Inside Toronto’s exclusive French-inspired wine nights

Toronto’s top indie wine specialist has revealed how the city’s taste for private social spaces is growing.

Laura Batten, connoisseur of all things vino, writer, and former sommelier, has built a name for herself over the last few years by hosting Cushable Wine Club — a private experience built on being wine’d and dine’d.

Starting in her small condo, then moving to a private studio, and now her Midtown home, Batten has spent countless hours perfecting the wine night, while components behind it — social, industrial, and political — slowly shift between her guests and the grapes they chew on.

“Experience-based tourism has seen a huge uptick recently, and frankly, activities in general are integral to a healthy societal culture. I was digging through old pictures and articles I’ve written, and it became obvious that all of my favourite experiences, especially travelling, took place in someone’s home,” Batten told yourcitywithIN.

Batten notes that Toronto’s cultural machine is in its adolescence, as are most North American cities when compared to global counterparts. As a result, the city is constantly trying on different personalities, which Batten states deprives people of long-standing ‘third spaces’ — social environments separate from home, work, or school.

While cafes, bars and trendy pop-ups exist in this town, modern tastes yearn for something less garden-variety (and a hell of a lot more authentic).

With this in mind, Batten has spent years curating wine nights built on Canadian wines and menus with a “Wine Without the Performance” ethos. In essence, Batten will never demand you hold a glass a certain way or get in your face to inquire about what notes you’re getting.

[Dottie the dog — the true host according to Batten — leading the party. Photo courtesy Crushable Wine Club]

“There is always such pomp in this culture; it’s pointless, and beyond that, it’s alienating,” says Batten. “My distaste for it stayed bubbling underneath me for some time; I just wanted to explode, be able to swear a bit, and hell, describe a Chardonnay as ‘a bit slutty’ — everything is made up anyway in this, so I just made my own rules.”

Crushable Wine Club has only gained more esteem, as Batten’s relationship with VQA wine producers from Ontario and B.C., combined with a relaxed attitude, has created a hyper-local wine night that is both educational and actually fun.

Batten also builds and cooks every meal at Crushable’s salon nights from scratch, ensuring they pair exclusively with the wine being offered, catering to guests’ flavour palettes in a way only an expert can.

“Wine itself is ancillary; it’s a connection point to loosen and lubricate an evening. I remember when I first started, I had two older women gabbing who really didn’t give a f*ck about the wine — they just wanted to talk about their dead husbands. I finally just gave up trying, and looking back, it was a really beautiful experience, and I learned that the secret sauce doesn’t have the wine as the focus but instead the people,” says Batten.

This people-first focus, while safe within the walls of Batten’s home, does happen everywhere, especially with such a qualified guide. On top of that, wine and dining culture are constantly under pressure, as the U.S. government implemented an import ban on Canadian wine only a few weeks ago.

While Batten is a staunch supporter and platform of VQA wines, she also adamantly believes that whatever side of the border you are on as a producer, getting shafted by politicians is enough of a headache, and the last thing they need to worry about is a zealous public.

[Vibes galore at Batten’s private Midtown residence. Photo courtesy Crushable Wine Club]

“I have a wonderful opportunity educating people on Canadian wine, but at the same time, I am not going to stop drinking American wine; why would I punish a small producer for the policies of a bad administration? Wine culture needs to stay unified, and not divide itself further,” says Batten.

Batten continues to platform Canadian wineries as much as she can, and will always provide guests with throughlines to buy from Canadian wine producers, removing the middleman to ensure clients get the best bang for their buck and small-scale producers get every cent possible.

“It gives us some control, especially in a time where we feel like we have none,” says Batten.

Tandem with the hostilities of the trade war, Batten also has public taste to contend with, as numerous hospitality locations are jumping on the bandwagon of intimacy, launching private dining rooms or ‘speakeasies’ — essentially bars in an underground venue, with some candles and brick.

“That is one of the famous sins of Toronto, right? Just emulate, emulate, emulate and hope something sticks,” adds Batten.

When asked about younger crowds — often disputed to be spending and drinking less — Batten indicated that pre-COVID, she had a rotating selection of younger guests eager to learn about wine, and more importantly, the building blocks of salon-style hosting.

[Eyes, ears, and empty plates as French salon nights enter full swing. Photo courtesy Crushable Wine Club]

However, once Toronto opened back up, youthful curiosity dimmed, and in the years since, Crushable has been at the forefront of appealing to the 25-and-up crowd, something Batten isn’t too shocked by, as wine culture as a whole has always bent that way.

“It’s for people who are just curious, not over-educated, or pompous, or elitist — just people who have a genuine zest and thirst for what is out there. Something that, if I were being honest, isn’t exclusive to any sort of demographic at all,” says Batten.

This is also reflected in the presentation of Batten’s home, as the decor is a love letter to the curious, hosting art from all corners of Europe and North America, evoking a salon-like sensation from all corners of history.

Batten remains at the top of her game and aims to run Crushable until the wheels come off (or every bottle is empty), stating, “I want to be an old kooky lady, like one that haunts an old Victorian home, just waxing poetic, sharing stories and pouring wine till I’m 90 years old.”

You can look into menu details, selections, and more by going to Crushable Wine Club’s official website.