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CAPS Ontario

Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS/ACSP)

Welcome to Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS) – Ontario Chapter

Passionately dedicated to service, we are committed to building a strong community of sommeliers and fostering the growth of our flourishing industry is key to our success. Through professional development, competition and strong trade relations we accomplish our goal of cultivating and promoting of our profession.

05/27/2026

🇫🇷 Provence is far more than just rosé.

CAPS Canada invites wine professionals to a special Wines of Provence broadcast on June 11 hosted by .

Known for their freshness, elegance & unmistakable Mediterranean character, the wines of Provence extend far beyond their iconic rosés. This in-person group viewing offers an opportunity to explore the region’s diversity, terroirs & evolving styles through guided tasting & discussion.

Provence is recognized globally for its expertise in rosé production, with rosé accounting for close to 90% of the region’s wine production.

📍 207 Queens Quay, Suite 401

🕜 Registration: 1:30 PM ET
🍷 Broadcast begins promptly at 2:00 PM ET

🎟️ $25 (CAPS Members) & $35 (Non-Members) per ticket
📅 Registration deadline: June 9

Registration details available through the link in bio 🔗

05/25/2026

📣 CAPS Ontario members, a limited-time 20% member offer for the 2026 School of Cool at the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (I4C) is now available.

One of Canada’s most respected cool climate wine gatherings returns July 16 at White Oaks Resort with guided tastings, leading producers, educational sessions, and conversations shaping the future of cool climate wine.

A full day dedicated to learning, tasting, and connecting with wine professionals from across the industry.

Visit the CAPS Ontario website to access the member code and registration details.

Offer available until May 29.
➡️ Link in Bio 🔗

05/21/2026

🍇 Uncork the Grape with CAPS Ontario: Chardonnay

🎂May 21, International Chardonnay Day

📍 Origin & Identity
Chardonnay originated in eastern France & is most closely associated with Burgundy, where it forms the foundation of some of the world’s most studied & age-worthy white wines. DNA profiling has identified Chardonnay as a natural crossing of Pinot Noir & Gouais Blanc.

From the limestone soils of Chablis to the Côte de Beaune, Chardonnay has become one of the world’s most widely planted & adaptable grape varieties, expressing climate, soil, & winemaking decisions with exceptional clarity.

🥂 In the Glass
Typically dry with medium to high acidity, Chardonnay ranges from lean & mineral in cool climates to rich & textural in warmer ones. Cool-climate expressions show green apple, lemon, chalk, & stony mineral character. Oak maturation & lees ageing contribute brioche, hazelnut, vanilla, & spice. Its restrained primary aromatic profile is part of what makes it one of the clearest expressions of terroir & cellar technique among white varieties.

🌍 Where It Thrives: 🇫🇷 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 🇮🇹 🇿🇦 🇨🇱

🇨🇦 Ontario
Chardonnay remains one of Ontario’s most important VQA varieties, particularly across the Niagara Peninsula.
Ontario Chardonnay continues to gain international recognition through the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) , returning to Niagara July 16–19. Since its inaugural event in 2011, i4C has brought together leading cool-climate producers, sommeliers, educators, & wine professionals from around the world, helping establish Niagara among the world’s leading cool-climate Chardonnay regions.
We look forward to joining the broader wine community at I4C.

🍽️ Classic PairingsShellfish, roast chicken, lobster with beurre blanc, mushroom dishes, triple-cream cheeses, & Comté.

✨ From razor-sharp & mineral to layered & complex, Chardonnay remains one of the clearest reflections of climate, site, & winemaking philosophy in a single grape variety.

🥂 What’s in your glass today?

05/20/2026

🍷 Meet the Professionals Behind CAPS Ontario

This Wine Wednesday , we’re featuring our Education Director, Elsa MacDonald MW.

▫️ Master of Wine
▫️ Head of WSET Diploma-George Brown Polytechnic
▫️ International Wine Judge
▫️ Wine Educator & Industry Consultant

Elsa brings extensive experience across wine education, judging, consulting, and professional development within the global wine industry.

Her current roles include:
• Decanter World Wine Awards Judge
• WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada Judge
• Board Member- International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration
• Institute of Masters of Wine Committee Member

We’re incredibly proud to have her helping lead education at CAPS Ontario.

05/18/2026

🇨🇦 Happy Victoria Day from CAPS Ontario

Whether you’re opening a special bottle, visiting wine country, enjoying a patio pour, or simply taking a well-earned pause, we hope the weekend brings a little sunshine & time to recharge.

Cheers to the unofficial start of summer ☀️

05/15/2026

CAPS Ontario | May Wine Brief 2

The sommelier is not at the end of the wine supply chain. They are in the middle of it.

A recently released Deloitte report commissioned by Wine Growers Canada maps the full economic footprint of Canada’s wine ecosystem, & what it reveals matters for every wine professional in this country.

Behind Canada’s wine industry sits a workforce of approximately 99,300 people, from viticulture specialists & winemakers to hospitality professionals, educators, researchers, & sommeliers.

📍 Where those roles exist:
▫️ 21,700 FTEs directly within the wine industry: grape growing, production, distribution, & retail
▫️ 77,600 FTEs across interconnected industries including hospitality, tourism, transportation, events, & culture

What reports like this do not always capture is the daily work behind the numbers: the sommelier introducing a guest to Niagara Riesling for the first time, the educator helping place a graduate into their first wine role, or the certified professional helping make the Canadian wine conversation credible at the table.

That is the work CAPS Ontario exists to support through certification, mentorship, education, & advocacy for the professionals carrying this industry forward.

As Canadian wine continues to mature globally, fluency in our own regions is increasingly becoming a professional differentiator within hospitality.

The industry has earned that attention, & so have the people who built it.

Where do you see the greatest opportunity for wine professionals in Canada right now?

📖 Report commissioned by Wine Growers Canada & prepared by Deloitte Canada.👇

05/11/2026

📰Ontario Wine Brief | May 2026

🇨🇦 Pan-Canadian Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Moves Forward

One of the most significant structural developments currently underway in the Canadian wine industry is the continued movement toward interprovincial direct-to-consumer alcohol shipping.

May 2026 marked the target implementation timeline agreed to by eleven Canadian jurisdictions working toward a broader pan-Canadian alcohol sales framework aimed at reducing interprovincial trade barriers.

Ontario has been central to these discussions. On March 2, 2026, Ontario and Nova Scotia signed the first bilateral direct-to-consumer alcohol agreement of its kind, positioning the framework as a potential model for future provincial agreements.

For Ontario wineries, representing Canada’s largest wine-producing province, the implications for wine club programs, tourism conversion, and direct sales could be substantial as the framework continues to evolve.

Industry attention now turns to how future bilateral agreements, shipping structures, and provincial mark-up policies may develop.

🙌🏽CAPS Ontario Brief will continue covering developments shaping the wine industry across Ontario, Canada, and beyond.

05/05/2026

Last chance to apply for the New Zealand Wine Sommelier Scholarship & ‘Sommit™’
Applications close this week!
This is your opportunity to represent Canada and travel to New Zealand in February 2027 for an immersive, once-in-a-career experience.
The journey begins with our “Somewhat Sommit” — a one-day, high-impact learning session led by Christopher Sealy and Master of Wine Jacky Blisson.
From all applications, 10 sommeliers from the East Coast will be selected to participate in these sessions. From there, one final candidate will be chosen to attend:
📍 Toronto – June 8 (open to all East Coast applicants, Ontario east)
📍 ✈️ Travel to these sessions will be covered
🍷 The Sommit™ (Jan 22–23, 2027)
🌿 Sauvignon Blanc NZ (Feb 2–4, 2027)
🍇 Exclusive winery visits and tastings across New Zealand
If you’re a working sommelier looking to deepen your knowledge and connect with the global wine community, now is the time.
👉 Applications close this week - Friday, May 8th
📩 Questions? Contact Melissa Stunden - [email protected]

Don’t miss your chance!

05/01/2026

🍇Uncork the Grape with CAPS Ontario: Sauvignon Blanc

🎂May 1, 2026 - International Sauvignon Blanc Day, observed annually on the first Friday of May.

📍Origin & Identity
Sauvignon Blanc originates from western France, with its earliest documented reference in the Loire Valley in 1534. In the Loire, it defines Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. In Bordeaux, it plays a central role in both dry white blends and botrytized wines, most commonly alongside Sémillon.
It is also one of the two parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, the other being Cabernet Franc.

🥂In the Glass
Typically dry, with high acidity and pronounced aromatics. Citrus, green apple, and gooseberry are common across cool-climate expressions. Passionfruit and lime emerge in warmer climates and riper styles. Certain Loire expressions, particularly Pouilly-Fumé, show flinty and smoky characters associated with the region’s silex soils and winemaking approach, though this remains a point of ongoing discussion among producers.

🤓The thiols and methoxypyrazines responsible for its signature aromatics make Sauvignon Blanc one of the more chemically distinctive white varieties in the world.

🌎Where It Thrives : 🇫🇷 🇳🇿 🇨🇱 🇿🇦 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇦🇹

🇨🇦Ontario
Sauvignon Blanc is a permitted VQA variety in Ontario, grown primarily in Niagara with smaller plantings in Prince Edward County. In a cool-climate context, producers focus on site selection, canopy management, and harvest timing to retain acidity while building texture and balance.

🍽️Classic Pairings
🧀Fresh goat cheese, oysters and shellfish, green vegetables and vinaigrettes, light citrus-driven seafood preparations.

✨Uncork the Grape with CAPS Ontario
From flinty and restrained to vivid and aromatic, Sauvignon Blanc remains one of the clearest reflections of climate, site, and winemaking decisions available in a single variety.

🍷What is in your glass today?

Address

471 Jarvis Street, Ontario M4Y 2G8
Toronto, ON
M5A1N1

Website

https://linktr.ee/caps.ontario, http://on.sommelierscanada.ca/

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