OUR STORY

HONG KONG

DISCOVERING WINE

I began my career in the wine trade in 1988, working for an importer in Hong Kong.

After attending a number of tastings I got the wine bug, and took my first WSET course at age 18.  Following a visit to Bordeaux I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life.  Tasting wine was fun!

BORDEAUX

THE PERFECT TRAINING

After University in Vancouver, I headed for Bordeaux and landed an apprenticeship at Milhade et fils working in the cellars and the commercial department. I started to learn about wine from the ground up.

Several years later I was still at Milhade and responsible for global exports to 18 countries. We lived between Bordeaux and Toronto.

TORONTO

FINE VINTAGE ESTABLISHED

Based in Toronto, Fine Vintage was registered as a sole proprietorship.

Our first activity was brokering wine from France to the LCBO and fortunately it worked! Simultaneously I worked for the Bordeaux company, until 2002.

MASTER OF WINE

A LONG JOURNEY

In 1997 with the WSET Diploma complete, I enrolled in the Master of Wine (MW) program.

To prepare, I began working harvests at wineries in Australia and California, and touring most of the world’s wine regions. Eleven years later I passed all the exams.

CANADA

THE NEXT GENERATION ARRIVES

Our family grows with the arrival of Lex and Max.

Lex grows up to be diligent and hard-working, and Max proves to have a finely-tuned palate.

VANCOUVER

OUR FIRST WINE SCHOOL

We moved to beautiful British Columbia and started our business full-time with a wine school in Vancouver.

It was a great feeling for us when we won the top award for best wine school worldwide, the WSET Riedel Trophy for International Educator of the Year. We’ve also been shortlisted for this award a record 4 times in the last decade, more than any other school, anywhere.

QATAR AIRWAYS

CONSULTING TAKES OFF

For 12 years I worked as the Wine Consultant to Qatar Airways, winning dozens of awards for the wine program at the Business Traveller magazine competition “Cellars in the Sky”.

We’ve also been fortunate to manage the wine programs for Fairmont Hotels in B.C. and JW Marriott Hotels in Thailand.

And over the years we’ve built 11 wineries and brands for clients, from scratch. Many of them have won Gold medals, received 95 point scores, and received the top honors in National competitions.

TUSCANY

LUXURY WINE TOURS START

Many of our students asked us to take them to visit the great wineries of the world. So we did.

Today we run tours to six spectacular classic wine regions. Some guests have been on every single tour and have started demanding a Fine Vintage wine passport.

ENGLAND

WINE JOBS GOES GLOBAL

It’s no surprise that we had many inquiries about how to find a job.

So we started www.WineJobsCanada.com and when this became successful we went a little crazy and started sites in 30 more countries, all of which live under the industry hub www.WineJobsWorldwide.com

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

We moved to Napa Valley. We opened new schools, added more tours, new job sites, and grew our winery consulting business.

New home team: San Francisco 49ers!

EVEREST & KILIMANJARO

MOUNTAIN MADNESS

With Qatar Airways, we mounted expeditions to Everest Base Camp and Mt Kilimanjaro to test the effects of altitude on wine.

For the first time in history, on Kilimanjaro, a Bordeaux wine scored 101 points and Napa Valley shocked the world by winning the Judgement of Everest.

NORTH AMERICA

ONLINE WINE SHOP

Our students also often asked us what wines to buy, and so we started an Online wine store.

NAPA VALLEY

WINE AS AN ART-FORM

Not content to just do it for others, we started our own boutique Cabernet Sauvignon label in Napa from an outstanding vineyard, and made with the help of a famous winemaker. This is my own real passion.

CYBERSPACE

WINE COURSES GO ONLINE

We wanted to reach a global audience, and cater to those who could not attend a class.

So we spent 2 years creating the world’s first ever Online certification courses in wine, packed with video, shot on location around the world, and featuring many of the most famous winemakers.

I wanted anyone in the world to be able to access a quality wine education experience.

EVERYTHING STOPS

COVID

For two long years we were prevented from running our business by the pandemic. No tours, no courses, no winemaking, no fun.

98 POINTS FOR OUR NAPA CABERNET

SIGMA

James Suckling, esteemed critic, rates our own 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 98 points. Not bad for our 2nd vintage.

NEW TOUR DESTINATIONS

PIEDMONT, ARGENTINA, CHILE, BURGUNDY

By popular demand, we add new destinations to our portfolio of wine tours.

MAX CLUER STARTS WORKING AT FINE VINTAGE

Max, 20, attends Harvard and takes winemaking courses at UC Davis. He starts working on Fine Vintage wine tours.