What happens when you leave Toronto, buy a neglected 17-acre farm in Niagara wine country, and plant a vineyard — with no formal training in viticulture or winemaking?

In this episode, I sit down with Corey Mio of Mio Vineyard and Sempre Mio Wines to talk about building a vineyard from scratch, learning to farm on the fly, and why he believes great wine starts long before the grapes reach the winery.

We discuss the realities of growing grapes in one of the world's most challenging wine regions, Corey’s obsession with Chardonnay clones, why he identifies as a farmer first and winemaker second, and the realities of building a vineyard business in Ontario, including selling grapes to established wineries while gradually growing their own label, Sempre Mio Wines.

We also dive into the future of Ontario wine, the pressures facing Niagara growers, the challenges of regulation and development, and why Corey believes supporting local wine requires more than just talking about it.

Whether you're a wine lover, aspiring farmer, or someone dreaming about building a life around something meaningful, this conversation offers a fascinating look at what it takes to turn a vineyard dream into reality.

Timestamps

Quitting Toronto to Build a Niagara Vineyard from Scratch — Corey Mio of Mio Vineyard

00:00 – He Bought a Vineyard With No Experience

01:45 – Why Niagara Changed Everything

03:56 – Finding the Farm and Building Mio Vineyard
07:58 – Why Great Vineyards Take Decades
10:06 – The Business of Farming, Selling Grapes & Sempre Mio
12:19 – Farming Philosophy and Vine Longevity
14:25 – The Chardonnay Obsession: Varieties, Clones & Quality
20:07 – The Story Behind the Tantalus Mio Vineyard Chardonnay
23:01 – The VQA Fight and Ontario Wine Regulations
25:59 – Building Sempre Mio Wines
28:29 – Niagara's Potential and Challenges
31:09 – What's Holding Ontario Wine Back?
37:19 – Niagara Recommendations & Where to Find Sempre Mio
41:02 – Final Thoughts

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What happens when a wine pop-up in a laneway quietly becomes one of Toronto's most talked-about (and hardest to find) wine experiences?

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Palynchuk — Wine Director at Union Restaurant and longtime sommelier at Archive Wine Bar — to unpack the origin story and philosophy behind Raton Laveur, an 18-seat, event-driven wine space tucked behind a working cidery, with no reservations and no Google Maps presence.

What started as a "maybe we can do something with this weird back space" quickly evolved into a packed, word-of-mouth wine bar built on constraint, curiosity, and an unapologetic rejection of convenience. We explore how the space came together, why discomfort can actually enhance hospitality, and what it means when a hidden bar becomes too discovered through social media.

If you care about wine, hospitality, or how a packed room actually gets built without marketing — this one's a must-listen.

Matt Palynchuk — Raton Laveur | The Hardest Bar in Toronto to Find (and Get Into)

00:00 Opening a Wine Bar Behind a Cider Factory
00:52 From Idea to Opening in Three Months
01:47 How Word-of-Mouth Built a Packed Room
02:41 Why Toronto Loves a Hidden Bar
04:00 Designing a Space That Forces Connection
04:57 Frank's in Dublin — The Dream Wine Bar
06:24 Why Small Spaces Make Better Bars
08:30 Curating a Culture vs. Forcing One
11:20 What Raton Laveur Actually Is
12:33 Weekly Themes: Baga, Tenerife, Aligote, the Giro
14:48 Wine for Nerds and Newbies
16:27 Always Ask for a Taste First
17:59 Hospitality vs. Convenience
18:40 The Night He Knew the Bar Was Working
19:45 The Four-Top That Came for a Photo Shoot
22:49 Private Instagram, No Google Maps
25:01 The Easter Weekend Lineup Down the Alleyway
27:49 Making Wine Accessible — Lessons from Archive
31:51 Ontario Wine Deserves Respect
37:06 Overrated / Underrated: Wine Regions
38:16 Please Don't Come

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Restaurant-industry veteran Quentin Meloff (@quentinmeloff) shares how he went from working in some of Toronto's best restaurants — Alo, Aloette, Bar Isabel, Richmond Station — to creating viral food videos that pull back the curtain on the chefs behind the city's most-talked-about kitchens.

He breaks down who actually pays for viral restaurant content (and what they pay), why he refuses the cheese-pull format almost every food influencer leans on, how the Instagram and TikTok algorithms decide what wins, and how he's building a real income out of food videos without taking money from restaurants.

If you're curious about the business of being a food content creator, the death of traditional food media, or what's really happening behind Toronto's most viral restaurant videos in 2026 — this one's a must-listen.

Quentin Meloff — Food Media Is Dying (Here’s Who’s Replacing It)

00:00 Why he refuses the cheese pull
01:41 Who actually pays for viral restaurant videos
03:21 What food influencers really earn (and the Swiffer problem)
05:01 Finding a format worth being proud of
07:28 Why Toronto chefs trust him in the kitchen
09:17 From line cook at Alo to camera in hand
13:25 Inside the P&L: why most restaurants lose money
14:34 Career highlights at Alo, Aloette and Bar Isabel
18:19 How he funds the production without restaurant money
20:51 Why pizza videos always beat fine dining
24:03 Shorts vs long-form: where each one wins
24:52 Going viral in Perth from a Toronto bedroom
25:24 Why YouTube long-form is the next move
26:00 TikTok vs Instagram: which one to chase
27:46 How the videos actually pay the bills
30:22 The pressure that comes with paid shoots
32:29 Why he iterates on every single video
36:37 The state of food media in 2026
39:53 Launching No Subs, his written expansion
41:19 Can a great restaurant survive without Instagram?
43:28 Rapid-fire Toronto picks: best date night, best value, most underrated

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Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favorite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.