tastingnotestoronto
https://www.youtube.com/@TheTastingNotesPodcast

If this episode was worth your time, the best thank-you is sharing it with one person who'd love it.
Hosted and produced by Alex Abbott Boyd · Recorded in Toronto · © 2026 Tasting Notes Toronto.

Should a sommelier ever sit down while the rest of the room is working?

Bruce Wallner is a Master Sommelier and the founder of Sommelier Factory, Toronto's wine school. He built the wine program at Palazzo Versace, worked under Gérard Basset at Hotel du Vin, and ran the cellar at the Trump Hotel Toronto, now the St. Regis.

We talk about the $140,000 cellar Versace told him to ignore, why a bottle should reach your table in three minutes (he once waited 45), and whether a sommelier should ever taste with an importer on the restaurant's time. Plus: Gérard Basset's rule for whoever walks through the door.

We also get into the closet of tinfoil-wrapped bottles behind his Master Sommelier exam, the dawn walk home that made him quit, and why Jancis Robinson was always staring at him during exam prep.

If you're a sommelier, you're studying to become one, or you just want the story of one of Toronto's most influential sommeliers, this episode is a must-listen.

Sommeliers Aren't Supposed to Sit Down. — Bruce Wallner

Timestamps:

00:00 The $140,000 cellar Versace told him to ignore
04:14 Tall poppies: the Australians who trashed the place
06:28 Skipping a level: "a terrible mistake"
10:15 Hotel du Vin: a Michelin-star wine list on a bistro
12:41 Gérard Basset's rule: put down what you're doing
16:23 Why chase the pin? "It's not the destination"
18:31 Four hours' sleep and a closet of tinfoil bottles
21:08 "Must be Etna": the wines that still trip him
24:07 The Trump Hotel: clearing out the grower Champagne
25:46 Walking home at dawn, two weeks before his first child
27:07 Australia gave 100%. Toronto: "meh"
29:35 Three minutes to the table — or 45
32:42 Tasting with importers on the clock?
39:14 $25 an hour, half the staff
43:06 What he drinks with his own money

🎧 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favourite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Links:
Bruce Wallner — @masterchefsomm
Sommelier Factory — @sommfactory
Tasting Notes Toronto — @tastingnotestoronto
https://www.youtube.com/@TheTastingNotesPodcast

If this episode was worth your time, the best thank-you is sharing it with one person who'd love it.
Hosted and produced by Alex Abbott Boyd · Recorded in Toronto · © 2026 Tasting Notes Toronto.

Why would a restaurant kill à la carte when the majority of fine dining is bringing it back?

Adam Minster is a partner in The Food Dudes — the group behind Rasa, Sara, Chop'Hop and Pantry — and this spring Sara went all-in on a single seven-course tasting menu.

We talk about the 70% of guests who'd already made the decision for him, the choices that keep it $115 instead of $300, and how a $60 wine pairing works economically. Plus: the hospitality reflex you can hire for but can't train.

If you run a restaurant, work a floor, or just want to know what a $115 tasting menu is really buying you, this episode is a must-listen.

Tasting Menus Are Out. Sara Bet on One. — Adam Minster

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Sara killed à la carte
02:12 $115, not $300: the strip loin math
04:02 The Journey, course by course
09:15 The hospitality reflex: hire for it, can't train it
11:07 A $60 wine pairing, and why guests just want to trust you
17:49 "I can't eat your dry eggs anymore"
20:57 "This is the guy": The Food Dudes to Rasa
24:13 Cook for the guest — and the salad people would riot over
29:50 Opening Sara: "I wasn't ready"
35:25 COVID, the great equalizer
37:55 Closing Rasa for a month. Still worth it?
40:06 Chop'Hop, 3pm closes, and the best salads in Toronto
51:12 Delivery apps: "They f***ing suck"
53:04 Which half of the restaurant the robots replace first

🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favourite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Links:

• Sara — @sararestaurantto
• Rasa — @rasarestaurantto
• Chop'Hop — @chophop_salads
• The Food Dudes — @fooddudes
• Tasting Notes Toronto — @tastingnotestoronto
• https://www.youtube.com/@TheTastingNotesPodcast

If this episode was worth your time, the best thank-you is sharing it with one person who'd love it.

Hosted and produced by Alex Abbott Boyd · Recorded in Toronto · © 2026 Tasting Notes Toronto.

Is wine becoming too expensive for the people who love it?

Jeffrey Roel is the General Manager and Head Sommelier at Henry's Restaurant in Toronto, an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, and winner of the CAPS Cup.

We talk about the $150 tab that used to cover five courses, the Bordeaux house asking over $1,000 for its second wine, and how a sommelier finds value as everything climbs — including saying yes to wines Jeffrey once had to reject for being "too cheap." Plus: wine's gatekeeping problem, and what hospitality feels like once the choreography drops away.

We also discuss his pursuit of the Master Sommelier title — hard days included — and why you'll never see a pile of gummies on a Christmas table.

If you work in wine or hospitality—or just want to understand where the wine industry is headed—this episode is a must-listen.

Wine Is Getting Too Expensive. Who's Buying It? — Jeffrey Roel

00:00 The industry can explode — or fall away
02:34 You still spend $150 dining out — you just get less
06:13 Wine's gatekeeping problem — and where the great somms went
08:26 The $1,000 second wine: Who is that for?
10:23 What the GM sees that the somm never could
15:06 A $15 wine of the day that isn't cheap
17:40 “I'm sorry, it's too cheap” — the wines that finally have a home
21:34 The Greek red that sold 24 bottles in a week
26:43 What to order at Henry's, from the guy who runs it
28:30 Chasing Master Sommelier out of boredom
36:50 What makes the sacrifice worth it? “Nothing.”
42:37 Winning the CAPS Cup — and what Ontario Chardonnay gives away
49:33 Hot take: Syrah belongs in the cold
54:25 Jeff flips the mic: Is wine actually dying?
59:32 Why there will never be gummies on the Christmas table

🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favourite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Links:

• Henry's Restauant — https://www.henrystoronto.ca/ · @henrys.to
• Jeffrey on Instagram — @je.frey.chambertin
• Tasting Notes Toronto — @tastingnotestoronto https://www.youtube.com/@TheTastingNotesPodcast

If this episode was worth your time, the best thank-you is sharing it with one person who’d love it.

Hosted and produced by Alex Abbott Boyd · Recorded in Toronto · © 2026 Tasting Notes Toronto.

What happens when a field biologist watches Somm on Netflix and decides to become a sommelier?

Nabilah Rawji was supposed to be a field biologist — the kind who spends 12-hour days hiking through the Amazon. Then a family stroke changed her plans, a nonprofit job disappeared, and a Netflix documentary pointed her toward a career she’d never considered. What followed is one of Toronto wine’s great scrappy origin stories: 60 cold messages to strangers, two replies, multiple restaurant jobs, and a rapid climb from zero to Advanced Sommelier.

We get into what Somm doesn’t show you about working in restaurants, how Nabilah built her career, and what it takes to be a sommelier and a parent in an industry built around evenings. We talk about Restaurant Lucie, her wine consulting and education work, and the challenge of putting a price on your own expertise.

We also get into her magical wine travels, the current struggle facing Vinequity — the organization she co-founded to provide scholarships and mentorship — and why Nebbiolo has “resting bitch face.”

This Wine Has Resting Bitch Face — Nabilah Rawji

00:00 “Nebbiolo has resting bitch face”
00:36 The 80% overlap between field biology and somm work
04:07 The stroke that ended the PhD dream
05:53 Unemployed on the couch, watching Somm on Netflix
08:31 60 cold messages, two replies, three jobs at once
10:48 Why a Toronto restaurant floor isn’t her hardest job
12:15 Zero to certified in 18 months — inside the Sunday study group
15:23 The new Restaurant Lucie
20:28 The blind pour that broke a guest’s brain (Ontario vs. New Zealand)
23:11 Two nights a week: making motherhood fit fine dining
30:26 “Please tell me to hit send on this invoice”
34:39 Vinequity’s do-or-die year — where your $20 actually goes
41:24 Why Nebbiolo’s attitude is worth it: an Alto Piemonte pilgrimage
46:24 Standing in the Cretan sea, feeling terroir
51:17 Why somms across the world call each other

🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favorite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Links:

• Restaurant Lucie — restaurantlucie.com · @restaurantlucie
• Vinequity — vinequity.ca · @vin.equity · info@vinequity.ca (verified)
• Vinopath, Nabilah’s wine consulting & cellar management company — vinopath.ca
• Nabilah on Instagram — @nabilahrawji
• Tasting Notes Toronto — @tastingnotestoronto https://www.youtube.com/@TheTastingNotesPodcast

If this episode was worth your time, the best thank-you is sharing it with one person who’d love it.

Hosted and produced by Alex Abbott Boyd · Recorded in Toronto · © 2026 Tasting Notes Toronto.

What if the most authentic thing a chef can do is adapt?

At Antylia (Dufferin & Bloor), chefs Aldo Camarena and Ashley McKay are building one of Toronto's most exciting restaurants on exactly that idea — Mexican and Ecuadorian traditions, cooked through Ontario corn, Indigenous ingredients, and the city's endless collision of cultures.

We get into why they show up to every wine tasting (rare for chefs), the thousands-year-old Indigenous science behind a perfect tortilla, a 17-step cauliflower, and the family ceviche recipe that shocks guests when they learn what's in it. Aldo also shares the story of arriving in Canada as a refugee, getting fired by a chef who told him "you're useless — but don't give up," and cooking his way to an answer.

If you enjoyed my conversation with Eva Chin on neo-Chinese cuisine, this one picks up the same thread: what happens to a food culture when it moves.

Tortillas Are Sacred. Authenticity Isn't. — Aldo Camarena & Ashley McKay of Antylia

Timestamps

00:00 Why wine matters as much as the food
05:34 From art school and a refugee arrival to professional kitchens
11:44 The vision behind Antylia — and a lifelong obsession with corn
14:55 Why making tortillas is a sacred craft
18:27 Building a restaurant around community, not transactions
23:30 What great hospitality looks like today
25:46 The 17-step cauliflower and the pursuit of craftsmanship
29:04 Storytelling, authenticity, and the future of Latin American cuisine
37:18 Canadian ingredients, Indigenous traditions, and redefining authenticity
42:43 Grandma's ceviche — and yes, there's ketchup in it
51:57 Why regulars keep coming back to Antylia
57:23 Visit Antylia

🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favorite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Landry, Advanced Sommelier and Head Sommelier at Prime Seafood Palace, to talk about what it actually takes to build a career in wine today.

We get into why Matt thinks Bordeaux currently offers better value and consistency than Burgundy, why serious wine drinkers should be paying more attention to New World regions like Argentina and Australia, and how competitions can accelerate a sommelier’s career. Matt also shares how he is reshaping the wine program at Prime Seafood Palace through thoughtful pricing, generous corkage, and a belief that hospitality should be built into the wine list itself.

We also discuss the changing role of the sommelier, why wine professionals need to understand finance and restaurant operations, and the bottles and experiences that have shaped Matt’s career.

Stop Sleeping on New World Wine & Sign Up for a Competition — Matt Landry

00:00 – Why Matt Thinks Bordeaux Is Better Value Than Burgundy
06:16 – Three Bordeaux Wines Matt Recommends
07:48 – How Climate Change Could Reshape Burgundy
09:36 – Why Sommeliers Should Pay More Attention to the New World
13:23 – Why Australia Deserves More Attention
14:05 – How Matt Got Into Wine
18:06 – The Court of Master Sommeliers & the Advanced Exam
22:48 – Why Sommeliers Should Enter Competitions
26:34 – Taking Over the Wine Program at Prime Seafood Palace
31:05 – Pearl Morissette vs. Prime Seafood Palace
34:05 – Working with Matty Matheson and the Kitchen
34:47 – Why Wine Sales Are Growing at Prime
39:16 – Why Matt Pours Krug as a Welcome
41:02 – Why Hospitality Can Be a Meaningful Career
43:45 – The Sommelier Role Is Becoming More Than Wine
46:05 – The Best Wines Matt Has Ever Had
50:09 – The World's Most Underrated Wine Region

🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favorite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

In this episode, I sit down with award-winning writer Nancy Matsumoto, co-author of Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake and author of Reaping What She Sows, to explore two conversations reshaping hospitality.

We begin with a deep dive into Japanese craft sake—why it's fundamentally different from wine, whether terroir applies, and the innovations changing modern sake production.

Then we turn to the hidden costs of cheap food, the challenges facing sustainable agriculture, and what restaurants can realistically do to support local producers while surviving on razor-thin margins.

Whether you're a sommelier looking to better understand sake or a chef thinking about the future of food, this episode is packed with practical insights and thoughtful conversation.

Sake Isn't Wine. Cheap Food Isn't Cheap — Nancy Matsumoto

Timestamps

00:00 – Why Sake Isn't Rice Wine

00:40 – Falling Down the Sake Rabbit Hole

02:29 – Does Sake Have Terroir?

04:59 – How Regional Sake Styles Are Changing

07:46 – Three Bottles to Start Your Sake Journey

09:20 – The Low-Polish Revolution & Sustainability

11:42 – Technology vs. Tradition in Sake Brewing

14:01 – Reviving Heirloom Rice

17:34 – Why Our Food System Is Broken

20:27 – Organic Labels, Greenwashing & What Matters

25:46 – The Hidden Cost of Cheap Food

32:49 – Why Women Are Leading Change

39:42 – How Restaurants Can Support Local Farmers

43:04 – Sustainable Wine, Biodynamics & Farming

47:07 – Nancy's Favourite Sake Bars

48:08 – One Thing Everyone Can Do This Week

🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favorite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.