Hosted by Toronto-based sommelier Alex Abbott Boyd, Tasting Notes Toronto explores the people shaping the city’s food and wine culture—from Michelin-starred chefs and master sommeliers to restaurant operators and winemakers. Each episode goes behind the scenes of hospitality careers, restaurant culture, and the decisions that shape what we eat and drink in Toronto today.
Tasting Notes Toronto by Insider Wine
Claim This Podcastby Alex Abbott Boyd
5.0(3 reviews)
21 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Hosted by Toronto-based sommelier Alex Abbott Boyd, Tasting Notes Toronto explores the people shaping the city’s food and wine culture—from Michelin-starred chefs and master sommeliers to restaurant operators and winemakers. Each episode goes behind the scenes of hospitality careers, restaurant culture, and the decisions that shape what we eat and drink in Toronto today.
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Publishing Since
7/18/2025
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Recent Episodes
June 23, 2026
Neo-Chinese Cooking at One of Canada’s Best New Restaurants — Eva Chin of Yan Dining Room
<p>What happens when a chef cooks her way back to a heritage she almost lost?</p><p>Eva Chin is the chef behind Yan Dining Room — a 26-seat room built inside Hong Shing Restaurant, born out of a fire, where she cooks what she calls "neo-Chinese cuisine": traditions followed, rules broken. </p><p>In this conversation we get into how growing up between the US and Hong Kong, training in kitchens around the world, and rebuilding her own identity through food all end up on the plate. We talk about how every dish becomes a vessel for memory and how a private dining room became an intimate storytelling stage. We get into the stereotypes that have boxed in Chinese food in North America since the railroads, her case for "anti-gatekeeping" cuisine, and why she believes food can heal intergenerational wounds that conversation can't.</p><p><br>It's a conversation about identity, authorship, and what it means to cook a cuisine that's still being written.</p><p>Chinese Food Isn't What You Think It Is — Eva Chin of Yan Dining Room</p><p>00:00 – Yan Dining Room origins<br> 02:21 – Dining room as storytelling<br> 06:41 – Neo-Chinese cuisine & nostalgia<br> 10:36 – “Fusion is confusion”<br> 13:42 – Rewriting Chinese food stereotypes<br> 20:07 – Critics & early reception<br> 27:07 – Wine pairing Chinese food<br> 30:12 – Becoming a chef (no school)<br> 33:10 – Brae & Australia foraging<br> 34:50 – China train journey & Hong Kong wake-up<br> 38:53 – Food, family & healing<br> 41:06 – Moving to Toronto / Momofuku<br> 44:25 – Anti-gatekeeping Chinese food<br> 48:47 – Farmers, terroir & sustainability<br> 54:48 – Future of Yan</p><p>🙌 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.</p>
June 2, 2026
Quitting Toronto to Build a Niagara Vineyard from Scratch — Corey Mio of Mio Vineyard
<p>What happens when you leave Toronto, buy a neglected 17-acre farm in Niagara wine country, and plant a vineyard — with no formal training in viticulture or winemaking?</p><p><br>In this episode, I sit down with <strong>Corey Mio of Mio Vineyard and Sempre Mio Wines</strong> to talk about building a vineyard from scratch, learning to farm on the fly, and why he believes great wine starts long before the grapes reach the winery.</p><p><br>We discuss the realities of growing grapes in one of the world's most challenging wine regions, Corey’s obsession with Chardonnay clones, why he identifies as a farmer first and winemaker second, and the realities of building a vineyard business in Ontario, including selling grapes to established wineries while gradually growing their own label, Sempre Mio Wines.</p><p><br>We also dive into the future of Ontario wine, the pressures facing Niagara growers, the challenges of regulation and development, and why Corey believes supporting local wine requires more than just talking about it.</p><p><br>Whether you're a wine lover, aspiring farmer, or someone dreaming about building a life around something meaningful, this conversation offers a fascinating look at what it takes to turn a vineyard dream into reality.</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>Quitting Toronto to Build a Niagara Vineyard from Scratch — Corey Mio of Mio Vineyard </p><p><br><strong>00:00 – He Bought a Vineyard With No Experience</strong></p><p><strong>01:45 – Why Niagara Changed Everything</strong></p><p><strong>03:56 – Finding the Farm and Building Mio Vineyard<br>07:58 – Why Great Vineyards Take Decades<br> 10:06 – The Business of Farming, Selling Grapes & Sempre Mio<br> 12:19 – Farming Philosophy and Vine Longevity<br> 14:25 – The Chardonnay Obsession: Varieties, Clones & Quality<br> 20:07 – The Story Behind the Tantalus Mio Vineyard Chardonnay<br> 23:01 – The VQA Fight and Ontario Wine Regulations<br> 25:59 – Building Sempre Mio Wines<br> 28:29 – Niagara's Potential and Challenges<br> 31:09 – What's Holding Ontario Wine Back?<br> 37:19 – Niagara Recommendations & Where to Find Sempre Mio<br> 41:02 – Final Thoughts<br></strong><br></p><p>🙌 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.</p>
May 19, 2026
Matt Palynchuk — Raton Laveur, The Hardest Bar in Toronto to Find (and Get Into)
<p>What happens when a wine pop-up in a laneway quietly becomes one of Toronto's most talked-about (and hardest to find) wine experiences?</p><p><br>In this episode, I sit down with Matt Palynchuk — Wine Director at Union Restaurant and longtime sommelier at Archive Wine Bar — to unpack the origin story and philosophy behind Raton Laveur, an 18-seat, event-driven wine space tucked behind a working cidery, with no reservations and no Google Maps presence.</p><p><br>What started as a "maybe we can do something with this weird back space" quickly evolved into a packed, word-of-mouth wine bar built on constraint, curiosity, and an unapologetic rejection of convenience. We explore how the space came together, why discomfort can actually enhance hospitality, and what it means when a hidden bar becomes too discovered through social media.</p><p><br>If you care about wine, hospitality, or how a packed room actually gets built without marketing — this one's a must-listen.</p><p><br>Matt Palynchuk — Raton Laveur | The Hardest Bar in Toronto to Find (and Get Into) </p><p>00:00 Opening a Wine Bar Behind a Cider Factory <br>00:52 From Idea to Opening in Three Months <br>01:47 How Word-of-Mouth Built a Packed Room <br>02:41 Why Toronto Loves a Hidden Bar <br>04:00 Designing a Space That Forces Connection <br>04:57 Frank's in Dublin — The Dream Wine Bar <br>06:24 Why Small Spaces Make Better Bars <br>08:30 Curating a Culture vs. Forcing One <br>11:20 What Raton Laveur Actually Is <br>12:33 Weekly Themes: Baga, Tenerife, Aligote, the Giro <br>14:48 Wine for Nerds and Newbies <br>16:27 Always Ask for a Taste First <br>17:59 Hospitality vs. Convenience <br>18:40 The Night He Knew the Bar Was Working <br>19:45 The Four-Top That Came for a Photo Shoot <br>22:49 Private Instagram, No Google Maps <br>25:01 The Easter Weekend Lineup Down the Alleyway <br>27:49 Making Wine Accessible — Lessons from Archive <br>31:51 Ontario Wine Deserves Respect <br>37:06 Overrated / Underrated: Wine Regions <br>38:16 Please Don't Come</p><p>🙌 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.</p><p><br></p>
21 total episodes available
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