About Me
Have you ever experienced something that was so incredible, it made you want to know everything you could about it? That experience is what led to Barrel to Basket being created in 2024!
My passion for wine and cider goes back to when I began working in the liquor industry. My first job was working for a liquor retailer and part of my training was learning about and trying different wines. One of the wines that I tried, a Baco Noir from Ontario, really threw me for a loop. I had always disliked red wine - okay, hated it - up until that point. They were always too dry, too acidic, too tannic, too red in my mind. But this Baco Noir fired up my senses and piqued my curiosity. It was a gorgeously inviting rich ruby colour. As I lifted the glass to my lips, the aromas and flavours overwhelmed me. Black plum, ripe cherry, vanilla and spice. It was incredible! I had never tasted a red wine like it before and I immediately wondered, how could someone make a grape taste like this? I set out to learn as much as I could, and with each successive wine and cider tasting I continued to educate myself. Thus began my unquenchable thirst for knowledge of all things wine and cider.
After years of helping people discover great wines and ciders from a retail perspective, I wanted to do something more. I wanted to guide people to their own ‘Eureka!’ moment of discovering something special that would forever change their understanding, and I wanted to show them the incredible wines and ciders that are produced right here in Ontario.
Barrel to Basket’s goal is to showcase the very best wines and ciders Ontario has to offer through intimate tasting events. People are guided through the tasting experience so they may fully experience these products and fall in love with their new favourite. Each tasting is tailored specifically to peoples’ tastes, featuring products that challenge expectations. These experiences blend entertainment with education, with the end goal of furthering awareness and popularity of Ontario’s incredible wine and cider industries.