Despite the impossible breadth of Canada, and the historic provincial division of our wine industry, a national perspective on Canadian wine has always been important to me. My 19^th Century family roots are in both B.C. and Ontario.  I was born in Vancouver, raised in the Ottawa Valley and have lived in Toronto ever since. I have crossed the breadth of Canada numerous times by land and air.  And I have always thought that Canada is a great idea, that needs our care and attention.

I have spent 40 years reviewing Canadian wines, as well as wines from around the world.  College trained as journalist, I was wine columnist for The Globe and Mail (1986 -1999), for Toronto Life (2001 – 2014) and a contributor to many other publications. I founded Wine Access magazine (1995 – 2007) and consulted in the creation of WineAlign, which remains Canada’s largest database of wine reviews (2008 – present). 

In 2001, I co-founded the National Wine Awards of Canada with B.C.’s Anthony Gismondi. During this time, we also co-founded the Canadian Wine Annual, an all-inclusive guide to wineries in Canada. From 2017 to 2025, I was National Wine Advisor to Canada’s Great Kitchen Party which stages the Canadian Culinary Championship, ensuring donation of over $100,000 worth of premium Canadian wine per year to events across Canada. In 2018, I received The Canadian Wine Champion Award from Winegrowers Canada. 

Lawrason’s Guide to Canada’ Best Wines brings all this experience into one project to promote Canadian wine quality to Canadian wine drinkers.