Steve Thurlow

One of Canada’s top wine educators!

Steve Thurlow is a passionate wine aficionado who has had a long history with wine.  He is Associate Editor at Wine Access , Canada's national wine and food magazine responsible in eastern Canada for international wine content.  He is a wine judge at the annual Canadian Wine Awards, as well as co-created the annual International Value Wine Awards.  Steve frequently appears at corporate and private wine tastings, such as client appreciation events and wine deconstruction dinners.  In addition, Steve takes people on international wine tours, including South Africa, New Zealand, Greece and Sicily.

Steve Thurlow is the Education Director for the IWEG (Independent Wine Education Guild) education program in Ontario, which delivers the internationally accredited WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) courses, accepted as the benchmark of wine education throughout the global wine trade.  IWEG has been educating trade and wine lovers since 1977.

Graduates of IWEG are amongst the “Who’s Who” of the Ontario and Canadian Alcohol Beverage Industries, counting amongst its graduates key buyers and category managers in the LCBO, the first Master Sommelier in Canada and the first and only Master of Wine in Canada.

He established Wine Cellars as a wine agency in 1993 to import wine into Ontario.  It grew steadily until it was incorporated into Corby Distilleries in 1999 on his appointment as Director of Wine for Canada, a position he held until April 2001.  While at Corby, he was responsible for 15 million bottles of annual wine sales, including 35 per cent of the Italian wine sold in Canada.

Upon leaving Corby, Steve established his wine education and communication business, Wine for Life.  The company is involved in the training and education of hotel and restaurant wine staff and wine agency personnel.  Additionally, Steve frequently conducts wine education sessions on behalf of international trade agencies.

He is married with two daughters and lives in Caledon, about an hour's drive north of Toronto, in rural Ontario.  He holds a degree in Software Engineering from Imperial College, University of London, England.

For more information on Steve Thurlow, or to learn more about his unique wine tours, visit his website at www.stevethurlow.com