as published in Canadian Grapes to Wine Spring 2003
The L'Association des Vignerons du Québec (AVQ), in alliance with the Societe des Alcools du Quebec (SAQ) held a public wine tasting seminar over the weekend in Montreal, Quebec at the l'Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie du Québec à Montréal (ITHQ).
You may ask yourself, "What is so important and significant about this event than any other we have attended in the past?"
Well, for starters, apart from sipping some of the best Quebec-made wines available today and personally meeting with the winemakers (enologists) and vineyard owners, this event was an opportunity to allow the general public and those directly involved in the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism industry to gain valuable knowledge and appreciation for Quebec wines and to personally judge a wine on its characteristics and quality. It was not, by all means, a wine competition event, but more of a "getting to know what Quebec wines are like and what do you think, Mr. Customer?" event.
Judging a particular vintage was rather relaxed. All that one had to do is make their way through the endless sea of public attendees, have a sommelier
pour an ounce (or two) into your glass and taste away. You then scored the wine by placing an X next to it in the proper box that was numbered from a scale of 1 to 7 (7 being the best score for any particular wine).
This event is quite significant and important in that it is the first of its kind to actually gather the public's feedback and opinion in some ordain manner on the quality of Quebec made wines. I am confident that these results are indicative of what the public has known for many years and that the SAQ is realizing. Quebec-made wine products are worthy of shelf space at any SAQ outlet, worthy to be included on any restaurant's wine menu and
worthy of worldwide recognition.
It is a major step forward and is clearly a milestone in identifying our winemakers as serious contenders in the wine industry. "Made in Quebec" or
"terroir d'ici" has no greater sense and meaning than it does at these events. Where better place to start this process than at the (ITHQ)?
Let's get to wine tasting.
A collection of 54 wines was available from a total of 16 different vineyards. The classifications were simply Dry White, Rose, Red, Aperitif, Ice and Fortified. Since it was next to impossible to sample all the available wines, I decided to judge and comment specifically on the Red and Dry White wines. Perhaps in the next event I will make my way through to the other excellent categories.
RED WINE CATEGORY:
Grape varieties used in these wines are typically blends of any of the following varieties: Gamay, Marechal-Foch, St. Croix, DeChuanac, Lucy Kuhlman, Chancellor and Leon Millot. Blending red grape varieties to produce a balance between acidity, colour, tannin, alcohol and flavour compounds is quite common and a suitable customary practice, allowing the winemaker to create his/her own style and to give a more desirable finish.
Excellent examples are the 2001 Cote d'Ardoise made by Domaine des Cotes d'Ardoise, the 2001 Saint-Gregoire from Clos de la Montagne, the 2001
Marechal-Foch from La Roche des Brises, and the 2000 Mont-Rouge from Lavoie-Poitvin.
DRY WHITE CATEGORY:
In the white dry wine classification, wines were made from either single varietals such as Seyval, Vidal, Vandal-Cliché (a grape variety created locally by two Quebecois specifically for our climate) and Geisenheim 322 or blends of any two or more of these.
Dry white wines that stood out in this category were the 2001 Cuvee St-Denis from Clos Saint-Denis, the 2001 Fut de Chene from L'Orpailleur and the 2001
Fou Rigole from La Roche des Brises. The 2001 Champs de Florence made by Domaine du Ridge is a brilliant example of the quality potential using the Vandal-Cliché grape variety. Look out for this wine and others made with this grape variety.
Finally, I believe it is important to mention a fairly new category; fortified wines. Two wines are now available that are worth every penny one pays to enjoy them. Both the fortified red and white wines from Vignoble St.Sulpice are remarkable. These two examples will leave you with a long lasting impression of the wine potential, high-level quality, and uncompromising dedication that exists in this great province's winemakers.
When Quebec winemakers say they are among the best winemakers in the world, and we say, "prove it", they now can. Proudly.
AVAILABILTY:
Until recently, most of these wines were only available directly from the vineyard site, through the Marches like Jean-Talon and du Vieux Port or promoted at similar events such as the Fetes des Vendanges, which occurs yearly in Magog, Quebec under huge outdoor tents and large verandas.
Restaurants also carry some of the products, although not in vast selection.
Not passing up an opportunity, the SAQ has begun stocking these wines as well. Look for them at your nearest SAQ Selection or SAQ Classic outlets in the "Terroir d'ici" section. You can also find them on www/saq.com by searching the code numbers and ordering directly from the convenience of your home.
Editor's Note: ( from Canadian Grapes to Wine)
Anthony Carone owns and manages Carone Vineyards, a small but rapidly growing winery. He also maintains www.CanadaVintage.com an informative website dedicated to cold climate grape growing in Canada. The Carone vineyards are located 40 km northeast of Montreal in the small town of Lanoraie, Quebec. Today the vineyard has 3,000 vines and some additional trial plantings. The plan is to fill the 20 acres of available land with varieties that will survive the winters with no protection and still produce a full crop year after year. Anthony comments, "Lots of hard work and a tireless will to succeed are required, that is for sure."