Gourmet food and Wine Expo

It’s Time to Indulge

Come to learn or come to earn at Toronto’s Gourmet Food and Wine Expo

If you’ve never been to the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, then you’ve never been to a refined party that allows discerning adults to delve into the greatest food and wine indulgences from around the world. Luckily, the Expo is right in your backyard, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Every November, over 36,000 visitors stroll through the booths offering gourmet foods and over 1,500 fine wines. But you can beat the rush. The Expo also offers special VIP tickets to catch the show before the crowds descend on the convention centre for the three-day weekend event.

For $35, you can gain access to a VIP preview evening on the Thursday night before the event officially kicks off on the Friday. That evening, you will be able to enjoy everything that others will and even more in a private, low-key setting.

So what’s the ‘even more’? Your VIP ticket entitles you to sample a limited number of the premium wines that are reserved just for that night. And instead of trying to catch a glimpse of the famous celebrities from beyond the crowds, you will be able to interact directly with both the celebrity guests and winemakers, restaurant owners and chefs. Past VIPs have had the opportunity to mingle with Chef Rob Rainford from the Food Network and Kevin Brauch, host of The Thirsty Traveler.

But if you’d like to be on the other side of things, you can do that too. On the Expo’s website, you can apply for an exhibitor’s booth to display your wines or foods to the public – or you can become a corporate sponsor and have your business marketed to a range of discerning consumers.

Either way, the Expo offers a great opportunity to taste wines you may never even heard of, or meet other industry professionals to network and share your experiences over a glass of fine wine. And if you’re a little inexperienced, don’t worry, there’s room for you too because some of the city’s best sommeliers and educators of wine and food – such as John Szabo, currently Canada’s only Master Sommelier – are also available to guests.