A Guide to Drinking and Buying Natural Wine in Toronto
Hello and welcome to the Naturally Wine Guide to Drinking and Buying Natural Wine in Toronto! This guide features bars and restaurants with a focus on natural and low-intervention wine, organized-ish by neighbourhood.
Plus, how to shop for natural wine via bottle shops, importers, wine clubs, and LCBO specialty stores!
Updated as new information becomes available. Email me if you think you or a business you know should be added.
Natural Wine 101
In general, natural wine is described as having “nothing added, nothing taken away”. The grapes are responsibly farmed ie. organically and/or biodynamically (some wineries may be certified, some may not be), and are typically hand-harvested and fermented with indigenous or wild yeast. The wine is minimally handled in the cellar, with no additives and little-to-no added sulfites. Some call these "living" wines as they have an authentic expression of a place, and tend to be the opposite of industrialised, big-brand, manufactured wines.
Where to Drink Natural Wine in Toronto
With more people thinking of their wine as food, the more they want to know how their wine is made, and the more they have a thirst for authenticity and the purest expression of the vineyard. And with that, there has been an increase in bars and restaurants focusing on natural and low-intervention wines. As I didn’t major in urban planning or the science of algorithms, this was mostly developed based on my personal knowledge of Toronto’s growing natural wine community. I won’t say that the establishments listed here meet specific criteria, but they appear to be focused on offering a large selection of natural wines.
🌎 NORTH OF BLOOR
GoodGood (1187 St. Clair Ave. W) offers little to no-intervention organic wines with three other locations. Loop Line (643 Dupont St) shop by day/bar by night focusing on sustainable, estate-grown, and classic but trending styles. KX Coffee Bar (263 Davenport Rd) with the coffee and natch wine bar/bottle shop. Alobar Yorkville (162 Cumberland St) for something swanky. The Rosedale Diner (1164 Yonge St) is a 40-year old family-owned restaurant with a focus on natural wine. Boxcar Social (1208 Yonge St) serves up good coffee by day and nice wine by night. And a shout out to Paese Ristorante (3827 Bathurst St) who has some nice natural Italian wines on their list (where I discovered Foradori’s Lezer!). The Daughter (1560A Bayview Ave) opening soon.
🌎 BLOOR STREET-ISH
Dreyfus (86 Harbord St) was named best new bistro and they have a great wine list. Annex Hotel Bar (296 Brunswick Ave), cafe by day, wine bar by night. Paradise Grapevine (841 Bloor) is a nice wine bar run by nice people with snacks and a cute back patio (and they just opened their own urban winery at 218 Geary Ave!). Now & Later (1007 Bloor) is a low intervention wine bar. Blue Door (1010 Bloor) is a wine shop and tasting bar. Burdock Brewery (1184 Bloor) is yes, a brewery, but they have wine too and are open for lunch and dinner. Alma (1194 Bloor) is modern Chinese food and natural wine. Donna’s (827 Lansdowne) is a lunch and dinner spot with tasty food and wine.
🌎 KENSINGTON + LITTLE ITALY + COLLEGE ST W
Grey Gardens (199 Augusta Ave), go for the floral washroom selfie, stay for the food and wine. The Little Jerry (418 College) is an audiophile’s dream natural wine bar. Bar Raval (505 College) is a Barcelona-inspired tapas bar with a carved mahogany interior that would make Gaudi proud. Bar Pompette (607 College) is an an extension of Pompette restaurant with a reputation for thoughtful Parisian fare. Ten Seats (1132 College) is a Canadian vegetable-forward restaurant with a focus on sustainability.
🌎 DUNDAS ST WEST
Grape Juice Wine Bar (322 Bathurst, just south of Dundas) is described as a “hidden cozy chill place to drink the yummiest wines”. Bar Mignonette (794 Dundas). Archive (909 Dundas) is a cozy space for an evening wine and small snacks. Bar Vendetta (928 Dundas) is a wine and pasta restaurant featuring midnight nachos. Grape Crush (1166 Dundas) is a patio bar and bottle shop. Gia (1214 Dundas) is a plant-forward restaurant. Grape Witches (1247 Dundas) is a bar and bottle shop. Milou (1375 Dundas) is a cafe bistro bar. Midfield Wine Bar (1434 Dundas) is one of the OG’s of natural wine bars dating back to 2012! Tommy’s (1977 Dundas) is brother to Tammy’s below. Bernhardt's (202 Dovercourt Rd) chicken and wine and more.
🌎 QUEEN + KING WEST + RONCY
Peter Pan Bistro (73 Queen) part bistro, part pantry. For when you’re feeling tasting-menu-wine-pairing- fancy there’s Alo, and it’s less fancy sister restaurant Aloette (163 Spadina Ave). 416 Snack Bar (181 Bathurst St.) serves snacks meant to be eaten with your hands and they have a cool interactive IG wine list. Pour Taste (335 Queen) a curated bottle shop with a goal to “make wine easy.” Tacos Rico (923A Queen) is from the guys behind Grand Electric, serving up veggie and vegan tacos with natural wine. Bar Piquette (1084 Queen) has a Parisian vibe and a chalkboard menu of wines and small plates. Après Wine Bar (1166 Queen) selects wine based on ethical farming practices. Chantecler (1320 Queen) offers a French-inspired and meat-focused menu. Tennessee Tavern (1554 Queen) is an Eastern European bar open for dinner and weekend brunch. Tammy’s Wine Bar (1662 Queen) wine bar and bottle shop, sister to Tommy’s above. HAPPY Coffee and Wine (1304 King) is good coffee and wine. Restaurant 20 Victoria (20 Victoria St.) is the new restaurant from Jonathan Nicolaou and Chris White, formerly of Brothers. Vela (90 Portland St) is a joint project Amanda Bradley (Alo) and Robin Goodfellow (Bae Raval). Bossanova (103 Roncesvalles Ave) offering wine and beer that is largely independent or family owned.
🌎 OSSINGTON
The inspo for Union Restaurant’s (72 Ossington) horseshoe-shaped bar came from Le Petit Fer a Cheval in Paris. Bar Koukla (88 Ossington) is a Greek natural, organic, and biodynamic wine bar with meze/seafood inspired by the Mezedopolion bars found along the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki. Côte de Bœuf (130 Ossington) is the coziest bar-a-vin. Favorites (141 Ossington) is described as ‘Paris Paris meets Khao San Road’. Paris Paris (146 Ossington) new home of Paris Paris 2.0. Superpoint (184 Ossington), come for the pizza, stay for the wine. Manita (210 Ossington) neighborhood cafe, grocery, and bar. Crosley’s (214 Ossington), food made with love and sourcing thoughtful wines made by real people.
🌎 EAST SIDE
Good Cheese (614 Gerrard St. East) is a cheese shop with a curated selection of wine focussed on responsible winemaking and transparency in production. Wynona (819 Gerrard St. East) is open for dinner and weekend brunch inspired by seasonal and local ingredients. Le Conciliabule (1300 Gerrard St. East) is a pastry shop that serves natural wine! Lake Inez (1471 Gerrard St. East) has the funniest IG, great food, and banger wines. Gare de L’Est (1190 Dundas St. East) is a French Brasserie in Leslieville open for weekday dinner and weekend brunch. Chez Nous (798 Queen St. East) is a wine bar serving Ontario wines and a few snacks. Ascari Enoteca (1111 Queen St. East) is as enthusiastic about their handmade pasta as they are their wine list.
How to Buy Natural Wine in Toronto
Below are several ways to discover low intervention and natural wines for at home enjoyment or splitting a case with friends!
👉 BOTTLE SHOPS
In October 2020, the Ontario government announced that it would allow restaurants and bars to sell wine to go permanently, which represents a significant change to how alcohol is sold in Ontario. It’s a BFD. Here’s a list of Toronto bottle shops specializing in natural and low-intervention wines, but there is also Bottle Shop TO, which may be more updated than that Google Sheet you guys!
👉 IMPORTERS
“Importers are to wine as Anna Wintour is to next season's styles: They find the gems.” If you have a wine you like at a restaurant or bar, ask who imported it, and consider ordering direct from the agency; but you have to order buy the case, which you can always split with friends, and some agents offer mixed cases. Importers do not sell directly to consumers, they arrange the purchase through the LCBO. Here’s a list of Ontario importers specializing in natural and low-intervention wines.
👉 WINE CLUBS
Local wine clubs offering curated natural and low-intervention wine packs include Grape Witches, The Real Wine Club (curated by The Living Vine), Crushable, Albae Wine Club (focused on Spain), Weird Wine Subscription (from Lake Inez), VQ Wines, Boxcar Social, Grey Gardens, wineclub.to, Meanwhile Wine Club, Don’t Worry, In Wines We Trust, and Pour Taste.
Plus there are clubs from Ontario low-intervention wineries including Trail Estate, Rosewood, Stanners, Southbrook, Leaning Post, Redtail Vineyards, and Hidden Bench, to name a few, but check with your fave Ontario winery to see if they have a club!
👉 LCBO
For in-store purchases, Products of the World Specialty Stores carry an enhanced assortment of products specific to a particular country, region or niche market. For online purchases you can try searching LCBO’s e-commerce system (I’ve had luck finding natural wine producers like Milan Nestarec, Kuntz, Rennersistas, Cos, among others); and they have recently developed a separate section for Natural and Low Intervention Wines under their Destinations Collection, which offers low volume products not offered in their general or vintages collections.
Thanks for checking out this Natural Wine Guide for Toronto! If you have any tips or see a mistake (this is hard to keep updated!), please email! And if you’re interested in subscribing to this weekly newsletter about natural and local Ontario wine, click this button!