TIFF tipples and tasting menus offer up a food spectacle, with a $8,888 meal on the menu

The excitement surrounding the 51st annual Toronto International Film Festival extends to the city’s restaurants looking to enhance their dining experiences. In preparation for the influx of tourists and industry guests over the 11-day event, sommeliers have been stocking up noteworthy wines from classic regions as well as top-notch Canadian producers.

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In a bid to create an eye-catching menu that matched the spectacle of TIFF, Lai Wah Heen’s culinary team conjured up The Treasure of Fortune, a $8,888 five-course meal featuring reimagined classic Cantonese dishes, designed for six people. Peony Cen, Lai Wah Heen’s sommelier and talent director, says the special festival offering draws its inspiration from the extravagant banquets held by Cantonese merchants in what is now the Liwan district in Guangzhou, China, in the 18^th and 19^th centuries when it was one of the world’s wealthiest trading hubs.

“I thought it would be fitting to offer something that offered luxury with a bit of drama,” she says. The centrepiece of the meal is a goose dish, stuffed with prized ingredients including Italian white truffle, dried abalone and wild Yunnan black tiger paw mushroom, which requires a three-day advance order to prepare.

There’s also the option to pair it with a bottle of Château Margaux 1989, which sells for $3,888 on their wine list.

Cen says she considered recommending the 1982 Lafite Rothschild, a red wine from a legendary Bordeaux estate with a famous film tie-in, after being featured in Chow Yun-Fat’s classic 1989 action film, God of Gamblers. However, she explains that she selected the celebrated vintage of Margaux based on an article by Chinese Master of Wine, Jeannie Cho Lee. She wrote about planning a dinner that served Château Margaux’s wines with classic Cantonese dishes, where the synergy between the 1989 and a savoury beef and mushroom dish made it the highlight of the night.

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Beyond the celebratory aspect of the festival, which increases demand for popular Champagne brands and other well-known French labels, TIFF also attracts tourists who are looking to try local products. Ashleigh Forster, head sommelier and assistant general manager at Don Alfonso 1890, believes that the restaurant’s view from the 38^th floor of the Westin Harbour Castle, overlooking the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre and other landmarks, helps to create interest in what the region has to offer.

“It’s fun to help open up the minds and palates of those who haven’t had the opportunity to taste what we can do here,” says Forster, who was the Michelin Guide’s Toronto Sommelier of the Year in 2024.

Forster features Ontario wines from Cave Spring Vineyard, Stratus Vineyards and others on special pairing menus. She said she’s excited to pour local favourites, such as Cloudsley Cellars Hanck Pinot Noir 2021 and Leaning Post Grimsby Hillside Chardonnay 2021, alongside classic bottles from Burgundy, France: Domaine Michel Arcelain Pommard 2017 and Daniel-Etienne Defaix Vaillon Chablis 2014.

“I’m lucky to work with such a large cellar and have the opportunity to bring in special wines for our by-the-glass and pairing programs,” Forster says. “With the temperature of relationship between Canada and the U.S. right now, I have seen a shift in people’s mindset about Canadian wine. They are letting go of past pretenses.”

Across town at Prime Seafood Palace on Queen Street West, head sommelier Matthew Landry has just unpacked deliveries of older vintages from Ontario wineries Hidden Bench, Pearl Morissette and Stratus to pour during TIFF. The combined star power of celebrity chef owner Matty Matheson and culinary director Coulson Armstrong, winner of Top Chef Canada Season 12, mean that the restaurant is gearing up for one of its busiest periods of the year, he says.

“Locals generally aren’t looking for Ontario wine when they come to a place like Prime Seafood Palace, but people from out-of-town are curious, so I want to show off what I consider to be the top-tier wineries,” says Landry, who moved back to Toronto this past October after working at Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, Ont.

“I want to have the best examples of Ontario wine to offer, especially to anyone visiting whose only idea of Canadian wine is icewine.”

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Sommelier Selections

Here are my reviews of three wine recommendations from Toronto sommeliers.

13th Street Gamay 2025 (Canada), $19.95

Rating: 90

A bright and berry-flavoured red wine like this gamay isn’t an obvious pairing for seafood dishes, which is why Peony Cen likes to surprise guests at Lai Wah Heen. “A lot of our dishes use fermented and rich sauces with flavours that really complement red wine,” she says. The vibrant character of this gamay makes it enjoyable with a wide assortment of Cantonese dishes. This has 12 per alcohol by volume and 3 grams a litre residual sugar. Drink now to 2029. Available in Ontario.

Cave Spring Adam Steps Riesling 2024 (Canada), $27.95

Rating: 92

Ashleigh Forster stocks an assortment of rieslings made by Cave Spring, including this off-dry table wine from the namesake Cave Spring Vineyard in Beamsville, Ont. Its mix of citrus and plum flavours and balanced sweetness makes for a versatile wine to pair with a variety of dishes, which is why it’s become a staple on the by the glass listing at Don Alfonso. This has 10 per cent ABV and 30 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2034. Available direct, cavespring.ca

Tornatore Etna Rosso 2023 (Italy), $24.95

Rating: 92

The pretty fragrance and lively character of this distinctive red wine from the north slope of Mount Etna makes it a summertime favourite for Prime Seafood Palace sommelier Matthew Landry. A blend of nerello mascalese and nerello cappuccio grapes with herbal and floral notes results in an elegant and expressive wine. For best enjoyment, serve slightly chilled. This has 14 per cent ABV and 3 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2029. Available at the above price in Ontario, various prices in Alberta, $32.78 in New Brunswick.