Our Raison d'Être

This is the part where we're supposed to prattle on in market-tested prose about terroir and authenticity, about importing the wines we like to drink and how sure you are to love them. 


At Vino al Vino we chafe at the diluted reiterations of wine-world double-talk. We are simply obsessed with wine and love telling the stories of the people and places that grow it. We believe the wines our vignerons are crafting are needed here at home, and so we put our money where our heart is and import them here to Western Canada, be they already cult favourites from well known regions or be they legends in the making from unsung appellations.

We seek generous expressions of honest winemaking, winemaking that gets out of the grape's way, sings the land to life, and puts history in the glass. These are the wines that give our lives greater depth and texture. Teleportation devices!

Every wine we import is farmed without synthetics and vinified with minimal intervention. If you've had a wild strawberry beside the grocery store version grown for yield rather than complexity, you'll know what we mean. It's farming first. Organic,  Biodynamic, or Regenerative farming, these are our watch words. We truly believe the talented folks growing these wines (call them vigneron(ne)s,  terroirists, wine farmers) are truly  artists, collaborating with nature to capture a year and a place in a bottle, a canvas painted in tastes and smells. 


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ANDREW STEWART - Vino Al Vino

Andrew Stewart
Calgary, Alberta

Andrew has been enamoured of wine since 2002 when he moved to Calgary and began his career working at Bonterra Trattoria. In 2004, Andrew spent two formative months in Italy immersed in the culture of the vine. His time among the people that grow our wine has shaped and centered his views to this day. 

Upon returning home, Andrew studied with the WSET and ISG wine education programs, while working both retail and restaurant positions in tandem for the next 14 years. His experience culminated in Wine Director positions at several top venues including Model Milk, Pigeonhole and the Teatro Group. Andrew's experience combines with a genuine love for the service industry and an impressive gift for shaping wine lists and earning shelf space in ways that make sense for restaurants and retailers.



JOE GURBA - Vino Al Vino

Joe Gurba
Calgary, Alberta

Joe Gurba is spearheading the charge to bring Edmontonians and drinkers across Northern Alberta a greater selection of exceptionally nuanced and authentic wines. Having formerly directed sales for Strathcona Spirits and with previous experience in marketing, finance, and as a restaurateur (The Watch That Ends the Night, a cocktail and wine bar in Nova Scotia that earned 2018’s Best New Bar in Canada), Gurba is familiar with the in’s and out’s of Alberta’s restaurant and retail industries. His fervor for wines grown sustainably and vinified honestly without additives or high-tech shortcuts, makes Gurba an ideal standard bearer and sales professional for this explosive category.


ANDREW STEWART - Vino Al Vino

Giovanni Autuori
Calgary, Alberta

Born and raised in southern Italy, Giovanni has an outgoing personality and a strong passion for wine and a sustainable economy. His experiences in the restaurant industry have given him a great understanding of wines from all over the Italian peninsula and the rest of the globe. He also earned a Master's in Corporate Finance in Milan, which helped him be accepted into a number of study and employment opportunities throughout Europe and South America. He has a range of international experiences, particularly as a project manager and expert in strategic alliances, where he helped organizations accomplish their objectives and started collaborations between Italy and North America.


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