When I told friends and family that we were travelling to Quebec, to share the driving and tasting along the region’s Routes des Vins (‘wine routes’), they looked surprised. Wine in Quebec? Who knew? Even the perplexed Canadian immigration officer suggested we should have visited France instead!
Yet in the French-speaking La Belle Province, proud of its roots and joie de vivre, it’s perhaps unsurprising that wineries (‘vignobles’ locally) have been blossoming over the past 45 years – as have the resulting wine routes to tour by car, bike, taxi or on foot (depending how much you want to taste). Dunham in the Eastern Townships (Cantons-de-l’Est) southeast of Montreal was the birthplace of wine-growing in Quebec in 1979 – although it wasn’t until 1985 that winemakers could legally sell their wine. The Conseil des vins du Québec now lists nine wine-growing regions with 165 wineries producing more than three million bottles annually from at least 80 grape varieties, mainly hybrids, but increasingly Vitis vinifera.
The recent boom has coincided with climate change and consequent warming temperatures in a region formerly more famous for Icewine. While Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and Niagara, southern Ontario, are typically most associated with vineyards in Canada, Quebec now boasts one of the country’s fastest-growing wine-producing areas. Quantity isn’t everything, though, and if it’s quality you’re after, then you’ll definitely find it in Québécois boutique wineries, many of which are just a joy to behold. Quebec’s winemakers are enterprising and experimental, combining traditional and modern techniques and more readily embracing an organic approach.
The Abbaye de St-Benoît-du-Lac on the western shore of lake Memphrémagog in the Eastern Townships. Credit: Mathieu Dupuis
Sleepy villages
Heading east of Montreal through Montérégie, within 30 minutes the roads become tranquil and villages sleepy, with both wildlife and vineyards easier to spot. At our first stop, Vignoble Mas des Patriotes, France Cliche has almost single-handedly developed her certified-organic winery from scratch, without any previous wine-growing experience. Her 6ha of vines are all hand-planted, -protected and -picked – no mean feat in a region of extreme-cold winters.
Having overcome hurdles such as frost, mildew and greedy starlings, Cliche is one of the region’s few female vintners, with her white, rosé and red wines winning medals. Like most Quebec winemakers, she has found hybrid grape varieties (Frontenac, Lucie Kuhlmann, Louise Swenson, St-Pépin) to be robust, but also grows hardy vinifera varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Merlot, with the recent addition of Chenin Blanc inspired by a South African holiday.
The quaint town of Dunham, in the Brome-Missisquoi valley, is an idyllic base for exploring the surrounding vineyards, cider houses, wine museums, microbreweries and gourmet restaurants, many of which are farm-to-table.
A must-visit is one of the area’s original vignobles – l’Orpailleur, launched in 1982 by four partners, including winemaker Charles-Henri de Coussergues, who learned his craft from his father in the south of France.
Today, the partners and younger family members are just as immersed in the now-extensive winery, popular for its guided tours, viticulture museum and workshop (known as an ‘économusée’), restaurant, lessons in sabrage (the art of opening sparkling wine bottles with a blade) and 14 excellent wines, such as the unique, fortified La Part des Anges (‘Angels’ Share’), which matures and evaporates over at least six years in demijohns outside – it’s reminiscent of Christmas in a glass. An outdoor, self-guided trail with 27 information panels reveals innovations such as wind turbines, hilling-up (burying the base of the vines) and covering with sheets of protective material to guard against winter chill.
Another Brome-Missisquoi valley pioneer, Vignoble de la Bauge works with nature to reduce chemical use. Winemaker Simon Naud and his enterprising team are researching techniques such as training vines to grow grapes high off the ground, to increase ventilation and exposure to sunlight while also letting sheep do the mowing rather than tractors. Swallow and bat boxes are installed to reduce insects, and fruit trees are being introduced to enhance diversity and increase resilience in the whole ecosystem.
Our early September trip coincided with the annual Fête des Vendanges harvest festival held in the scenic lakeside city of Magog. This family-friendly event offers tastings, grape-treading competitions, live country music and food trucks – what’s not to love?
Vignoble Mas des Patriotes, southeast of Montreal
My perfect day in Quebec
Morning
Blueberry pancakes and home-sourced maple syrup on the sunny verandah of Gîte La Maison Bleue, a Friend of the Wine Route in Dunham, provide the perfect start to the day. Then visit Au Diable Vert resort near Sutton, where you can glide among the treetops on the VéloVolant (‘flying bike’), pedalling around a 1km circuit on a suspended recumbent bicycle – it’s unique in Canada, and the views are spectacular.
VéloVolant at Au Diable Vert resort
Lunch & afternoon
Craft beer and lobster rolls at Auberge Sutton Brouërie in Sutton are hard to beat. Follow them up by browsing the colourful town’s bagel bakeries, boutiques and wine shops. Then meander on a scenic road trip to the town of Mont-St-Hilaire, past vineyards, orchards and farmland, calling in at picturesque cellar doors such as Coteau Rougemont and the family-run Cidrerie Michel Jodoin, complete with its forest walk to a stunning lookout point.
Evening
Soak up some scenery from steamy pools at Strom Spa in Mont-St-Hilaire before checking into the wine-themed Hôtel Rive Gauche on the other side of the Richelieu river in Beloeil. Splash out on the tasting menu at Le Coureur des Bois, preferably at the Chef’s Table, with the pairing of rare wines from the restaurant’s Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning Aladdin’s cave of more than 18,000 bottles, some dating back a century.
Felines & flying pigs
In Hemmingford, at the new économusée at Cidrerie du Minot, we learned how the domaine was awarded Quebec’s first artisanal cider-selling permit as recently as 1988 and tasted our first ice cider – quite the revelation. Next door at Domaine des Salamandres, we discovered delicious perries and mistelles made from pears grown as a back-up crop in case vines are lost to frost, as occurred just after the first were planted.
The quirkily named Vignoble Le Chat Botté, or Puss in Boots, is a fairytale-come-true for former architect Normand Guénette and designer Isabelle Ricard, who realised their joint dream of becoming winemakers. In the warm sunshine, we enjoyed a lunch of charcuterie made by local food hero Jean-Simon Petit (widely considered Quebec’s finest butcher) with our wine tasting, which included a sparkling and a straw wine (the grapes are traditionally dried on straw beds). Isabelle designs the fun labels, many of which feature felines or flying pigs. She’s also a mezzo-soprano and is planning to hold vineyard operatic concerts in 2025.
Nearby, Vignoble Camy is owned by Fred Tremblay Camy and Isabelle Leveau, wine enthusiasts who struck gold, finding just the right terroir of fossilised shells and gravel deposited by the Champlain sea from about 12,000 years ago. Now their nurtured rows of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are not only growing in reputation but also increasing in production. Like the roots of their vines, constantly seeking and feeding on inspirational ingredients, the couple thanks shared knowledge from mentors such as Niagara winemaker Kelly Mason for contributing to their success. The cellar door is only occasionally opened, but their multi-medal-winning wines grace local hotels, stores and eateries, and even Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris – a prestigious honour for such a petite, young winery.
Winding back through the fertile Richelieu valley, east of Montreal, over our remaining week – past glittering shores to pretty Beloeil (make sure you pre-book for Le Coureur des Bois restaurant) and a day’s detour to the Centre-du-Québec region, with its easy cycling loops past farms with towering silos – we were continually impressed not just by the wineries, but also the cider houses and microbreweries, as well as fromageries and mead distilleries.
Of course, we packed as many favourite wines in our suitcases as we could before our return Air Transat flight. Today, red tape and small production volumes make it hard to get your hands on Québécois wine unless you visit the province. If that’s not a very good reason to travel to Quebec rather than France, then I don’t know what is!
Credit: JP Map Graphics Ltd
Quebec’s wine routes
La Route des Vins Brome-Missisquoi is a 165km route in the birthplace of Quebec viticulture; the Montérégie Wine Route (see map) covers some 414km; and the Circuit du Paysan is 194km long. Break your journey with spas, hiking, beaches, kayaking, vineyard picnics and agritourism meals. Alternatively, you can take day winery tours from Montreal or Quebec City.
Your Quebec address book
Accommodation
Stylish rooms, rooftop bar, pool and spa near Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, with delicious menus in Restaurant h3 enhanced by a 6,000-bottle wine cellar, about 120 of which are Québécois.
Hôtel Humaniti Montréal. Credit: Humaniti Montreal Hotel
Hôtel Montfort Nicolet
A heritage property in Centre-du-Québec with spa, bistronomic restaurant (bistro food combined with gastronomic cooking), gardens and rooftop hot-tub behind the bell tower.
The BOHO Dunham by Kabin
The pioneer of boutique hostels in Quebec offers rooms above Brasserie Dunham, as well as three self-catering cottages.
Restaurants
Au Pâturage Espaces Gourmands
Famous for her appearances on TV series Les Chefs!, Chloé Ouellet’s farm-to-table restaurant in Ste-Perpétue, Centre-du-Québec, offers a fixed menu with homegrown ingredients and optional wine pairings.
Bleu Moutarde Bistro
In Beloiel’s old town, the riverside terrace below Mont St-Hilaire offers views as fine as the restaurant’s food and wine.
L’Espace Old Mill
Agritourism restaurant in Stanbridge East, just west of Dunham, serving gastronomic tasting menus with optional wine pairings, home to TV presenter, author and market gardener Jean-Martin Fortier.
Le Roy Jucep
This cheery Drummondville diner claims to have invented poutine, that iconic curd cheese, fries and gravy dish that sounds all wrong, but tastes so right!
Les Cocagnes
Every weekend from June to September, this agro-ecological collective farm in Frelighsburg hosts guests at its Country Table, providing ‘an intimate gourmet experience’ created by guest chefs who showcase products from local farms.
Les Cocagnes, Frelighsburg. Credit: Daph Nico
Shopping & leisure
Fromagerie du Presbytère
Cheese, wine and church, answers all prayers! In the village of Ste-Elizabeth-de-Warwick, buy in the shop across the road then eat at picnic benches in front of the church.
La Miellerie King
A buzzing distillery in Kingsey Falls with guided bee-to-bottle tours showcasing spirits, mead and liqueurs (from May to September).
Rose Drummond
A one-stop shop and café in Drummondville for souvenirs, wine, flowers, artisanal crafts and local produce.
How to get there
Air Transat offers direct flights from London Gatwick to Montreal from about £450 per person return economy for most of the year, or about £1,050 pp return for Club Class, to get you in the mood for fine wines and gourmet dining. Regional flights are available via Toronto. Hire a car at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport or from the friendly Enterprise team in quieter Longueuil. Audley Travel offers tailor-made tours.
