Liina Liivamagi was somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when she discovered her passion for wine.

Aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, on her way to take up a teaching post in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Liina was offered her first taste of good-quality wine. It was a revelation, one that would ignite a lifelong passion. Liina was born a supertaster – someone who experiences flavours more intensely than most people – which, coupled with her incredible memory, made wine a particularly exciting proposition. 

Her husband, David Cash, describes that moment on the Queen Elizabeth as “game on” for Liina. While in Switzerland, she immersed herself in the world of wine. A lifelong learner, she read everything she could, attended tastings, connected with other oenophiles, and travelled to vineyards across Europe that intrigued her. 

Liina was born in Estonia in 1941. Her family fled the country in 1944, and emigrated to Canada in 1950. Though she arrived in Canada speaking no English, she set herself the goals of obtaining an advanced degree in biology and teaching at the university level. She accomplished both and went on to hold positions at Scarborough College, the University of Munich, Vanier College, and York University.

Her love of wine only deepened over the years. She took WSET courses in London, England, and graduated as a certified sommelier from George Brown College in Toronto. As her experience grew, she came to value Burgundy wines above all. Liina and David spent their holidays in search of experiences and bottles.

In 1984, Liina and David moved into her parents’ bungalow in Scarborough and began filling the cellar, vintage by vintage, with bottles that interested her. Liina believed that fine wine should not stay tucked away in a cellar as an investment. For her, wine was meant to be opened and enjoyed. Liina bought wines to age, while the couple opened mature bottles at approximately the same rate—what David, a professor of chemistry, calls “chemical equilibrium.”

Liina enjoyed following wines as they developed, taking detailed notes on the bottles she opened, which she would reference years later. She particularly delighted in pairing food and wine. She wasn’t precious about her collection, working her way through various vintages before moving on. 

Liina became ill in 1991. Though it hampered her ability to travel and socialize, she continued to buy new vintages and enjoy her cellar, skillfully pairing bottles with dishes she and her husband were able to prepare at home. Around 2015, her doctor recommended she stop drinking altogether. From that moment on, Liina’s cellar was frozen in time – she no longer bought wine, but she also refused to sell any bottles. At its core, her final collection consisted of eight vintages of Burgundy, from 2005 to 2012, along with a few oddities and bottles of port, Rhône, and Bordeaux wines that had caught her eye. 

Following Liina’s death in 2026, the contents of her carefully maintained cellar have come to auction, with all proceeds going to charity. Iron Gate is honoured to offer fellow oenophiles the opportunity to share in Liina’s passion and continue the story of a collection built over decades.