About Canary Counter
We are a bottle shop and a wine bar, which is really just a nice way of saying we're your neighbourhood spot where good bottles and easygoing vibes show up for the same party, and everyone's invited. Canary Counter is the kind of place where glasses clink between different tables without anyone trying too hard, where stories unfold across the counter, and where that very first taste stops you just long enough to wonder who on earth made this, and how it ended up right here in your glass.
We built Canary Counter on one straightforward idea: that wine should always be about landscapes and history and the people behind them, never about pretension, never about knowing the right words to say. So we look for wines that taste like their origins: volcanic slopes, sunbaked hillsides, family vineyards worked by hand harvest after harvest, made without industrial shortcuts or anonymous blending, just honest bottles that speak clearly of where they came from.
We're here to explore together through relaxed tastings and natural conversations, letting the bottles do most of the talking while we help you drink with intention.
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. Seven 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.