What an unforgettable Wine Tasting Experience at Downtown Winery I recently had the pleasure of visiting Downtown Winery with a group of friends (celebrating the end of a work semester) and goshhh I am still reeling from the incredible experience. From the moment we walked in, the warm and inviting atmosphere set the tone for a fantastic evening. Our wine tasting experience was led by the knowledgeable and charming sommelier, who expertly guided us through the wine selection. We opted for the charcuterie board, which was beautifully presented and offered a delightful experience flavors and textures to pair with our wines. The Wine Wheel was a fascinating tool that helped us navigate the complex world of wine colors and flavors (not going lie...I could barely get it after the 3rd wine tasting lol). It was amazing to see how the different hues and shades correlated with the wine's characteristics! Something new that I learned. But what truly made our experience stand out was the exceptional service. Our sommelier was attentive, enthusiastic, very funny, and happy to answer all our questions. It is a family business, the one of the owners came by, shared their story and seemed passionate about sharing their knowledge and love for wine. If you are a wine enthusiast or just looking for a unique and enjoyable experience, Downtown Winery is an absolute go to place to visit. And be sure to book a tasting and ask for the charcuterie board - you would definitely not regret it. read more

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We'd just finished a delicious dinner at Union and were walking towards Queen when we spotted this cool-looking wine bar. After a couple seconds worth of deliberations, we decided to pop in and have a quick drink. I'm really glad we did because Downtown Winery is awesome. We weren't too hungry and obviously we had to get some wine, so I decided to try one of their wine flights. I went with the Ménage a trois ("a white wine tags along on a red wine date. pinot gris * pinotage * meritage"), and the wine was brought to the table a few minutes later. I would definitely consider myself a casual wine drinker; I can distinguish good wine from bad, but that's about the extent of it. The three wines presented all seemed very much above average, and they complemented each other beautifully. (I liked the presence of complimentary corn nuts on the table, too. It's always nice to have something to snack on while drinking.) I could definitely see myself returning to Downtown Winery for a more involved experience. It's a really cool little place. read more

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Stumbled across this winery by accident as I was walking down ossington on my way to dinner. When we finished and wanted a night cap, we walked over here and we're pleasantly greeted. We were seated right away and served as well. My only heartburn was their pricing was downtown restaurant vs what you'd expect at a winery. None the less, a great experience on an impromptu visit! read more

Downtown Winery - Wineries Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

What a great spot on Ossington! It looks so unassuming from the outside, but a pure delight inside! Unpretentious but cute, a fabulous place to try some amazing wines (happy hour from 2-6pm everyday!) A pretty impressive wine list, with some wines made in house. I truly enjoyed all the ones I tried - especially the Dourado. Apparently this a crowd favourite and I can see why - light and fruity without any heavy aftertaste, just a palate delight! They do have a small food menu- mainly snacks, popcorn, lupini (a Portuguese snack...a bean type of snack...something like edamame in terms of how you eat it , as explained to me), cheese board...etc etc All the staff are friendly and can offer suggestions for wines. They do flights as well, so lots of options to try different ones read more

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Downtown Winery, located on Ossington near Queen St. W., is a family-owned and operated winery, wine/snack bar, and bottle shop. They open almost daily where they have happy hour deals from 2-6pm. They have a great selection of small bites to share while sipping on your wine. They also do have non-alcoholic options as well on their menu. I stopped by Downtown Winery on a Thurs afternoon around 5pm. The place was not packed but there were still a few parties enjoying drinks and chatting. I sat down and was given ample time to look at the menu. I opted for an 8oz glass of Syrah. Each table also came with a bowl of snacks, which was great. My wine tasted great as well. Service was friendly and attentive the staff came by several times to make sure I was taken care of. Overall, great relaxing place for drinks with friends. Definitely a nice chill vibe and a place where you can either come alone to enjoy a glass or to catch up with friends. read more

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Had the pleasure to do the private wine tasting with Aimee. Aimee took great care of my partner and I from beginning to end and teaching how to go through a tasting. Selections of food to pair definitely paired well with the wines selected and when tried mixing it around it was apparent that I lacked the knowledge. Ambiance was spacious and relaxed. Great for a date night! read more

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Gord and I stopped in at Downtown Winery on Friday afternoon and enjoyed some happy hour $5 Riesling. Yum! It was nice to see Aimee and Amy! read more

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I did wine tasting with Aimee. She was great! Extremely friendly and passionate about her work. It was a wonderful experience. They have a wide selection of wines and snacks as well as small bites you can order to go with your tasting. read more

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I had a deeply upsetting experience here: I noticed I was charged $15 for a glass that should have been at the happy hour price (ordered before 6pm). This was the second time I was overcharged by this establishment. When I politely asked about it, the owner threatened to call the police, demanding I leave though I wasn't being belligerent or rude. I went to use the restroom and she was standing right outside with receipt in hand and when I contested it she escalated the matter, giving my description -- even though I paid my $56 bill in full and even tipped. what should've amounted to at least $30, I paid $60 for. I was simply asking for clarity. I've never had that happen anywhere else, and it left me feeling humiliated and unsafe. Sharing so others are aware. Many of these spots have an ideal customer and based on the description she gave of me to the police I didn't fit it. Definitely won't be going back here and hope you choose wisely which businesses to support. read more

Downtown Winery is wonderful! My partner and I did the "taste the rainbow" wine tasting and Aimee was a great hostess! An incredibly informative and interesting experience. When we visit the area again, we will surely come back. We highly recommend! read more

I'm leaving a 6 Stars rating for the General Manager, Carrie because she possesses all the skills of an EXCELLENT manager. She encourages employee engagement, productivity and a great work environment. Downtown Winery is successful because she is capable of hiring staffs who want to be a part of the team. Everyone is authentic, take a vested interest in each team member and take time to establish good working relationships. Congratulations, Carrie for your strong leadership and managing with empathy and sensitivity. And Congratulations to all the Staffs for making your customers feel satisfied and happy to be there. I look forward to my next visit with friends! read more

Cozy, hip, nice ambience, friendly knowledgeable staff. Extensive wine menu and pretty good snack options to pair with the wine. Wine flight options are fantastic and the wine can be bought in full bottles as well. Love that they have the option to sit at a table, sofa, bar, or patio. Highly recommend and will come back again! read more

Downtown Winery - Appreciate the Sediment wine flight, mixed olives, mixed board, and flaming chiriço - Wineries Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This is the second time i went to Downtown Winery. i think this place is great, but when we went on Aug 18 after work for Happy Hour, and my colleague ordered a second round of drinks for himself - the waitress told him that our table is cut off from ordering more drinks. Our group was confused so we clarified with another staff, who happened to be behind bar (female blonde) and one of the Managers. She was very helpful, sweet, and kind. She also spoke with the other Manager (male) to find out what had happened because he was the one that instructed the waitress to cut us off. The female Manager (sorry i forgot her name) cleared us in ordering more drinks, but we were still confused why we were cut off because a) we were all over 40yo and def can handle our alcohol b) we only ordered two drinks (5oz each) so far?! c) we were NOT driving d) we can pay for the drinks This really ruined our evening and experience. The female manager made it up by giving us a free drink on the house. What would have been nice and made this experience positive for the remainder of the say was if the MALE MANAGER came to our table and offered his apology for doing what he did, and what he did was not acceptable and it was rude. He didn't even glanced at our table the whole time we were there, it's like we were aliens and not worthy of serving. I hope he gets reprimanded for his actions this is not how you treat customers or "people". This is why i gave it 1 star for this particular incident. read more

I was intrigued by this place, as it's a great idea to offer wine tastings in the city. And while the servers were friendly and knowledgeable, I just can't personally recommend it. The wine was fine, but one of the olive oils we got in our sampler was rancid. Most importantly though, the atmosphere is just too stark and un-cosy. If you like super bright and clean decor, it could be your thing, but I just didn't like it. read more

I love this place! Service is so friendly and helpful, and it has an incredible selection of wines! Also a BIG fan of the popcorn. It is DEFINITELY a stop you must take if you venture to Ossington! Reasonably priced and flights are available to try. Definitely take home so Sauvignon blanc- it's mouthwatering. read more

Downtown Winery - Delicious wine flights! - Wineries Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

A working winery in the heart of the GTA! We hosted a corporate event at the Downtown Winery and we were thoroughly impressed. Aimee was extremely kind and accommodating and welcomed us warmly into her family business for a scrumptious dinner in their private wine cellar. Not only was the menu excellent, but the wine pairings and tasting insights provided by Aimee and the team made the experience even more memorable. Also, thanks to Aimee for all the recommendations and care throughout the planning process, which made it a huge success. Highly recommended for a relaxing and enjoyable group event! read more

Seriously I don't know how I didn't know about this place till just a couple of months ago and all those money I wasted at the LCBO paying $10-$12 for a bottle of wine. This place is my new heaven. This is how it works, you go there, they have a list of wines, you choose a wine, order it, in 4-6 weeks you get a call that your wine is ready, you go in, taste the wine, and if you like it you start bottling the wine! it'll take 10-15 minutes tops. that's it! you pay around $60 for 30 bottles of house wine! yes $60 for $30 BOTTLES! if you don't have your won bottle they'll give you their bottles at a small cost, I think first time I went there I paid around $100 for bottles and wine and labels all together. labels? I had special labels printed saying From Pouneh with Love. now isn't that a nice gesture to take your own wine to a friend's house? So far I've only had the house wine on both red and white. Both pretty good wines, but as you go up the list there are better and more premium wines to order at a higher price, but still much cheaper than the ones at LCBO. I absolutely LOVE the 2 girls working there! they are super friendly and helpful. seriously try this place and you'll never ever buy a bottle of wine from LCBO in your life again. read more

During an afternoon of prepping to bottle my homebrew beer, I accidentally broke my hydrometer (a device used to measure gravity to determine ABV %). Homebrew supply shops are far and few between in Toronto, basically leaving you with the options of going far North or far East side of the city. Not wanting to spend over 2 hours commuting to those places, I was very happy to find out that a quick trip to Ossington Ave would get me the hydrometer replacement I needed. Turns out this place is like 90% wine making supplies, which is perhaps the one reason that I'm not giving this place 5 stars. If they had a wider availability of beer supplies I'd be fully about this place. Regarding beer supplies, they did have some extract kits, some bottling supplies (large glass flip-top bottles or brown plastic bottles but no standard 12oz brown glass) and some of the basics like carboys and 1 kind of yeast. So basically only things with shelf life, no malts or hops. I don't know how often I'll be able to come here, but it's a nice to have in the neighbourhood for when I inevitably break another hydrometer. Super friendly staff as well, so shout out to the ladies in the store during my visit. read more

I went to Macedo Wine on Ossington because I read that they sold beer making kits, and since they were the only store in downtown Toronto that sold such kits, I thought I'd give it a try. Since I didn't use their wine-making services, I'm only going to be reviewing the retail side of things. The staff, although they don't specialize in beer, were very helpful and were able to juggle helping people make the wine as well as answering my stupid and tedious questions about the retail products. The store was packed with wine equipment and ingredients, but beer stuff is quite limited. There were a few Munton's and Cooper's beer kit, but you might want to check the expiration date on them first. There were also malt extract, and enhancer kits, as well as the Cooper's carbonation drops that homebrewers online are going nuts for. No specialty hops and grains, but a few different yeasts. I didn't purchase anything on the wine side, but I plan on doing so in the future -- they have a fine selection of all-inclusive wine ingredient kits, as well as selling their own juices and the necessary supplements. They have pretty much everything for that. Fortunately they were able to answer questions about brewing in general, and anything they didn't know at the top of their head, they were willing to take the time to either look it up or call someone who did know. I purchased a beginner's kit from them for $70, along with an ingredient kit ($16) and dextrose (2kg for $10). All in all, I will come back to this place for basic equipment and ingredients, and would recommend it to anyone looking to get into homebrewing but don't want to troop all the way out into the suburbs. read more