Keynote Speaker: Tony Aspler
Author and Wine Expert
Topic: "Footprints in My Wine - A Lifelong Journey with Dionysus"
Host: Neil Phillips
Rotary Toronto Meeting Friday, July 21st, 2023
Lunch at The National Club, 303 Bay Street, Toronto
and Virtual Meeting as well!
Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions are those expressed by the Speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official views or opinions, policy or position of The Rotary Club of Toronto or its Members.
Biography
Tony Aspler is an internationally known writer, speaker, and wine expert, based in Toronto, Canada.
Tony has been writing about wine for over 40 years. He was the wine columnist for The Toronto Star for 21 years and has authored nineteen books on wine and food, including The Wine Atlas of Canada, Vintage Canada, The Wine Lover’s Companion, The Wine Lover Cooks, Travels with My Corkscrew and Tony Aspler’s Cellar Book. Tony’s latest book is Five Minutes More – a sequel to the Five Minute Wine Book.
He is the author/co-author of ten novels, including four with Gordon Pape: Chain Reaction, The Scorpion Sanction, and The Music Wars. The Viking Press, New York published the first two. Their new novel is A Taste of Evil to be published by Mosaic in 2021. His latest series is a collection of wine murder mysteries featuring the itinerant wine writer/detective Ezra Brant: Blood Is Thicker than Beaujolais, The Beast of Barbaresco and Death on the Douro (published by Warwick Publishing). He is currently working on Nightmare in Napa Valley.
Tony wrote two half-hour episodes for the CBC-TV historical series The Campbells, and co-wrote with Gordon Pape an hour-long radio adaptation of their novel Chain Reaction.
In December 2007, Tony was awarded the Order of Canada.
In 2012 Tony was the first Canadian to be inducted into the New York Media Wine Writers Hall of Fame. In that year Tony was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.
In 2017 Tony was awarded Spain’s Officers Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.
In February 2001, Tony co-founded a charitable foundation with Arlene Willis, Grapes for Humanity (www.grapesforhumanity.com), which raises money through the wine community for the victims of landmines and children with disabilities.
Tony is an accomplished wine educator and lecturer.
Tony is the panel chair for Canadian wines at the annual Decanter World Wine Awards. He is the creator of the annual Ontario Wine Awards competition, an honorary governor of Cuvée and a director of the Independent Wine & Spirit Trust. He is also a director of The Canadian Wine Library. At the Niagara Grape & Wine Festival 2000, Tony was presented with the Royal Bank Business Citizen of the Year Award. Tony Aspler’s website can be found at www.tonyaspler.com