North America's Best Sommelier Award 2025

Vanya Filipovic

Mon Lapin, Montreal

Natural wine advocate and oenological storyteller with unique Quebecois spirit

Vanya Filipovic knows hospitality inside out. Born in Montreal to a chef father and sommelier mother, the co-owner and wine director of Mon Lapin grew up discussing the restaurant business across the dinner table and taking trips centred around winery visits and culinary pilgrimages.

After running a restaurant in Montreal, the family moved cross-border to Vermont in 1994, where they opened a new restaurant with Filipovic starting in the kitchen as a teenager. While studying with a particular focus on literature, she became the restaurant's sous chef before leaving Vermont for California to pursue a degree.

On her return to Montreal in 2005, she formed part of the opening team for the now-beloved Joe Beef, developing an intimate service style and a passion for natural-leaning wine curation that would form the basis of Mon Lapin. In 2009, Filipovic reached a crossroads – to follow her intended path of studying a master's degree in literature at Colombia University, or to undertake a grape harvest in the Jura region. She chose the latter, returning to Canada with a renewed focus on bringing small batch, unique European producers to Quebec.

The trip solidified Filipovic's life's work, and after meeting her chef husband, Marc-Olivier Frappier while working at Joe Beef, the pair went on to open wine bar Vin Papillon in 2013 and Mon Lapin in 2018 alongside chefs Jessica Noël, Marc-Antoine Gélinas and co-sommelier Alex Landry. In 2015, Filipovic also set up wine import agency Vins Dame-Jeanne, named after a historical wine vessel, nodding to her respect for traditional winemaking techniques.

Mon Lapin started as a Parisian-style, no-reservations wine bar with a constant line outside the Little Italy-located door. Now, it is reimagined as a fully fledged restaurant, expanding into the building next door and housing a dynamic, ever-changing wine list influenced by Filipovic's unique storytelling approach. Her team is dedicated, visiting wineries across Europe multiple times a year and making special trips to the most progressive producers.

Filipovic is also known for her contributions to Quebec's culinary scene. She is the president of the Table Ronde collective, a group of chefs and restaurateurs working together to accelerate the growth of the region's gastronomy and create meaningful socio-economic impact across the region.

As her influence continues to soar, Filipovic's dedication to championing evocative wines and furthering Quebec's culinary legacy, all while providing world-class hospitality, makes her a worthy winner of the North America's Best Sommelier Award 2025.

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