Wine professionals and amateur enthusiasts from across North America will descend on Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel this Monday Nov. 23 for the sixth annual Wine Tasting Challenge.  

All 250 spaces for the event have been sold out for weeks, and organizers have a waiting list of people hoping to compete in one of North America’s largest wine competitions.  

Entrants must blind-taste Ontario VQA wines as well as wines from around the world, then try to name each wine’s grape varietal, country and region of origin, and vintage.  

Competitors vie for over $150,000 in cash, trips and scholarships, competing in either the Professional Challenge or Amateur Challenge, depending on their expertise.  

The event aims to inspire greater excellence in Ontario’s frontline wine service, educators and wine enthusiasts through competition, education and fellowship.  

Brock University’s grape and wine research centre — the Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute — has been the event’s organizing body since 2005, working alongside founding sponsors Via Allegro Ristorante, Spiegelau and Toronto Life. 

For more information, go to www.winetastingchallenge.com  

Date: Monday, Nov. 23, 2009

Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Location: Four Seasons Hotel, 21 Avenue Rd., 32nd floor (Windows salons), Toronto 

For more info:

Barb Tatarnic, Challenge Director and auditor, Brock University, 905-688-5550 x4652; ccovi@brocku.ca