Similarities Between Tea and Wine, Edward Qu

Edward is both a tea sommelier and an oenologist (specialist in the science and craft of winemaking), and is known as an educator in tea culture and wine production.

He works as a full-time production assistant at Niagara College Teaching Winery, where he manages the winery lab and winemaking projects. He assists with teaching a variety of courses relating to winemaking, including sensory evaluation, vineyard management, wine chemistry, and lab analysis. Concurrently, he is also the wine educator for Southbrook Vineyards (Biodynamic Certified) in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Edward’s wine journey traces back to an earlier passion for tea culture. He obtained the esteemed designation of Advanced Sommelier of Chinese Tea and Advanced Tea Critic in China and travelled throughout China, Sri Lanka, and Nepal for tea. After moving to Canada in 2017, he co-founded MING Tea and led tea education events at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Brock University, and Toronto Tea Festivals. In addition, Edward curates tea and wine tastings and leads occasional small-group tea tours across China, which showcase his many connections with, and deep knowledge of, Chinese tea culture.