RESIDENT EXPERT
EXPERT & Expert
Manitoba's Sommelier Star CRAFTING EXCELLENCE, GLASS BY GLASS
SUBMITTED BY ALEX ALLARDYCE
A lex fell in love with wine while travelling through Europe for a year after graduating university in 2015. After she worked a full harvest in France’s Languedoc-Roussillon region, she returned to Winnipeg and went on to complete her Wine & Spirit Educa- tion Trust (WSET) levels 2 and 3, as well as the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS) Diploma Program in 2020, becoming a certified sommelier. Her passion for wine and food has taken her all over the world. She has completed two harvests at Averill Creek Vineyard on Vancouver Island, and she has travelled to New York City and across Scandinavia, collaborating with wine importers and gaining a deeper understanding of international markets. Alex also finds great joy in edu- cation and sharing her love of wine with others. In 2022, she travelled to Vancouver to complete the WSET Certified Educator Program and has since taught numerous WSET Level 1 and Level 2 courses back home in Winnipeg.
Her dedication to her craft has earned her several distinctions, including the CAPSTONE Canada Scholarship (on behalf of CAPS Canada and California Wines Canada) and achieving top marks in the qualifying exam to represent Manitoba in the Master of Port Canada competition in 2022. She was named Best Sommelier of Manitoba in 2021 and has competed in Canada’s Best Sommelier compe- titions in both the Okanagan (2022) and Halifax (2023). In 2023, Alex was one of just 48 sommeliers from around the world selected to attend the ASI Bootcamp 2023 Americas in Quito, Ecuador. Most recently, she once again achieved top marks in the qualifying exam to return to Porto this fall, rep- resenting Manitoba in the quarter- finals for the Master of Port Canada. This time she was successful and will be one of five competitors advancing on to the semifinals in 2026. Alex is currently the member dining manager and sommelier at the Manitoba Club, a Platinum Club of the World (Top 100 City
Club), where she oversees à-la-carte operations, manages a cellar of more than 500 wines and helps train future sommeliers of Manitoba.
SAVOUR MANITOBA | WINTER 2025 | 5
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