JOHN SZABO

Toronto-based Master Sommelier John Szabo is the educational and technical lead for Volcanic Wines International. He was the first Canadian to earn the Master Sommelier title in 2004 and has experienced the hospitality industry from all sides, importing, teaching, writing, consulting, judging internationally, and more. Meininger’s Wine Business International has referred to him as “Canada’s best-known sommelier.”

John first connected the dots between great wines and their volcanic origins in 2009, in an article for Wine Access Magazine. That spark ultimately led to his landmark book, Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grit and Power (Jacquie Small, 2016), which won the André Simon Award, was shortlisted for the Roederer Awards, and earned praise from The Guardian, Forbes, Decanter, Drink Business, Globe & Mail, and JancisRobinson.com. Drinks Business Magazine named him “one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject.”

Today, John is a partner and principal critic for WineAlign.com, Canada’s largest wine publication, and the buyer for the WineAlign Exchange wine club. He is also a columnist for Modalina and MarQuee magazines, and a content contributor for CellArt, a design-forward company creating bespoke luxury wine cellars that marry art and function. He is co-host of the podcast Wine Thieves with WineAlign partner Sara d’Amato and continues to contribute to Wine & Spirits Magazine as well as freelance for publications such as Meininger’s, Wine Enthusiast, Canopy, and VinCe Magazine. Outside of writing and tasting, John is a partner in the J&J Eger vineyard in Hungary. And as a third-degree black belt in Goju-Ryu Karate-do… his grapes are well protected too.