One of Canada's largest food and wine events — three November days at the MTCC with 600+ wines to taste, cooking demos from top chefs, spirits tastings, artisan food producers, and the Top Chef Canada Culinary Theatre. The Grand Tasting Saturday is the city's most packed food event of the fall calendar.
Neighbourhood: Metro Toronto Convention Centre · Address: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St W, Toronto, ON · Hours: Third weekend of November (check foodandwineshow.ca) · Price Range: $$$ · Phone: (416) 585-8000 · Editorial status: Not yet verified
You can sample 600+ wines from around the world, try food from Toronto’s best restaurants, and meet top chefs all under one massive roof. The Grand Tasting Saturday is a rare chance to compare so many Toronto food trends side by side.
Unlike smaller tasting events, the Expo packs hundreds of vintners, distillers, and artisan food producers into one accessible space, including international finds you’ll rarely see in the LCBO. The Top Chef Canada Culinary Theatre offers live demos and competitions, putting you right next to some of the country’s most recognizable chefs.
The Toronto Wine & Cheese Show (typically held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in April) is the city's largest public wine and food tasting event — a format that combines the trade show format (hundreds of exhibitors, structured tasting rooms, educational programming) with the consumer-facing element of public ticket sales that make the event accessible beyond the trade and hospitality professionals who attend similar events elsewhere. The Grand Portfolio tasting room is the most concentrated expression of the show's content: major international wine brands and Ontario producers presenting their full range rather than a single product.
The celebrity chef demonstration component has developed into a genuine draw — the live cooking demonstrations (typically featuring Toronto's most recognized restaurant chefs) that run throughout the weekend provide a food-forward element that distinguishes the show from a purely wine-focused event. The demonstrations are free with admission and seating is first-come; arriving 30 minutes before a scheduled demonstration provides reliable access.
The artisan cheese and charcuterie area — featuring Ontario and Canadian producers alongside European imports — has become one of the most visited sections of the show. Ontario's dairy industry (the Niagara Peninsula, the Eastern Ontario dairy farms) produces award-winning aged cheeses; the show provides access to these producers in a context where tasting and direct conversation with the producers is possible.
The show's educational component (structured tasting seminars, typically additional cost beyond general admission, covering regional wine education, food pairing, and specific variety or region deep-dives) is genuinely valuable for anyone trying to develop wine knowledge beyond what casual restaurant encounters provide.
The Toronto Wine & Cheese Show is Toronto's largest public wine and food tasting event, held annually at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in April. The show features 500+ wines from international and Canadian producers, food exhibitors, celebrity chef demonstrations, and ticketed educational seminars.
General admission tickets typically run $30-45 per person and include access to the main tasting floor with a tasting glass. The Grand Portfolio tasting room and educational seminars are additional cost. Check the show website for current year pricing.
The Grand Portfolio is a curated tasting room within the show featuring premium wines from producers with the most comprehensive range. It typically requires a separate ticket or an upgraded admission and provides access to wines not available for tasting on the general floor.
Yes — the format is accessible to beginners. The show provides tasting glasses, and most exhibitors are happy to guide novice tasters through their range. The celebrity chef demonstrations and the food exhibitors provide a food-forward entry point for people who are more food-curious than wine-focused.
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