About Canary Counter
We're a bottle shop, and a wine bar. We're your neighbourhood spot where nice bottles meet easygoing vibes. A space where glasses clink, stories unfold, and every first taste makes you wonder: "Who made this?"
We built the Counter on a straightforward idea. The idea that wine should be about landscapes, history, and the people behind them. Never pretension.
We curate wines with earth still clinging to them. No industrial production, no anonymous plonk. Just bottles that speak clearly of their origins: volcanic slopes, sunbaked hillsides, and family vineyards worked by hand, harvest after harvest.
But we’re not here to school you. We’re here to explore together. Through relaxed tastings, natural conversations, and bottles that tell their own stories, we’ll help you drink with intention—one memorable bottle at a time.
Behind the Counter
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Celia Méndez Díaz
Founder, Director
Celia grew up running around barrels and vineyards in Tenerife, where her family has made wine for generations. Her father, Juan Jesús Méndez, helped revive Canary Islands winemaking, proving these volcanic soils could produce world-class bottles.
After studying wine management in Bordeaux and working with a small producer in Burgundy, Celia came to Toronto in 2019 for what was meant to be six months. Six years later, she's still here—first importing wines from small producers at an independent wine agency, now opening Canary Counter to share these finds with her adopted city. The Counter is her love letter to both her homeland and the many small winemakers she's met along the way.
When she's not behind the counter, you'll find her at the farmer's market gathering ingredients to cook for friends, or having a glass at any of the many great wine bars that Toronto has to offer.
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Nate Cross
Wine Guide
Nate discovered wine through a relative’s obsession with aged Old World bottles—Bordeaux, Barolo, and everything in between. While he’ll passionately argue that "Bordeaux is back," his true love lies in the unexpected: funky Chenin Blanc from a Loire shed-dweller, unpronounceable Hungarian grapes, or anything with a story as wild as its flavours.
In just over a year, he’s plunged deep into the wine world, working in independent wine shops in Toronto, earning his WSET Level 3, and cultivating a palate that bridges classic and cutting-edge.
When he’s not at the Counter, Nate is likely uncorking ancient oddities, hosting impromptu dinners with friends, or hunting down the most exciting bites in the city.
Come visit us
Come visit us at 322 Harbord Street (just steps from Bickford Park!). We are open Tuesday through Sunday.
Let us guide you to your new favourite bottle or pour you something delicious by the glass.
Your next favourite wine is waiting.