Top Shelf Talent

Sharp Staff December 29, 2024

Range Rover x SHARP

For someone with the title “Best Sommelier in Canada,” Montreal-based Joris Gutierrez Garcia is still surprisingly thirsty to learn more about his craft.

“I have so much to discover about Canadian wines because every time I spend time with sommeliers from BC, Ontario or Nova Scotia, they tell me about a winery that I’ve never heard of before,” he says.

But make no mistake: his humble nature is no indication of his experience. Gutierrez Garcia has chops, and he’s not afraid to use them.

For Gutierrez Garcia, 2023 was a sweep in the competitive landscape. First, he took home Best Sommelier in Quebec — something he had been dreaming about for a long time.

“That competition is held every three years, and it took me four attempts to win it,” he says. Do the math, and that’s 12 years out of his over 15-year-career as a sommelier.

“It was a great accomplishment for me because it showed me that hard work and dedication pays off,” he says, noting that the trajectory was a slow climb from his first entry to the one that awarded him top dog.

And just two months later, he won the Canadian title. “It was amazing, not only for the title itself, but mostly to have my name in the same group of my mentors and friends,” he says, name-dropping a laundry list of heavy-hitting wine aficionados.

“After the first class I understood that wine really touched many of my passions and interests, like history, geography and, of course, gastronomy.”
Joris Garcia

Being surrounded by other notable persons has always inspired Gutierrez Garcia. In fact, that’s what launched his career as a sommelier. In 2013, he was working at Pied de Cochon and enrolled in classes at Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec to improve his sommelier skills, providing a stronger foundation for him as a server. Although wine wasn’t a particular passion for him at the time, after just one class led by former best sommelier of Quebec Stéphane Leroux, Gutierrez Garcia was hooked.

“After the first class I understood that wine really touched many of my passions and interests, like history, geography and, of course, gastronomy,” he recalls. “I think having a former best sommelier of Québec as a first teacher might have triggered the competitor in me. Before wine, my life was all about sports.”

It might be that competitive edge that sets Gutierrez Garcia apart from the others. He’s someone who notices the flaws, and uses them to reach the next level. “During both competitions, I didn’t think I would win because both of my performances weren’t perfect. I could only think of what I did wrong,” he says.

Now, as he prepares to compete in the forthcoming ASI Best Sommelier of the Americas Contest in 2025, his goal is to strengthen the areas where his competitors might find weak spots while bringing his competitive spirit to the stage. “This competition includes more than wine,” he says, noting that he’s currently honing his sake, spirits and tea skills. As a self-proclaimed cool-under-pressure competitor, he knows he’s headed in the right direction and he’s proud to show off his skills on a larger scale. “It’s a huge honour to represent Canada in the next competition,” he says.

Until then, the 32-year-old is sharpening his skills at Club Chasse et Pêche, where he continues to be a part of what’s making the Quebec wine scene so unique right now: A thirst for curiosity. “I think both consumers and sommeliers are willing to try and discover new wines and wine regions, and we have to thank all the 450 agencies and the SAQ for importing all those wines from all over the world,” he says.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not bringing that curiosity to what the rest of Canada has to offer. “My last coup de coeur was a Riesling from Thirty Bench, and I also really enjoyed Felseck Vineyard, both white and red, from Hidden Bench Winery,” he says. “I guess Beamsville Bench would be one of my favourite regions right now.”