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Canada’s Best 100 Restaurants 2019

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants announced this week the 2019 ranking of Canada’s best restaurants as voted by 98 food critics, leading chefs, top-notch restaurateurs, elite diners and food fanatics from coast-to-coast.

The definitive guide to Canada’s finest restaurants was released tonight at an awards gala held at The St. Regis Hotel in Toronto. Hosted by Jacob Richler, Editor-in-Chief, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, and chef Ivana Raca – partner at all female-run Ufficio restaurant – the evening saw the nation’s most renowned and respected chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers and food lovers gather to celebrate the country’s vibrant culinary scene. Setting a new record, Toronto’s Alo was named the best restaurant in Canada for the third year in a row. Alo’s chef and owner, Patrick Kriss – who also owns two other restaurants on this year’s list, Aloette (35) and Alobar (65), took home the title of Canada’s Most Outstanding Chef.

This year, 24 restaurants in the list were not part of the list last year, and 16 of those, are new restaurants. Toronto tops the ranking with 26 restaurants landing on the prestigious roundup, followed by Montréal and Vancouver, with 25 and 14 inclusions, respectively. East Coast restaurants saw a stronger-than-ever representation with eight restaurant inclusions.

“We are celebrating Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant’s fifth anniversary with a meatier and juicier list than ever,” said Jacob Richler, Editor-in-Chief, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. “For the past five years we have promoted remarkable and incredibly talented chefs and restaurant teams from every corner of this country – and that’s evident with the number of new restaurants that have been included on the list. We look forward to continue recognizing the finest in food and drink for many years to come.”

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants named the following Top 10 restaurants for 2019

Alo – Toronto

Joe Beef – Montreal

Toqué – Montreal

Langdon Hall – Cambridge

St. Lawrence – Vancouver

Le Mousso – Montreal

Buca Osteria & Bar – Toronto

Montreal Plaza – Montreal

Giulietta – Toronto

Edulis – Toronto

Other Awards

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants also recognizes excellence in the industry:

Best Sommelier – Christopher Sealy; Alo

Best in Business Leadership – Nick DiDonato; Liberty Entertainment Group

Most Innovative Chef – Antonin Mousseau-Rivard; Le Mousso

Most Eco-Friendly Restaurant – Sal Howell of River Café; Calgary

Best Farm to Table Restaurant – Nightingale; Vancouver BC

Best Pastry Chef – Celeste Mah- Raymonds; St. John’s Nfld

One to Watch Young Chef – Massimo Piedimonte; Le Mousso

Best New Restaurant – Giulietta; Toronto

Outstanding Chef – Patrick Kriss; Alo

Best Restaurant Design – Partisans; Quetzal Restaurant

Lifetime Achievement Award – Normand Laprise; Toqué!

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants will donate on behalf of Chef Ivana Ranca to Open Kitchen Toronto (OKTO) – a dinner series that puts female chefs front and centre – to raise funds for a scholarship for female-identified students at George Brown College’s Culinary Arts program.

Showcasing excellence in the industry, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list is tabulated by professional services firm KPMG in Canada – the official adjudicator of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants – providing voting and data verification services to help ensure the ranking remains independent and accurate. The annual list is renowned for being an unbiased metric of restaurant quality in Canada and represents the consensus of the diverse, knowledgeable opinions of 98 judges including Canada’s top chefs, restaurateurs, journalists, and food industry insiders.

World wine production reached a record of 292.3 mhl in 2018

World wine production reached a Record high in 2018 in a clear departure from the historically low production of 2017, but consumption stabilized, according to Pau Roca, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) Director General in his presentation April 11, 2019

Global wine output for 2018 rose 17% to 292.3 million hectoliters (mhl) which was close to the exceptionally high level of 2004, driven by Italy, France, and Spain. These three countries recording output at least 13% above their five-year averages states Roca.

Top performers:

Italy confirmed its position as the world’s largest producer with 54.8mhl, followed by France with 49.1mhl and Spain, which produced 44.4mhl.

In the US, wine production in 2018 increased by more than 0.5mhl compared with 2017, with production in Argentina growing 2.7mhl to reach 14.5mhl.

Chile recorded a 3.4mhl increase to reach 12.9mhl.

Declining:

Brazil saw its production fall to 3.1mhl in 2018.

South Africa produced 9.5mhl in 2018 – a 1.4mhl decrease compared with 2017 due to the impact of the drought.

Britain recorded a 3.1% drop in consumption to 12.3mhl, while mainland China recorded the biggest decrease in consumption among the world’s top 20 largest wine consumers, down 6.6% to 18mhl.

The slight decrease could be due to extreme weather in Europe, including drought and storms.

Stability:

Australian production remained stable, with 12.9mhl vinified. New Zealand produced 3.0mhl, an increase of 0.2mhl since 2017.

In terms of global consumption, 246mhl was consumed in 2018 compared with 246.7mhl in 2017, the OIV estimated, adding estimates were tentative due to limited data.

Global trade in 2018 increased slightly in terms of volume, with 108mhl traded; it also rose by 1.2% in terms of value, reaching €31.3 billion.

Wine exports in 2018 continued to be largely dominated by Spain, Italy, and France, which together accounted for more than 50% of the global market by volume, equating to 54.8mhl.

Spain continued to be the biggest exporter by volume with 20.9mhl, representing 19.4% of the global market. France was the biggest world exporter by value, with €9.3 billion exported in 2018.

Bottled wines made up 70% of the total value of wines exported in 2018. By value, sparkling wines accounted for 20% of the global market, despite representing just 9% of the total volume exported.

The OIV the total world area under vines at 7.4mha, which is almost equivalent to that of 2017.

Further Details
http://www.oiv.int/fr/vie-de-loiv/2923-millions-dhectolitres-la-production-mondiale-de-vin-atteint-un-record-en-2018

IronGate.Wine becomes the first online wine retailer to accept cryptocurrency

IronGate.Wine, a leading online retailer of private, rare wine collections, has announced that they have completed testing and will immediately begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as payment methods for their online inventory of vintage wine. Utilizing the processing system provided by BitPay, IronGate.Wine will allow buyers from all over the world to shop for vintage wine from the cellars of private collectors using this form of currency.

“We are very excited to be the first online retailer of our kind to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for the incredible wines that we have available,” said IronGate.Wine President, Warren Porter. “Our research has shown that the adoption of cryptocurrency is on the rise and we want our customers to be able to use whatever payment form they prefer. We view Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as a currency, not unlike the Dollar or Euro and know that our customers would like the option of spending it on this luxury item.”

Porter continued, “aside from convenience, the fraud-proof nature of crypto compared to credit cards will completely eliminate fraudulent transactions. In addition, accepting crypto payments greatly decreases our processing fees compared to credit cards. IronGate.Wine is consistently one of the lowest-priced providers in the United States of fine and rare wine, but we can be even more competitive by further reducing our processing costs by several percentage points.”

“Bitcoin is a global currency and will allow international buyers to purchase wine cheaper and more quickly than credit cards and bank wires,” said Sonny Singh, Chief Commercial Officer at BitPay. “One of the biggest headaches merchants have today is chargebacks, and for online merchants this headache is compounded with the added risks of identity theft and fraud. BitPay leverages the promise cryptocurrency provides with transactional transparency. It is impossible to use cryptocurrency for fraud as every transaction is verified, recorded and stored on the blockchain. Further, as a push transaction, similar to taking cash out of a wallet, the user sends the exact amount of Bitcoin needed to pay the bill. This eliminates traditional credit card fraud and identity theft risks associated with credit cards. As a result, there are no chargebacks.”

In addition to Bitcoin, IronGate.Wine accepts all major credit cards, ACH and wire transactions, and will soon be expanding to accept AliPay, WeChat Pay and Apple Pay to round out the most comprehensive array of payment options in the industry.

Based in upstate New York and shipping worldwide, IronGate.Wine is an online retailer of vintage wines meticulously sourced from private collectors throughout the United States and Canada. Currently, there are over 2,500 unique wines available for purchase through the website, which will grow to over 4,000 in the next four weeks.

Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2019 at NEO Exchange – Toronto

It was thrilled to attend the #internationalwomensday2019 event at NEO Exchange last week. Many inspiring speeches by Jos Schmit, CEO and President NEO Exchange, Anne Le Guellec, Consul General of the Netherlands and Deborah Frame, CFA – Co-Head Women in ETF. Followed by an outstanding panel discussing investing in Gender Diversity. Topics discussed and debated were: women on boards, what public disclosures are required to evaluate companies on GD, and Canadian ETF providers who introduced gender-focused investment products and their performance. Panel participants included: Clare O’Hara, Moderator, Jennifer So, Lindsay Patrick, Florence Narine and Raj Lala.

A Special Congratulations to Heather Zordel who was recently appointed Commissioner at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)!

#iwd2019 #genderdiversity #etfs #fairness #equality #diversitymatters #womenonbaystreet #baystreet #speakup #womenonboards #bebold

The 2018 Cellars in the Sky Awards

The Business Traveller Cellars in the Sky 2018 Awards, which recognize the best business and first-class wines served by airlines worldwide for 2018, were presented on Monday, February 18 at The Langham, London, by Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge.

Qantas was the evening’s biggest winner, taking the coveted Gold Medal for Best Overall Cellar, as well as the top spots in the Best First-Class White, Best First Class Sparkling (jointly with Air France and Cathay Pacific), Best First-Class Cellar, Best-Presented First-Class Wine List, and Best Business Class Fortified / Dessert Wine categories.

Cathay Pacific won two Gold Medals for Best First Class Sparkling (jointly with Air France and Qantas) and Best Business Class Red, while Malaysia Airlines took the top spot in the Best First-Class Red category, ANA won the award for Best First Class Fortified / Dessert Wine, and Qatar Airways took the top spot in the Best Business Class Sparkling category.
Oneworld was named Best Airline Alliance, while one of its member carriers British Airways took the Gold Medal for Best Business Class Cellar.

And a special note to US low-cost carrier Jetblue, which won a Gold Medal in the Cellars in the Sky competition for the first time, taking the top spot in the Best Business Class White category.

Business Traveller contacted airlines in summer 2018, and 33 entered.
Blind tastings of 240 bottles took place at London’s Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria, in December, with the four judges independently scoring the wines over the course of two days.

Participating airlines were: Aegean, Aer Lingus, Aeroflot, Aircalin, Air Canada, Air France, Air Italy, Air New Zealand, Air Tahiti Nui, American Airlines, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Dragon, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, EVA Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Iberia, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, Jet Blue, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, and Virgin Atlantic.

LIST OF WINNERS AND SHORTLISTED AIRLINES

FIRST CLASS
BEST FIRST-CLASS RED

• Gold Medal: Malaysia Airlines – Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune 2015, Burgundy, France

• Silver Medal: American Airlines – Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2016, Sonoma County, US

• Bronze Medal (joint): ANA – Château Léoville Barton 2012, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France; Qatar Airways – Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2009, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France

BEST FIRST-CLASS WHITE

• Gold Medal: Qantas – Penfolds Reserve Bin 15A Chardonnay 2015, Adelaide Hills, Australia

• Silver Medal: Qantas – Flametree SRS Wallcliffe Chardonnay 2016, Margaret River, Australia

• Bronze Medal (joint): Cathay Dragon – Lamblin and Fils Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaumes, 2016, France; Malaysia Airlines – Palliser Estate Chardonnay 2016, Martinborough, New Zealand

BEST FIRST-CLASS SPARKLING

• Gold Medal (joint): Air France, Cathay Pacific, Qantas –Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2006, Franc

• Silver Medal (joint): ANA, Qatar Airways – Champagne Krug 2004, France; Singapore Airlines – Dom Pérignon 2006, Champagne, France

• Bronze Medal: Oman Air –Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, Brut, 2009, France

BEST FIRST-CLASS FORTIFIED/DESSERT WINE

• Gold Medal: ANA – Barbeito Madeira Malvasia 20 year old, Portugal

• Silver Medal: Cathay Pacific – Warre’s Otima Single Year Tawny Colheita Port 2006, Portugal

• Bronze Medal: Qantas – Morris of Rutherglen Wines Old Premium Rare Liqueur Muscat, Australia

BEST-PRESENTED FIRST-CLASS WINE LIST

• Gold Medal: Qantas
• Highly Commended: ANA

BEST FIRST-CLASS CELLAR

• Gold Medal: Qantas
• Silver Medal: ANA
• Bronze Medal: Cathay Pacific

BUSINESS CLASS
BEST BUSINESS CLASS RED

• Gold Medal: Cathay Pacific – Elderton Shiraz 2015, Barossa Valley, Australia

• Silver Medal: Air New Zealand – Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir 2014, Central Otago, New Zealand

• Bronze Medal: Air Italy – Olianas Perdixi 2016, Gergei, Sardinia, Italy

BEST BUSINESS CLASS WHITE

• Gold Medal: Jetblue – Sandhi Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay 2015, California, US

• Silver Medal: Aer Lingus – De Bortoli La Bohème Act One Riesling, 2016, Yarra Valley, Australia

• Bronze Medal: Oman Air – Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Montagu 2016, France

BEST BUSINESS CLASS SPARKLING

• Gold Medal: Qatar Airways – Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs 2006, France

• Silver Medal: EVA Air – Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 2007, Champagne, France

• Bronze Medal: Malaysia Airlines – Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs 2007, France

BEST BUSINESS CLASS FORTIFIED/ DESSERT WINE

• Gold Medal: Qantas – Baileys of Glenrowan Founder Series Classic Muscat, Victoria, Australia

• Silver Medal: Air New Zealand – Forrest Botrytised Riesling 2016, Wairau Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand

• Bronze Medal (joint): Oman Air – Château Guiraud 1er Grand Cru Classé
en 1855, 2014, Sauternes-Barsac, France; Aeroflot – Grahams 10-Year-Old Tawny Port, NV, Porto Duro, Portugal

BEST BUSINESS CLASS CELLAR

• Gold Medal: British Airways
• Silver Medal: Qatar Airways
• Bronze Medal: Jetblue

BEST-PRESENTED BUSINESS CLASS WINE LIST

• Gold Medal: EVA Air

OVERALL AWARDS
BEST AIRLINE ALLIANCE

• Oneworld

BEST OVERALL CELLAR

• Gold Medal: Qantas
• Silver Medal: Cathay Pacific
• Bronze Medal: ANA, Qatar Airways
• Highly Commended: American Airlines