Michael Pinkus

Michael Pinkus has a love affair with wine that goes back over 20 years and continues to this day. Michael is a multi-award-winning journalist as well as national and international wine judge. He is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in numerous national and international magazines. He is also the sole writer for his website MichaelPinkusWineReview.com (formerly OntarioWineReview.com), and past-President of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada (2000-2015). You can also follow him two ways on Facebook: (Michael Pinkus & Michael Pinkus Wine Review) – Twitter: (The Grape Guy) – Instagram (The Grape Guy) – YouTube: (Michael Pinkus) – and thru his co-hosted podcast on SoundCloud: (Two Guys Talking Wine).

Latest from Michael Pinkus

The LCBO's best bottles of sparkling wine and champagne
Food & Drink

The LCBO’s best bottles of sparkling wine and champagne

Sixteen bottles of bubbly worth ringing in the new year with
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The best bottles of wine at the LCBO for $25 or less
Food & Drink

The best bottles of wine at the LCBO for $25 or less

Twenty excellent bottles that won’t break the bank
Holiday Wine Guide: 16 of the LCBO's best bottles to give as gifts
Food & Drink

Holiday Wine Guide: 16 of the LCBO’s best bottles to give as gifts

Sixteen ways to show how much you love someone who loves wine
Holiday Wine Guide: The LCBO's best bottles of champagne and sparkling wine
Food & Drink

Holiday Wine Guide: The LCBO’s best bottles of champagne and sparkling wine

Celebratory bottles for every budget
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Holiday Wine Guide: 13 of the LCBO's best bottles to give as gifts
Food & Drink

Holiday Wine Guide: 13 of the LCBO’s best bottles to give as gifts

Bottles to give or cellar for a special occasion—even if the recipient is yourself, and that occasion is right now
Holiday Wine Guide: The LCBO's best bottles of wine for $20 or less
Food & Drink

Holiday Wine Guide: The LCBO’s best bottles of wine for $20 or less

They're totally acceptable for special occasions (but also for any given Tuesday)
Holiday Wine Guide: 22 of the LCBO's best bottles under $20
Food & Drink

Holiday Wine Guide: 22 of the LCBO’s best bottles under $20

Stock your cellar (or just your closet, whatever) without breaking the bank
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Holiday Wine Guide: 14 of the LCBO's best bottles of bubbly
Food & Drink

Holiday Wine Guide: 14 of the LCBO’s best bottles of bubbly

Say good riddance to 2020 in style
The best new bottles at the LCBO in March
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in March

Here’s what to have delivered right now
The best new bottles at the LCBO in February
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in February

Here’s what to look for on store shelves this month
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The best new bottles at the LCBO in January
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in January

We tasted our way through the new releases and put together a guide to the best new booze of the month
The best new bottles at the LCBO in December
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in December

Our top picks, from bargain buys to budget busters
The best new bottles at the LCBO in November
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in November

Just in time for the start of holiday party season
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The best new bottles at the LCBO in October
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in October

There's a pricey (but worth it) Kentucky bourbon, a classy single-vintage tawny port and a show-stopping syrah from Washington
The best new bottles at the LCBO in September
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in September

We tasted our way through the new releases and put together a guide to the best new booze of the month
The best new bottles at the LCBO in August
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in August

Here’s what to look for on store shelves right now
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The best new bottles at the LCBO in July
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in July

Here’s what to look for on store shelves right now
The best new bottles at the LCBO in June
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in June

Here’s what to look for on store shelves right now
The best new bottles at the LCBO in May
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in May

Here’s what to look for on store shelves this month
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The best new bottles at the LCBO in April
Food & Drink

The best new bottles at the LCBO in April

Here’s what to look for on store shelves right now
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Summer Camp Guide

Summer Camp Directory 2026
City News

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Discover our top-rated summer camps for kids of all ages

Big Stories

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it
Deep Dives

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

When Sami and June Suomalainen died, it fell to the executor of their wills, a lawyer they hardly knew, to sell their million-dollar midtown home and split the proceeds among their inheritors. Seven years and six lawsuits later, the beneficiaries haven’t seen a cent
These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026
Deep Dives

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

This year’s list includes a 150-square-foot omakase counter, a Parisian brasserie in the Annex, Korean comfort food, Filipino karaoke and a Summerhill seafood spot that’s reinventing the raw bar
Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team
Deep Dives

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

After years of false starts, months of nail-biting negotiations between the league and the players’ union, and an 11th-hour scramble to build a roster, Toronto finally has its own major-league women’s basketball team. Now it just has to live up to the hype
Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska
Deep Dives

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Slowikowska is the first Canadian to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in more than 25 years. She’s also this season’s breakout star. Now all she has to do is keep crushing it
Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer
Deep Dives

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

The man who represented the infamous drug lord is unapologetically flashy—he has a Lamborghini and two Maseratis and wears $1,200 Louboutins. But did he become an accomplice to his client’s crimes? Deepak Paradkar says he was just doing his job. The FBI says he crossed a line
The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?
Deep Dives

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

We’re not over it, but they are. Six months after that devastating defeat, the Jays take the field once more, bent more than ever on winning the World Series. Dispatches from the dugout
My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press
Deep Dives

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My dad was the infamous Rolex Killer. The news of his crimes nearly broke me. And ever since, my family has been hounded by reporters, podcasters and true crime fanatics—a whole new circle of hell
Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin
Deep Dives

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Larry David is the indisputable king of brutal honesty. But if anyone comes close, it’s Robby Hoffman, the suddenly everywhere comic from whom no group is safe
Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?
Deep Dives

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Pamela Sugiman, a former arts dean at Toronto Metropolitan University, was a key player in the school’s push for diversity, equity and inclusion. When the backlash against DEI arrived, she was demoted. The school says it was a coincidence. She disagrees
City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?
Deep Dives

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

Scenes from the rent-for-life revolution
This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI
Deep Dives

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

It’s hard out here for a 20-something
The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market
Deep Dives

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

Desperate wannabe parents are betting their life savings on unproven treatments and false promises
Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI
Deep Dives

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Last spring, a chatbot convinced Allan Brooks that he had discovered a revolutionary mathematical theory. He says it nearly destroyed him
Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world
Deep Dives

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Homegrown innovations that will transform lives for the better
293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband
Deep Dives

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

When Valentino was abducted, I knew three things: he’d been taken by his father, he was somewhere in India and I would not rest until I found him
The Violent Life of a Tow Truck Driver: How an unremarkable profession turned Toronto into a war zone
Deep Dives

The Violent Life of a Tow Truck Driver: How an unremarkable profession turned Toronto into a war zone

The towing industry has been hijacked by criminals and kingpins who fleece customers, beat up dissenters and shoot their enemies. Inside the brutal turf war for the city’s wrecks
Street Fight: Inside the battle raging over Toronto multiplexes
Deep Dives

Street Fight: Inside the battle raging over Toronto multiplexes

If this city stands any chance of solving the housing crisis, it will need buildings with multiple units in residential neighbourhoods—a move that has many residents saying, “Anywhere but here!”

Just Listed

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent
Just Listed

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

As luxury buyers become increasingly focused on wellness, privacy, and long-term livability, a new generation of custom homes is emerging – one defined less by excess and more by thoughtful design
For Sale: 171 Durant Ave
Just Listed

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

This rare property features 2 houses on 1 lot
For Sale: 50 First Avenue
Just Listed

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

A testament to time presiding over one of Uxbridge's most storied streetscapes, this magnificently preserved circa 1880 residence commands its prominent corner lot with the quiet confidence of a true architectural landmark
For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive
Just Listed

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

A commanding architectural statement in prestigious Stonegate–Queensway, this newly completed custom residence by Bali Homes Group presents a refined interpretation of contemporary luxury living
For Sale: 75 Queen Street
Just Listed

For Sale: 75 Queen Street

Guelph is having a moment