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Maria is a CMS Certified Sommelier and French Wine Scholar. She has also completed her WSET 2 and WSET 3.

She has been working in the industry for over 4 years, first as a Sommelier and Wine Director at Wine Academy, and now working as Sommelier as Grand Cru Deli and Sips on Richmond.

She's looking forward to moving to Bordeaux in fall 2021 to continue her studies in wine business.

Currently pursuing WSET 3 with the help of a scholarship focused on BIPOC community from Vinica Education Society.
A Chef by profession looking to sharpen the wine knowledge to help provide an even better food & wine pairing experience to the guests during the private cooking & catering events.

A Wine Marketing and Hospitality professional continuing my exploration of the wine world. I started my work-life in the hospitality industry, in F&B, and fell in love with wine almost immediately. My interest and curiosity grew into a passion that led me to Bordeaux where I delved into the world of wine through a Wine Marketing MBA. I am currently enrolled at IWEG for WSET's Award in Wine while focusing on gathering relevant experiences in the industry. With a creative mind and my passion for wine, I look forward to connecting, sharing and working with fellow vino lovers. Lastly, I am also a sommelier.

Cheers to exciting new journeys, colleagues and friends with good times & great wine!

I currently work in Marketing for a travel company that specializes in trips for seasoned world travellers, crafted by other world travellers. These are pretty incredible journeys that rely on a network of local experts in specific areas that strongly resonate with our high net-worth clients, including food and wine.

Previously, I spent the better part of a decade at global and independent Advertising agencies working on accounts such as Constellation Brands, Arterra Wines, and LCBO. This means I’m familiar with AGCO standards, but honestly, am way more into J-Ro’s ‘Wine Grapes’ and ‘World Atlas of Wine’ for a good read.

I consider myself very lucky in that I’m currently able to work from home during the pandemic. Like many of you, I've spent much of 2020 in self-reflection and I've chosen to finally pursue a personal and ever-growing passion, not an upward career trajectory. While my experience has taught me to speak about wine’s emotional consumer benefits, I intend to use my WSET studies to round out and formalize my knowledge. One of my 2021 goals is to finally launch a brand that will allow me to develop wine content that’s meaningful to my community and in a way that’s uniquely mine.

I've spent years in the hospitality industry which sparked my passion for wine. I'm currently enrolled in Viticulture and Oenology studies at Brock.

After 15 years living and working in Europe, Asia and the Middle East in events management, I travelled home to Toronto to pursue my passion for wine. After completing WSET 3, I then eagerly enrolled in WSET Diploma at IWEG. I also have my FWS and am currently using this time in lockdown to study for my SWS (my favourite wine region is Spain) and final diploma exam. I'll be a lifelong student of this wonderous wine world because the more I study the more I realize how much there is still to learn.

My name is Felipe Avendaño @pisco_avendano I started my studies at Escuela de Sommelier de Chile and am Certified by the Court of Master Sommelier, WSET Level 3 graduate and Certified Pisco taster at IDVIP (Wine and Pisco Institute) in Lima, Peru.
I have been working for a long time with wines and spirits in the main distributors of Chile with many wineries and brands of distillates;
Premium Brands, El Mundo del Vino- Cavas Reunidas and La Vinoteca, as well as Bodegas Tabernero in Peru.
The Sommelier profession requires a lot of knowledge, it is a continuous learning. I have had the opportunity to visit various wine regions and wineries in France, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Peru, Canada and of course Chile.

I am a change management consultant based in the GTA and a WSET level 1 candidate. I realized my passion for wine as I would always buy a bottle of wine to celebrate momentous occasions with friends or family! Or I would always bring wine to a gathering with friends (pre-COVID). And from there I realized there was so much to learn and I wanted to explore more winemakers from across the world. I'm hoping to enter the wine industry as a distributor and looking forward to joining this network to learn more from everyone who's apart of it!

Moved to Canada back in 2017, pursued WSET level 2 as a hobby. In 3 years, climbed up the ranks in hospitality, from F&B admin to opening a wine bar & a coffee bar as General Manager at Pearson International Airport, thanks to the WSET wine education at IWEG in Toronto. Currently using the pandemic time as an opportunity to pursue DipWSET and I'm thankful to IWC (International Wine Challenge) for the part scholarship towards the education.