Ashleigh Forster
Judge at the 2026 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada
Working with some of the best lists in the city, Ashleigh has spent her wine career focusing on bringing an approachability and ease to the world of wine. Working on the floor with niche-specific wines as the opening sommelier for AloBar Yorkville, she’s also managed the vast and more classically oriented lists at the Scotia Bank Arena and Eataly Yorkville. Always keen for new opportunities Ashleigh explored the world of teaching at George Brown and, due to COVID, was able to experience wine retail for the first time at Peter Pantry, one of the highly curated bottle shops in Toronto. After two years at the helm of Yorkville Eataly as the Beverage Director, Ashleigh moved to a more intimate guest experience, running the program at a small Italian tasting menu restaurant in the heart of little Italy focusing on pairing menus and curating a thoughtful wine list based heavily in Italian wine with classic global touches, including premium local selections. While there, she earned the award for Michelin Guide’s Toronto Sommelier of the Year 2024. Following this, Ashleigh took over the role as Head Sommelier and AGM of Michelin awarded Don Alfonso 1890. In pursuit of knowledge, Ashleigh is becoming a Whisky Ambassador, a Bourgogne Master and attempting to master fermentation science!